Category Archives: Beer

Baird Beer, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/11/15): Baird Beer Seasonal Release: Black Velvet Dark Lager

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Baird Beer Seasonal Release: Black Velvet Dark Lager

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

A Schwarzbier is a German-style dark lager noted for its smooth roundness and easy drinkability. It is one of these classic historical styles that knows no season — i.e. it can be imbibed with equal pleasure in all seasons. We are proud today to release our Baird version of a Schwarzbier: Black Velvet Dark Lager.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Black Velvet Dark Lager (ABV 5.5%):

Generous additions of Munich malt lend a bready, nutty accent to a flavor base that is without the acrid, burnt character generally found in black beers. Black Velvet Dark Lager drinks from the glass with a silky, velvet-like smoothness. It is a perfect beer with which to kick off an evening of slow and sociable drinking.

Black Velvet is avaiable in both kegs and bottles (633 ml) and is now pouring from the taps of our various Taproom pubs.

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Baird Beer, Bars, Beer, 美食, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/101/04): More Fall Seasonal Releases: Yabai-Yabai and Autumn Red

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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More Fall Seasonal Releases: Yabai-Yabai and Autumn Red

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The wait is over. Today we are releasing from our cellars the 2011 version of Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale! You should be able to find pints on draught at your favorite Baird Beer drinking establishment beginning Saturday, November 5 (and at our own Taproom pubs beginning today — Friday, November 4). Bottles (633 ml) too are available through our network of Baird Beer retailing liquor stores in Japan as well as direct from the brewery via our online E-Shop.

New Seasonal Beer Releases:
*Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale 2011 (ABV 8.3%):

Scotland, an historically important center of beer brewing, has a cool climate that favors cultivation of the hardy barley plant. Scottish Ales, thus, tend to feature the rich and robust flavor of malted barley. Baird Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale is, in a word, opulent! The color is a deep mahogany brown and the head is dense, creamy and tan. The aroma is one of soft fruit esters and warm fusel alcohols. The body is chewy and the flavor exhibits notes of molasses, caramel apples, rum cake and pit fruit. One hearty pint is enough to take the bite out of the late autumn chill. Two pints will leave you toasty, and blissfully, warm. Three pints and…. YABAI!

Today we also are pleased to announce the tapping of our latest small-batch real ale: Autumn Red Ale (ABV 5.2%). Brewed back in August with visions of the upcoming fall season foliage dancing in our heads, Autumn Red is finally ready to take its place in our Taproom hand-pump lineup. It manages to combine beautifully a hearty malt flavor with a sprite hop character (derived all from a single hop — U.S. Ahtanum). Autumn Red Ale is available only on hand-pump and exclusively at our Taproom pubs.

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Baird Beer, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/10/28): Celebration of the Life of a Country Girl

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Celebration of the Life of a Country Girl

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

For many Japan craft beer enthusiasts, an annual autumn rite of passage is the release of a deliciously down-to-earth Baird Beer: Country Girl Kabocha Ale. Country Girl marks her 10th annual debut on Friday, October 28.

My mother, Sally Eshelman Baird, is the ‘country girl’ who inspired this earthy and elegant ale. Born and raised in pumpkin country in central Ohio, Sally embodied all of the great Midwestern virtues: modesty, honesty, earthy elegance and simple sophistication. She was the most earnestly forthright and candid person I have ever known. I remember during her final visit to Japan in 2005 to help us celebrate the opening of our new brewery, she opined to me while sipping a Baird Beer at our Fishmarket Taproom: “I’m not sure how much I really like Baird Beer, but I sure do like and appreciate the hard work and integrity that goes into it.”

I think she was proud of our efforts. She passed away on August 30, 2011 at the age of seventy-six. A son’s profound and eternal love for his mother is the spirit which has imbued the brewing of Country Girl Kabocha Ale over the past decade. That spirit is deeply manifest in this 2011 goodbye batch.

