Category Archives: Beer

Baird Beer, Beer, Beer Brewery, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/07/03): New Seasonal Releases: Cool Breeze Pils / Belgian Strong Pale Ale

July 3, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

New Seasonal Releases: Cool Breeze Pils / Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

July is the month that we annually release a Baird Beer summer seasonal classic: Cool Breeze Pils. Our beer cellar happens to be brimming with other experimental summer seasonal beers also. Today we are pleased to release one of these: Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Cool Breeze Pils 2012 (ABV 5.5%):

Cool Breeze Pils is Bohemian in style, cleanly malty in body, coquettishly floral in aroma, and crisply dry in its snappy bitter finish. Cool Breeze Pils registers on the imbiber like a fresh ocean breeze does on the perspiring body of a mid-afternoon sunbather. Cool Breeze Pils is unfiltered and re-fermented and naturally carbonated in package where it has undergone an extended maturation. The result, we believe, pays handsome tribute to the glorious history of this storied lager beer style.

Cool Breeze Pils 2012 will be pouring from our Taproom taps beginning Wednesday, July 4. It also is available for immediate release in bottles (360 ml) and kegs to Baird Beer retailers throughout Japan.

*Belgian Strong Pale Ale (ABV 8%):

This Belgian yeast-fermented ale is big in gravity (17.4 Plato), strong in alcohol, and hoppily aromatic (dry-hops include six different European varieties — Kent Golding, Styrian Golding, Spalter, Tettnanger, Hersbrucker and Sazz). The bittering units (IBUs), however, are moderate at 30. This is a remarkably refreshing ale given its strength.

Belgian Strong Pale Ale is available for immediate release — in kegs only.

Upcoming Taproom Events:
*Numazu Fishmarket Taproom 12-Year Anniversary Celebration (Friday-Sunday, July 20-22):

Mark your calendar for what promises to be a fantastic birthday celebration. Weekend celebration highlights include:

Debut of two special commemorative brews: Fish-Tap 12-Year Summer Ale and Fire in the Belly — Doug’s Red Ale.
Special food and beer menu with all items priced at 500 yen. We will be selling weekend Baird Beer and food cards with twelve stamps for 5,000 yen (12 beer and/or food items for the price of 10). The cards are valid at the Fishmarket Taproom only during the three-day celebration (July 20-22).
Saturday and Sunday outdoor BBQ at the brewery (1:00 – 6:00 pm). Chris M will be grilling up burgers, dogs and other treats as well as pouring a variety of specially cellared seasonal brews. Beer and food cards can be used at the outdoor barbecue.
Baird Brewery Tours: Brewer-guided brewery tours will be held both on Saturday and Sunday at the following times — 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30. Tours are open to all interested patrons.
CODE reunion concert — 7:00 pm kick-off Saturday evening.
More weekend details will be forthcoming in the next Bulletin.

*Live Irish Music performed by Pat O’Connor and Eoghan O’Sullivan (Wednesday, July 18 at the Bashamichi Taproom and Thursday, July 19 at the Fishmarket Taproom):

Both shows will start at 7:30 pm. There will be a 500 yen music charge — all proceeds going to the musicians. If you enjoy foot-stomping Irish music, you will not want to miss these guys.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, 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,
Susan at Arkonlite, 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!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beer, Beer Brewery, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/06/20): Seasonal Release: Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale

June 20, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Seasonal Release: Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

In the aftermath of a rainy season typhoon we find poetic justice in announcing the release of a seasonal brew that is distinctly summer and sunny — Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale 2012 (ABV 5.5%):

A summer mikan (natsumikan) is a grapefruit-like citrus fruit that is tart and sweetly sour in flavor and wonderfully aromatic. The only fruit to make it through the doors of the Baird Brewery, of course, is fresh whole fruit recently plucked from the land. Our summer mikans are Shizuoka-grown, right in the Heda orchard of our carpenter-partner-friend, Mitsuo Nagakura. The bounty of fruit is painstakingly hand-processed by the Baird Brewery team before its introduction into the brewhouse and cellar. You can taste the freshness and wholesomeness of the natsumikan fruit in each sip of this extraordinarily zesty brew.