*Country Girl Kabocha Ale 2011 (ABV 6.2%):

Kabocha is a Japanese pumpkin-like squash the taste of which is elegantly sweet. The kabocha we use is grown in the Heda garden of our carpenter-partner-friend, Nagakura-san. We first cook it in order to gelatinize it, then we add it to our mash where the enzymes from the malt help to further break it down into simple fermentable sugars. Several characterful varieties of malted barley produce a hearty wort that when married to the kabocha yields a flavor partnership of great depth and balance. After fermentation, re-fermentation and conditioning, the result is an earthy, rustic beer that manages to deliver an extraordinarily sophisticated yet subtle complexity of flavor. It is, to many resident beer enthusiasts, the flavor of fall in Japan!

Country Girl Kabocha Ale 2011 begins pouring from the taps of our Taproom pubs beginning Friday, October 28. It also will be served at other fine Baird Beer retailing pubs and restaurants in Japan beginning the same day. Bottles (633 ml) can be purchased direct from our brewery E-shop and through the family of Baird Beer retailing liquor shops in Japan.

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Baird Beer, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/10/21): Bakayaro!

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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Bakayaro!

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Times are tough in Japan: the economy is contracting, the nuclear fiasco continues to menace, government debt balloons larger as the population ages and shrinks, and politicians and bureacrats remain clueless. If this is not a Bakayaro! moment, I don’t know what would be.

Well, Baird Brewing is an enterprising company and we have managed to perfectly, and deliciously, keg and bottle this national angst. Today, we are cyncially proud to release Bakayaro! Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Bakayaro! Ale 2011 (ABV 8.5%):

This insolent, snotty and mean-spirited brew is pungently hoppy and wickedly strong. High in malt gravity (19.2 Plato), bitter in hoppiness (90 IBU), aggressive in aroma (dry-hopping with Centennial and Cascade), Bakayaro! Ale just doesn’t give a rat’s ass. We invite you to come in, have a pint and let those around know exactly how you feel.

Bakayaro! Ale is available both on draught and in bottles (633 ml), which can be purchased direct from the brewery E-Shop or through one of the fine Baird Beer retailing liquor shops in Japan.

*Chotto Baka Ale (ABV 4.2%):

Should Bakayaro! prove too angry and overbearing for you, we also are introducing his milder younger brother, Chotto Baka. Chotto Baka shares a common malt, hop and yeast DNA with Bakayaro!, only less of everything. Chotto Baka is available only as real ale on hand-pump and exclusively at our Taproom pubs.

Up yours!
(Cheers,)

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/10/13): An Abundant Harvest of New Fall Seasonals: Big Red, Yamamomo, Bohemian Pale

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An Abundant Harvest of New Fall Seasonals: Big Red, Yamamomo, Bohemian Pale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Unlike the case of industrial beer, where summer reigns supreme, craft beer truly is a beverage of all seasons. That said, fall — with its crisp and brisk weather — strikes us as a quintessentially good season for the enjoyment of the robustly full-flavored ales that typify craft beer. We are excited to announce today’s release of three such autumn ales: Big Red Machine Fall Classic Ale, Otomi Orchard Mountain Plum Ale, and Bohemian Pale Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Big Red Machine Fall Classic Ale (ABV 6%):

To baseball fans, October means World Series (also known as the “Fall Classic”) time. To me, the annual Fall Classic invariably brings back boyhood memories of watching and rooting for the great “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati teams of 1975 and 1976 World Series fame. Big Red Machine Fall Classic Ale was brewed initially in 2005 as a 30-year tribute to the Cincinnati Reds World Series championship team of 1975 (they beat the Boston Red Sox in a dramatic 7-game series). We continue to brew it annually because it is such a fine beer and it is the perfect libation to enjoy while taking in the Fall Classic.

Brawny in the depth and richness of its malt character, this malt muscle is balanced beautifully by a wonderfully spicy and sprite hop essence. Much as the rare combination of power and finesse was a hallmark of the Big Red Machine on the field, so too is it a hallmark of the Big Red Machine in the pint glass!

Big Red Machine Fall Classic Ale is available on draught at all of our Taproom pubs as well as at other select Baird Beer retailing establishments in Japan. It also is available in bottles (630 ml) for purchase direct from our brewery e-shop or from one of the many fine Baird Beer retailing liquor stores in Japan.

*Otomi Orchard Mountain Plum Ale (ABV 5.5%):

Collaboration beers have become a hallmark of craft brewing, representing as they do both the innovation and camaraderie that so define the efforts of artisan brewers. We were thrilled when the opportunity presented itself to collaborate on a beer with both our farming friends at the Otomi Orchard in neighboring Izu no Kuni and our brewing colleague Mr. Luc Lafontaine of the renowned Montreal brewery, Dieu du ciel.

Luc and I have long wanted to brew together and we both share a passion for formulating beer recipes that incorporate unusual Japanese ingredients, particularly fresh fruit. Oki-san of Otomi Orchard is the second-generation head of his family farm and a customer at our Fishmarket Taproom. A casual conversation between us in July revealed that he had a field full of organic yamamomo (mountain plums) that were ripe and ready but without a market. A collaboration was born.

After tasting and gathering the fruit together with Sayuri and our girls on a hot July evening, I began collaborating via email with Luc on the recipe. Yamamomo fruit is sour and piquant and we decided to incorporate it in a lightly hopped, low-gravity, highly attenuated session ale that would be dryly and quenchingly tart. In addition to the local yamamomo fruit, we also included serious quantities of two other indigenous Japanese ingredients: namely, un-malted wheat from Chiba and sudakito sugar from Amami-Oshima. The beer was brewed at the Baird Brewery on July 29 with Luc in attendance, sweating profusely side by side me and the other Baird Beer brewers. The task of primary fermentation was assigned to our Scottish ale yeast, but krausening at packaging occurred with our our Belgian wit yeast.

Otomi Orchard Mountain Plum Ale is now pouring from our Taproom taps and also will be available both on draught and in bottles at select Baird Beer retailers in Japan.

*Bohemian Pale Ale (ABV 5.5%):

This small-batch pale ale is brewed with Bohemian floor-malted pilsner barely and loads of Czech Saaz hops. We have dry-hopped with a combination of Saaz and two German Hallertau varieties: Hersbrucker and Tradition. If pale ale was a style from Bohemia, this is what it would taste like.

Bohemian Pale Ale is available only as real ale on hand-pump, and exclusively at our Baird Beer Taproom pubs. Stop in for a pint while the pouring lasts!

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Baird Beer, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/09/28): Newest Seasonal Release: Belgian Pale Ale

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Newest Seasonal Release: Belgian Pale Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

We brew ten distinct year-round varieties of Baird Beer, incorporating three different yeast strains. Eight of these varieties are fermented with our house ale yeast, which is a Scottish ale strain; one with a lager yeast from North America; and one with a yeast from Belgian, supposedly a wit strain. Each of these yeast strains possess a distinct personality which imparts unique flavor and aroma attributes to the fermented beer.

We often brew single-hop beers when first using an unfamiliar hop variety in order to fully understand its character contribution in isolation from other hops. Well, in order to more fully comprehend character contribution from an individual yeast strain, would it not be interesting to brew an established year-round recipe only ferment it with a different yeast than normal? We have done just this in our newest seasonal beer which is being released today: Baird Belgian Pale Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Baird Belgian Pale Ale (ABV 5.5%):

Rising Sun Pale Ale is one of our most beloved year-round beers. It is an interpretation of a hoppy American west coast pale ale bursting with fresh citrus flavors. Baird Belgian Pale Ale is Rising Sun all the way to the fermentation tank, where we pitch it not with our Scottish ale yeast but rather our Belgian ale strain. The final flavor difference is really quite deliciously profound. Come in for a pint and experience this yourself!

Baird Belgian Pale Ale is being poured from the taps of each of our Taproom pubs beginning today (Wednesday, September 28). It also will be available at fine Baird Beer retailing pubs, restaurants and liquor shops throughout Japan beginning Thursday, September 29. Kegs and bottles (633 ml) both are available.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beer, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

Shizuoka Beer Tasting: Wind Valley Brewery-Izu Ale

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The Wind Valley Brewery does deserve its name in Kannami, Mishima City.
It is actually tugged between two precipitous slopes and it can be extremely windy there, especially in winter!
The brewery is still relatively young founded as it was in 1997, but is steadily making a name for itself!

The Brewery is putting out 3 regular beers all year round apart of 3 more seasonal ones and Izu Ale is one of the former.
Izu is the name of the Peninsula of the same name and the Brewery is located in the very Northern part.