The refreshing citrus character of Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale is not supplied by fruit alone, however. The natsumikans are complemented beautifully by deft additions of four citrusy-spicy American hop varieties: Summit, Simcoe, Cascade and Ahtanum. This year, in a departure from past versions, we fermented with our house Belgian yeast strain rather than our Scottish ale strain. This has contributed another layer of subtle spiciness. The quenchingly brisk and tart result is summer paradise in a glass! Who cares if its grim and cloudy outside!

Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale 2012 will be available on draught and in bottles (360 ml) beginning Thursday, June 21. Please visit a Taproom pub or local Baird Beer retailer while quantities last.

Please note: We have abandoned the 630 ml bottle for seasonal beers. Henceforth, all seasonal bottle beer will, like the year-round brands, will be of the 360 ml size.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

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

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/06/15): A Beer for our Fathers

June 16, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

A Beer for our Fathers

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

I, like perhaps many others, didn’t realize the enormity of the role and responsibility of fatherhood until I became a member of the fraternity myself. Only then did I fully and comprehensively appreciate all that my Dad had done for me over the many years. It is with love and gratitude, then, that the brewers of Baird Beer have crafted Father’s Day Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:
*Father’s Day Ale (ABV 5.5%):

Much of beer brewing in history has been conducted in monastery settings, by the sect fathers. Monastery father-brewers in Belgium were known to brew a refreshing and wholesome table-beer for their own consumption known as Patersbier (father’s beer). This history is the direct inspiration of our Father’s Day Ale.

Father’s Day Ale is a very simple recipe: one malt (floor-malted Pilsner), two hops (Tradition and Saaz). It is fermented with our Belgian witbier yeast strain and then secondarily fermented with the same strain in package. It is lightly fruity and quenchingly effervescent. It is a gift to all of you fathers out there; you deserve at the very least a wonderful beer on Father’s Day.

Father’s Day Ale is available both in bottles (630 ml) and kegs. It will begin pouring from the taps of fine beer establishments all over Japan beginning Father’s Day (Sunday, June 17).

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Baird Beer, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/06/08): Seasonal Release: Rainy Season Black Ale

June 15, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Seasonal Release: Rainy Season Black Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

This beautiful sunny morning marks the fourth day since the official start of the rainy season (tsuyu) here in the Kanto area of Japan. Well, we have the perfect brew for both the gloomy and bright moments of this stormy period: Rainy Season Black Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:
*Rainy Season Black Ale 2012 (ABV 6.5%):

A torrential down-pouring of hops define this otherwise roasty, toasty, espresso-like black ale. 60 bittering units of clean, crisp lupulin-resin (courtesy of Galena, Nugget, Motueka, Tradition, Glacier and Santiam) emerge from our kettle boil; the lupulin-oils (from our friends Motueka, Tradition, Glacier and Santiam) join the gig via dry-hopping in the conditioning tank and contribute a pleasant herbal-spicy-peppery aromatic character. After a few sips you will find yourself licking from your lips a resinous stickiness that can best be described as pungently pleasurable. Here’s to the rainy season!

Rainy Season Black Ale is available for immediate release. It is draught-only.

Reminder: If you are a pizza and beer fan (and who isn’t?), don’t forget to come out and join us at the Nakameguro Taproom tomorrow night for the full-scale debut of our New Haven-style pizza. The hours for this kick-off event are 6:00 – 10:00 pm.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Baird Beer, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/06/08): New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases; New Haven-style Pizza at Nakameguro Taproom

June 15, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases; New Haven-style Pizza at Nakameguro Taproom

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Beer’s ability to make itself a suitable partner to the food in all culinary cultures is one of its special traits. Put most simply, good beer makes good food an experience even more pleasurable than it otherwise would be. One of the world’s most recognized symbiotic beer-food relationships surely is beer and pizza. Next to man and woman, beer and pizza is perhaps the most natural and life-affirming marriage on earth. This bulletin is about the two partners in this wonderful relationship: beer and pizza. First to the beer.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*4-C Strong Pale Ale (ABV 6%):