Ingredients: Barley, hops, yeast and water from Mount Fuji. Barley molt from own barley and British ale malt
Contents: 330 ml
Alcohol: 5.5%
Yeast: live

Clarity: Smoky
Color: Amber orange
Foam: Fine, lingers for a while
Aroma: Bread, yeast, faint oranges
Taste: Deep and solid attack with oranges. Finishes on a dry note on the palate with bread.
Complex from first sip and even more from second sip.
Dry oranges and bread linger on.
Tends to become drier and drier with further sips.

Overall: Very solid and satisfying brew to be enjoyed on its own as well as with heavy food or pickles.
A beer for all seasons!

Wind Valley Beer (Oratche), Rakunou Oukoku Co. Ltd
Shizuoka Ken, Mishima Shi, Kannami, Tanna, 349-1
Tel.: 055-974-4211
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
POPCORNHOMESTEAD in Tokyo by Joan Lambert Bailey,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beer, 美食, Desserts, 酒, 野菜, 魚, 農業, French Cuisine, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Fuji City, Fuji-Takasago Brewery, Gastronomy, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Microbrewery Beer, Restaurants, sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism, 富士市, 有機野菜

Fuji No Kuni Gastronomic Fair in Fuji City (September 2011)

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On September 22nd another “Fuji no Kuni” Gastronomic Fair was held under the auspices of the Shizuoka Prefecture Economy & Industry Bureau at Maison De Anniversaire in Fuji City to support the local food and producers.

As the event started at 7 p.m. I arrived a bit early at Shin Fuji Station where I was greeted by a beautiful sunset!
As the site of the event took place high at the foot of Mount Fuji I did well to reach the Station at 6 p.m.!

Arriving early gave me ample time to greet some friends and acquaintances like Mr. Sano, owner of Sanoman Co. in Fujinomiya City!

It also allowed me to survey the dining room and have a look at the menu and appetizers on my plate before exchanging business cards with many another guest. Actually most guests, representing companies or coming as individuals, had some kind of direct relation with the economy and agriculture of Shizuoka Prefecture.
Incidentally, the appetizers were Mangenton ball in escabeche from Sanoman Co. and the chicken roulade was made with Koshamo chicken from Aoki Farm in Fuji City!

The beer that day was brewed by Stephan Rager at Bayern Meister Beer Co. in Fujinomiya City!

And the Japanese sake was provided by Fuji-Takasago Brewery in Fujinomya City!

A honjyozo called “Raku/楽/Enjoy Yourself!”

Guests including some celebrities taking their seats in all informality.

The MC of the day: Mrs. Kyouko Ishigami, a Shizuoka sake expert!

The dinner started with a vegetable and salmon trout jelly terrine and organic salad!

The salmon trout was bred by Kunugi Fish Farm and all the organic vegetables were grown by Mtsuki Bio Farm, both in Fujinomiya City!

Each producer involved in the preparation of the repast introduced their venture on the mike: Mr. Sano of Sanoman Co.

Beautiful mushroom soup with imo/taro. The mushrooms were cultivated by Mr. Hasegawa in Fuji City!

Madai/Seabream (brought from Yui, Shimizu Ku, Shizuoka City) poelee with a galette of sakura shrimps from the same harbour. The vegetables are of course from Matsuki Bio Farm and the bacon from Sanoman Co.

For a closer view!

Charcoal-grilled Izu Venison Roast from deer meat processed by the Izu City Food Processing Center!

Very French in concept! And delicious!

The representative of Fuji-Takasago Brewery in Fujinomiya City!

The dessert!

Shizuoka Fig Millefeuille with blueberry sauce!

Financier!

A very interesting dinner indeed introducing all the good ingredients from Shizuoka Prefecture!

I wonder where they are going to hold this monthly event next time!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
With a Glass,
Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Baird Beer, Bars, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Japan, Shizuoka, Tourism

Oktober Fest at Beer No Yokota Pub in Shizuoka City!

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Service: Very friendly if a bit shy
Facilities: Very clean. Superb toilets for a pub!
Prices: Appropriate
Strong Points: Baird Beer!
Entirely non-smoking!

All beer lovers, let it be known that Beer No Yokota Pub in Shizuoka City are holding an Oktober Fest!