We love pale ales of all stripes. This one is a a bit stronger and bolder than is typical. Its hallmark character stems from hopping (both kettle- and dry-) with four different varieties of American ‘C’ hops: Columbus, Chinook, Citra and Cascade. 4-C Strong Pale Ale represents the sort of adventurous play on a classical beer style that helped to ignite the American, and now world, craft beer renaissance.

4-C is available for immediate release in both kegs and bottles (630 ml).

*Suruga Bay Belgian Imperial IPA (ABV 8%):

Yes, this is another in our series of year-round beers fermented with a non-typical yeast strain. In this case, we have brewed a batch of Suruga Bay but have fermented it not with our house Scottish ale yeast but with our Belgian witbier strain. The Belgian yeast strain working at higher temperatures has yielded a slightly more attenuated and stronger alcohol version of Suruga Bay Imperial IPA. Taste the two versions side-by-side and experience for yourself the clear but nuanced difference.

Suruga Bay Belgian Imperial IPA also is available for immediate release — in kegs as well as bottles (360 ml).

Now, it’s on to pizza.

Upcoming Taproom Events:
*Debut of New Haven-style Pizza at the Nakameguro Taproom:

As most of you know, we brought a new head chef aboard (Chef Joon) at the Nakameguro Taproom a couple months ago. Since assuming control of the NT kitchen, Chef Joon has been busy bringing the food back more squarely in line with the philosophy of our beer: i.e. use of fresh, fully flavored and minimally processed ingredients and preparing them with a simplicity that allows the intrinsic natural flavors to shine bright. Well, the radiant flavors of his work speak for themselves.

Joon’s dream-vision, as a chef and passionate beer enthusiast, though, has been to focus his culinary skill on the task of bringing truly world class pizza to our beer table. His work with us began with a week-long study trip to the U.S. where we attended the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and then visited the kitchens of several noted pizza establishments in and around Portland, Oregon. We quietly added a super high-temperature pizza oven to our NT kitchen several weeks after our return. Joon has been experimenting and refining our approach to hand-made dough preparation and pizza baking ever since. Well, we are about ready to go full-on-no-safety-net-live with a spectacular new pizza and salad menu.

What kind of pizza? This was our easiest decision: New Haven-style Pizza. This is a style of Neapolitan pizza known as apizza in and around its birthplace — New Haven, Connecticut. It is supposed to have originated at the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana back in the 1920s. What sets New Haven-style pizza apart is the crust — it is especially thin with a crispy shell that is replete with burnt black spots, desirably known as ‘char’, due to the short but intense high-temperature baking. The inside of the thin crust, though, is soft when done expertly.

New Haven-style pies tend also to be very simple and light on the cheese, which generally is Pecorino Romano rather than Mozzarella. Simple but flavorful sauces (plain or white is olive oil, red or marinara is tomato sauce) are the spice. Fresh toppings, arrayed and combined creatively, complete the pie performance. Add good beer, and Baird Beer in particular, and you have one of life’s truly subliminal food-beverage experiences.

Mark you calendar: we will inaugurate the full pizza menu at NT with a special debut party on Thursday, June 14. Please note, the hours of operation on this kick-off day will be: 6:00 – 10:00 pm. The full variety of our New Haven-style pizzas will be flowing out of our pizza oven all night long; you are free to sample to your heart and belly’s content. Fresh salads also will be served. Food price for the evening is 3,000 yen per person. Beer is sold separately. Reservations are not required. As a special beer treat, we will be tapping in sneak-preview fashion our 2012 Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale. Drink a glass with one of these extraordinary pies and I promise you, your life will change.

Sayuri, John and I will be leading a pack of pizza and beer lovers into the Nakameguro Taproom for this special debut event. Please plan on joining us.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Beer, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/05/23): May Hop Madness Continued: Triple-Dry Bohemian Pils and 4-S Belgian Blonde Ale

May 23, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

May Hop Madness Continued: Triple-Dry Bohemian Pils and 4-S Belgian Blonde Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The May month of Hop Madness continues with today’s general release of two more hop-crazy brews: Triple-Dry Bohemian Pils and 4-S Belgian Blonde Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Triple-Dry Bohemian Pils (5.7%):

A Bohemian Pilsner is one of the world’s most noted beer styles. In its historical form, it is a clean and refreshing lager that enjoys a wonderful floral hop character, derived most notably from the famous Czech aroma hop, Saaz. The Baird May Hop Madness take on this classic style is unique — we dry-hop this Pilsner on three separate occasions using a blend of three wonderfully aromatic continental hops (Saaz, Tettnanger and Spalter). This is not your grandfather’s Pils!

Triple-Dry Bohemian Pils is available for immediate general release in both kegs and bottles (630 ml).

*4-S Belgian Blonde Ale (5.5%):

Crisply fruity, dry and refreshing are descriptors that come to mind with mention of a Belgian Blonde Ale. Our version is also very hoppily aromatic. We brew (and dry-hop) 4-S with a combination of four hop varieties all beginning with the letter ‘S’: Sterling, Santiam, Saaz, Styrian Golding. The result is a light yet intricately complex ale.

4-S Belgian Blonde Ale is available also for immediate general release in both kegs and bottles (630 ml).

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, 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,
Susan at Arkonlite, 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:

Bars, Beer, 美食, 酒, 観光, 魚, 魚海の幸, 農業, Fashion, Food, Food Health, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Tourism

Food & Drink Bloggers in Japan (May 2012)

May 21, 2012 dragonlife 12 Comments

The number of foreigners and Japanese nationals who write about the food and drinks in Japan in English (or at least answer comments in English) has remarkably increased lately.
I thought it was about time to start some kind of round-up to help people discover these deserving foodies and their blogs!The list below is far from exhaustive, but I’m planning to update and announce it regularly!
Of course if you know more foodies residing in Japan, do please direct them to me and I will introduce them gladly!

HOKKAIDO TRIBE
(Hokkaido Island)
Meishu no Yutaka by Carlin

TOHOKU TRIBE
(Northeastern Japan: Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima)
Cooking with Mama Miyuki in Sendai
Slow Food From Japan by Nigel Fodgen in Miyagi Prefecture.

KANTO TRIBE
(Eastern Japan: Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa)
Japan Eat’s Videos
Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton
Watch Japan in Tokyo
Little Japan Mama in Tokyo
Japan Eats (featured on request)
47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities By Sara and Roshni in Tokyo
Eating Out in Tokyo with Dominic Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass by Melinda Joe in Tokyo
Tokyo Foodcast by Etsuko Nakamura in Tokyo
Sake World by John Gauntner in Tokyo: The inernational Reference for Japanese Sake!
Tokyo Terrace by Rachael in Tokyo
Gaijin Tonic in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture
Nonjatta by Chris Bunting in Tokyo
The Soul Of Japan in Kanagawa Prefecture
Sake, kimono and Tabi In Tokyo
Tokyo Kawai, Etc… in Tokyo
Blue Lotus in Tokyo
The Japanese Food Report by Harris Salat in Tokyo
The Sake Chronicles in Tokyo
Watashi to Tokyo by Mari Kanazawa in Tokyo
Japanese Food-Food Lover’s Guide by Yukari Yamamoto in Tokyo
Gaijin Life by a Canadian gentleman in Tokyo
Leo’s Japan Food Blog in Tokyo
Eating Out In Tokyo With Jon
Fugu Tabetai in Tokyo
Japan Style in Tokyo
COCO’s Oriental Kitchen by angela Cooper in Tokyo
Free Online Japanese Food Recipes in Tokyo
Reminiscenec in Tokyo
Cooking Japanese Style By Naoko, in Tokyo

CHUBU TRIBE
(Central Japan: Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi)
Good Beer & Country Boys in Aichi Prefecture
Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonbayashi in Shizuoka City!
Damonde Life by Matt Ryan in Hamamatsu & Enshu, shizuoka Prefecture
Mangantayon in Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Gourmet, Shizuoka Sake, Shizuoka Sushi, Shizuoka Shochu in Shizuoka Prefecture
Bryan Baird’s Beer & Brewery in Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture
A Modern Girl from Niigata and all over Japan!