The event will be held from September 17th (Saturday) through October 3rd (Monday)
The beer on tap for the whole period will be different from the usual!
They will offer no less than 15 beers on tap featuring 6 by Baird Beer (Numazu City) and other delicious nectars from Munchen, Nagano Prefecture and others. Plenty to explore for your palate!

And plenty of good grub to go with the beer will be available. Plan a long evening!

BEER NO YOKOTA PUB
420-0031 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Gofuku-Cho, 2-5-12 (2 minutes on foot from Gofuku Cho Scramble. Check map on homepage)
Tel.: 054-255-3683
Opening hours: 17:00~24:00 (from 15:00 on weekends and National Holidays)
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
POPCORNHOMESTEAD in Tokyo by Joan Lambert Bailey,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/09/15): Draught-Only Seasonal Release: Black Fantasy Ale

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Draught-Only Seasonal Release: Black Fantasy Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

At Baird Beer we love the resinous pungency of whole flower hops. We also treasure the roasty, oily and smokey acridity of highly kilned dark malts. Surely these powerful and contrasting flavor elements can be artfully combined in a way that yields a fantasy-like beer flavor: one that is commandingly strong yet gently nuanced? The answer is yes. You can drink it in Baird Black Fantasy Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Black Fantasy Ale (ABV 7.5%):

Midnight-black in color thanks to a combined grist addition of highly kilned Chocolate Wheat, Roast Wheat and Black Patent malt, Black Fantasy Ale looks like it might be a Foreign Export Stout. The nose, however, says otherwise. Wafting from the tan collar of pint glass foam is a magnificent aroma reminiscent of ripe fruit and freshly picked herbs (courtesy of double-dry hopping with Centennial, Motueka and Saaz hops). No, this is not your typical stout. That conclusion is immediately confirmed with a fireworks-like explosion of layered hop flavor and pungent bitterness in the mouth (95 kettle BUs of Magnum, Galena, Nugget, Centennial, Motueka and Sterling hops). The finish, though, is silky and oily-smooth.

Have you ever felt exhaustingly invigorated? Black Fantasy will render you thus. The invigoration, though, triumphs over the exhaustion. It will compel you to return for another go of it. Warning: Your perception of beer will be forever changed. You know what they say … Go Baird and never go back!

Baird Black Fantasy Ale is now on tap at all four of our Japan Taproom pubs. It is draught-only and also will be poured at other fine Baird Beer retailing establishments throughout Japan.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/09/06): Early Autumn Seasonal Releases

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Early Autumn Seasonal Releases

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Join me in celebration of the first sighting of sunshine in nearly five days here in Shizuoka. The air, too, seems crisper and less soaked with all that sticky humidity. Fall is in the air! It also is in the Baird Beer cellars. Today, we release from them three new seasonal brews, all with a distinctive fall weather flavor: Baird Export Lager, Baird Red Rye Lager and Baird Imperial Red Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Baird Export Lager (ABV 5.5%):

Brewed in the tradition of Dortmund-style export lagers, Baird Export Lager combines depth of flavor with a brisk and refreshing character. Less fragrant in hop character but brawnier in malt body than a pilsner, Baird Export Lager is a supreme thirst quencher. The high quality of our soft Numazu water really stands out in this well-rounded lager.

Baird Export Lager is available in limited quantity in kegs only.

*Baird Red Rye Lager (ABV 5.0%):

Generous additions to the grist of malted rye lend a distinctively autumn-red hue as well as spicy malt flavor to this sprite yet hardy lager beer. The hop character is not bashful either, demonstrating a clean, snappy complexity derived from separate additions of five American varieties (Columbus, Horizon, Perle, Glacier, Santiam).

Baird Red Rye Lager is available both in kegs and bottles (633 ml).

*Baird Imperial Red Ale (ABV 8.6%) (Real Ale on Hand-pump only):

Normally, our hand-pump dispensed real ale offerings focus on moderate- to low-gravity and alcohol content classic English styles. Baird Imperial Red Ale is an exception. The wort weighs in at an impressive 20.5 plato, aided by kettle additions of Japanese red sugar (akato). The alcohol content is a potent 8.6% by volume. And the hop character is boisterous: six varietal additions constituting 65 BUs of fragrant, flavorful bitterness. The breathing of the CO2 from the casks prior to hookup on the hand-pumps leads to a soft, almost chewy mouthfeel. A fruity succulence gives way in the finish to a warm, pleasurable alcohol burn — just enough to take the nip out of a chilly autumn evening.