KANSAI TRIBE
(Western Japan: Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Kyoto, Wakayama)
Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
Yellin Yakimono Gallery by Robert Yellin in Shizuoka Prefecture, just moved to Kyoto!
Colorfood Daidokoro in Osaka (Englis & French)
Dominique Corby In Osaka (in French, but can answer and read in English)
Nagaijin in Osaka
Kyoto Foodie in Kyoto
Our Adventures in Japan by K and S Minoo in Osaka
Japan Food Addict by Mai in Kyoto

CHUGOKU
(“Central Country”: Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi)
“Made in Matsue” in Shimane prefecture
Get Hiroshima Blog in Hiroshima
The Wide Island Review, The JET Programme Webzine Of Hiroshima Prefecture (includes food & drink articles)

SHIKOKU
(Shikoku Island: Kagawa, Kochi, Ehime, Tokushima)
Obachan’s Kitchen & Garden Balcony in Kochi Prefecture
Still Clumsy With Chopsticks in Kochi Prfecture (Continuation of Obachan’s Kitchen & Garden Balcony)
Rocking in Hakata by Deas Richardson

KYUSHU
(Kyushu Island: Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Saga, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima)
Finding Fukuoka
Food from Fukuoka, Kyushu and Japan by Fumiko Soda
Fukuoka Sake Guide by Daisuke Ito
Quixotidienne in Kagoshima Prefecture

OKINAWA
(Okinawa Archipelago)
HWN Pake in Okinawa in Chatan, Okinawa
I’m sorry to say that Nate has just passed away and that his blog has disappeared, but I’ll keep it there as it is in his memory!
Dojo Bar in Naha
Eating Okinawa
Okinawa Hai!
Total Okinawa

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Beer, Beer Brewery, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/05/16): More May Hop Madness Seasonal Releases

May 16, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

More May Hop Madness Seasonal Releases

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

As you know, we have dedicated the month of May to our good friend, the Hop. The May Hop Madness continues today with the general release of two more hop-forward brews: Spalter Golden Ale and Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Spalter Golden Ale (4.7%):

Spalter is one of the hops in the pantheon of great German aroma hops. 2012 marks our first usage of this historical hop. To give both us as brewers and you as drinkers a good feel for the nature of this hop, we have brewed a simple, moderate-gravity golden ale that is hopped exclusively (bittering, flavor and aroma) with Spalter. Floral, herbal, grassy are all adjectives that pop to mind as I imbibe this wonderfully balanced and refreshing Teutonic Golden Ale.

*Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale (6.2%):

This is our second year brewing Hop Havoc; it took a full year for our taste-buds to recover from the hop assault delivered in year one. The malt bill here is one that would constitute a strong pale ale (starting gravity of 13.8 Plato), but the hop charge is one you would find in a double IPA (90 BUs in the kettle and whirlpool; double dosings of dry-hops using a combination of Citra, Simcoe and NZ Cascade). Put simply, this is Hop Madness!

Both beers are available for immediate release in both kegs and bottles (630 ml).

Meanwhile, Hop Madness Month continues at all four of our Taproom pubs. Keep checking in regularly to see what is on tap so as to make progress with that Hop Madness stamp card. Be one of the select few to have enjoyed all sixteen of our Hop Madness brews before the month is up.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/05/09): Nakameguro Tap 4-Year Anniversary; New Seasonal Releases — Saison Sayuri and Continental IPA

May 10, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Nakameguro Tap 4-Year Anniversary; New