Baird Imperial Red Ale is available on hand-pump only and exclusively at our Taproom pubs.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Baird Beer, Bars, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Numazu City, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/08/29): New Seasonal Release: Baird Belgian Wit

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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New Seasonal Release: Baird Belgian Wit

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The brief hiatus in Baird Beer seasonal releases is over. Today we are debuting of a first-time seasonal brew: Baird Belgian Wit.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:

*Baird Belgian Wit (ABV 4.7%):

Witbier means “white beer.” It takes its name from the extraordinarily light, white-hued color that is the by-product of mashing with large portions of un-malted wheat. Witbiers are seen as descendants of un-hopped medieval beers that were flavored with a blend of herbs and/or spices referred to as “gruit.” Today, the poster beer for this category is the Belgian brand Hoegaarden White, which is spiced with a combination of coriander and orange peel and is very lightly hopped.

Baird Belgian Wit is mashed with a grist consisting of 30 percent un-malted Japanese wheat. We added a pinch of homegrown coriander seed, which we lightly crushed, to the conditioning tank along with a dollop of orangey NZ Cascade dry hops. Fermentation was achieved with our Belgian house yeast, originally a Belgian witbier strain.

The result is a light, fragrant and effervescent brew that manages a surprising depth of flavor. This is a perfect libation to enjoy amidst the wanning heat of summer. Baird Belgian Wit is available on draught at each of our Taproom pubs as well as at other fine Baird Beer retailing establishments in Japan. A small inventory of bottles (633 ml) also are available for purchase.

In addition to the Belgian Wit, we also are pouring a new small-batch real ale from the handpumps of our Taproom pubs: Six Nations Hop Ale (ABV 5.2%). The name of this dry-hopped golden ale derives from the fact that it incorporates hops from six different nations: US Galena, New Zealand Motueka, German Tradition, English East Kent Golding, Slovenian Styrian Golding, and Czech Saaz. The resultant hop character can best be described as earthy, grassy and floral. This unique real ale is available exclusively at our Taproom pubs and quantities are limited so stop in for a pint soon.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Baird Beer, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/08/02): Asian Beauty Biwa Ale & Brewer’s Secret Handshake

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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Upcoming Seasonal Releases: Asian Beauty Biwa Ale & Brewer’s Secret Handshake

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

We continue thirstily working down through our deep lineup of Baird Beer summer seasonals. Today it is one of our special fruited ales that is stepping up to the plate: Asian Beauty Biwa Ale.

Asian Beauty Biwa Ale 2011 (ABV 5.8%):
Biwa is “the small, yellow, edible, plum-like fruit of the loquat tree.” We had no idea what it was until our partner-friend-carpenter-farmer, Nagakura-san, brought some in several years ago for us to taste and then brew with. It is an extremely subtle fruit that harmonizes sweetness with tartness. Asian Beauty Biwa Ale is coyly fruity, spritely effervescent and yet delicately firm — like a true Asian Beauty!

Asian Beauty Biwa Ale 2011 begins pouring from our Taproom taps beginning Wednesday, August 3, and it is available for delivery from our brewery beginning Tuesday, August 2. Due to the very limited number of bottles (633 ml), we will not be selling Asian Beauty on our consumer E-Shop. It will be available, however, through select Baird Beer retailing liquor shops in Japan.

In the summer seasonal on deck circle is a sacred ale: Brewer’s Secret Handshake.

Brewer’s Secret Handshake (ABV 6.0%):
The German city of Dusseldorf is renowned for its Altbier. From time to time, apparently, the city’s Altbier brewpub brewers make seasonal specialty Alts as surprise treats for customers. These specialty Alts are known as sticke (secret) Alts or Latzenbier (slab beer). Compared to standard Altbier, the secret versions tend to be stronger, darker and hoppier, according to German beer writer Horst Dornbush.

Brewer’s Secret Handshake is our version of a sticke Alt. It is fairly strong (6% by volume), darkish brown in color, and unabashedly hoppy (50 IBUs of US Magnum, NZ Hallertau Aroma, US Perle and German Tettnanger). It will be available to Taproom patrons who are privy to the brewer’s secret handshake beginning Wednesday, August 10. Shipments to Baird Beer retail accounts will begin on Tuesday, August 9. Retail accounts are welcome to contact Kojima-san at the brewery office and begin reserving for shipment kegs and bottles (633 ml). Again, due to very limited bottle supply, we will not be selling Brewer’s Secret Handshake on the brewery E-Shop.

Upcoming Taproom Events:
*Harajuku Taproom 2-Year Birthday Celebration (Sat-Sun, August 6-7):

That Japanese traditional yakitori-style food and flavorful craft beer are wonderful mates when matched together has been demonstrated beyond doubt by our Harajuku Taproom. This coming weekend, the Harajuku Taproom will be celebrating its 2-year birthday. Highlights of the weekend celebration include:

Tapping of its anniversary ale: Terrible Two Hara-Tap Birthday Ale (a strong golden ale — 6.7% abv — with moderate levels of hop bitterness but heavily laden with spicy-herbal hop flavor and aroma (courtesy of Slovenian Styrian Golding, US Santiam and NZ Hallertau Aroma). This special brew will be available only on draught and only at the Harajuku Taproom
Special weekend-only food menu with items priced in the 500 yen range.
Standing room will be made available for this weekend event and all orders will be handled on a cash-on basis. Please mark your calendar and plan on joining the celebration (and be sure to wish the terrific team at Harajuku a Happy Birthday!).

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beer, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Numazu City, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/07/27): Baird-Ishii-Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA Charity Collaboration Brew

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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Debut: Baird-Ishii-Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA Charity Collaboration Brew

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant disaster that struck the Tohoku region of Japan in March destroyed and upturned tens of thousands of human lives, not to mention the economic and environmental havoc that it wreaked, and continues to wreak to this day. The catastrophe lays bare for all to see and feel the tenuous nature of life.

Tragedy, though, also can bring to the fore the best and most enduringly strong aspects of life: e.g. selfless sacrifice, generosity of spirit, camaraderie among strangers, etc. These inspirational and life-affirming human traits have, thankfully, been demonstrated in countless number in the aftermath of the Tohoku disaster.

It was in this life-affirming vein, I think, that Stone Brewing Company of San Diego, California invited Baird Brewing and Ishii Brewing (a Guam-based brewery owned and run by Japanese national, Toshi Ishii) to collaborate on a beer that would be brewed with two purposes in mind: (1) financial contribution to the Tohoku region disaster relief effort, and (2) encouragement of spiritual uplift and joy in an otherwise depressing time. Wonderful beer is a powerful thing; humans have know this for many millennia. As brewers, the one thing we certainly can do in times like this is try to harness and unleash the positive power of beer.

The great bulk of the 300 barrels or so of Baird-Ishii-Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA that was brewed has been sold (and continues to be) in the United States, with Stone Brewing generously donating 100% of its sales revenue to the International Red Cross, earmarked for Tohoku disaster relief. Fortunately, though, through the offices and hard work of Stone’s Japanese importer, Nagano Trading, we were able to procure a couple pallets of the collaboration beer for delivery to Japan. These pallets arrived at Yokohama port several days ago and have just now cleared customs. The first of these kegs will be tapped, in a Taproom-wide charity celebration, this Friday, July 29 at 5:00 pm sharp at all Taproom locations.

Taproom-wide Charity Celebration Debut: Baird-Ishii-Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA (Friday, July 29, 5:00 pm Kick-Off):
Ishii-san and I flew to San Diego in May to brew this collaborative IPA with Stone brewmaster Mitch Steele and his Stone Brewing team. Several rounds of collaborative emails in advance of our trip yielded the beer concept: a strong (9% ABV — matching the magnitude of the Tohoku earthquake) and hugely hoppy (over 100 kettle IBUs of Warrior and Pacifica varieties and two-stage dry-hopping with a combination of Aramis, Crystal, Pacifica and whole leaf Sorachi Ace) ale enjoying a simple but robust malt base (100 percent Maris Otter from England), made drier by additions of Belgian candi sugar, and brought into complete balance with dry-tea additions of whole leaf Shizuoka sencha. I have yet to drink the finished beer myself, but the reviews coming from the U.S. are tremendous.

Each of our Taproom pubs has an allotment of four kegs of Japanese Green Tea IPA, which will be poured until the final one kicks. They will be sold by the pint (1100 yen), half-pint (750 yen) and taster glass (400 yen). We will donate all of the sales proceeds to the Tohoku Project of the All Hands Volunteers charity organization (http://hands.org/projects/project-tohoku/). This wonderful organization is lean and focused, assembling teams of volunteers who are dispatched to the Tohoku region to engage in the vital work of clean-up and reconstruction. The Tohoku project director is Mr. Satoshi Kitahama who can be reached at the following address: satoshi@kitahama.com.

In addition to this Taproom allotment of kegs, Nagano Trading has a dozen or so more which it plans to allot in a blind raffle to interested craft beer retailers. The raffle allotment will be announced by Nagano Trading on August 3. Also, one pallet of bottles of the Japanese Green Tea IPA has been imported by Nagano Trading. Retailers and individual customers interested in obtaining kegs or bottles should contact Andrew (andrewbalmuth@naganotrading.com) or Akemi (akemiohira@naganotrading.com) of Nagano Trading directly.

In the spirit of this charity effort, Nagano Trading also has volunteered to donate a portion of its sales proceeds to Tohoku disaster relief. We would ask that all other retailers who obtain and sell this Japanese Green Tea IPA also donate some portion of the sales revenue to a charitable organization involved in Tohoku relief. We will be sure to post a list of all donations made once the last bottles and kegs have been sold.

We look forward to hosting you at one, or more, of our Taproom pubs this Friday for the charity debut of this truly one-of-a-kind collaboration beer. Please come thirsty and with a charitable spirit.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Baird Beer, Bars, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/07/21)

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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New Summer Seasonal Releases: Hop Havoc & Japan Tale Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Thanks to all those who joined us in Numazu over the holiday weekend for our Fishmarket Taproom 11-year anniversary celebration. It was a terrific party. The Hop Havoc Anniversary Ale was a particular hit and we thus are pleased to announce its release to the broader public today. In addition, we have another special release treat today — the return of our ume-laden Japan Tale Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Hop Havoc Anniversary Ale (ABV 6.2%):

This hop-monster ale was brewed to commemorate the 11-year birthday of our first Taproom: Numazu Fishmarket Taproom. It was conceived in what I call a ‘Greenflash’ moment — Greenflash, of course, being the San Diego craft brewery renowned for its massively hoppy beers.

Hop Havoc Anniversary Ale enjoys a malt base similar to what one might find in a strong pale ale (e.g. 13.9 P made up of Maris Otter and Carahell), but the hopping is what one would see in a double IPA (e.g. 90 IBUs and double dry-hopping with Columbus, Citraand Cascade varieties). The hallmarks of Baird Beer, though, abound everywhere, from the unfiltered hop haze to the soft and natural carbonation to the powerful yet balanced and un-heavy flavor profile.

Hop Havoc is available in limited quantities in both keg- and bottle-conditioned form. Order fast.

*Japan Tale Ale 2011 (ABV 6.2%):

Brewed with a host of indigenous Japanese ingredients (un-malted wheat, korizato sugar, fresh ume plums and, of course, lovely soft Numazu water) Japan Tale Ale is lightly hopped, pleasantly tart and extremely refreshing. It’s hazy, milky-white color and snow-white foam collar are reminiscent of a Belgian witbier. It drinks, though, like a beer version of a well-made ume sour (a popular drink served in traditional Japanese pubs that is made with distilled shochu and plums and served carbonated on ice).

Japan Tale Ale 2011 is now pouring from the taps of each of our Baird Beer Taprooms and will be available both on draught and in 633 ml bottles at Baird Beer retailing pubs and liquor shops throughout Japan.

Upcoming Taproom Events:

Please mark your calendar for Friday, July 29. On this day, we plan to unveil, at long last and at all four of our Taprooms, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami relief collaboration beer brewed in San Diego by Stone Brewing, Ishii Brewing and Baird Brewing. The beer is called Japanese Green Tea IPA and by all accounts in the U.S., where it already has debuted, it is a real treat. 100 percent of the sales revenue generated by this beer at all or our Taproom pubs will be donated to charities dealing with Tohoku disaster relief.

More beer, event and charity designation details will be upcoming in the next bulletin.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery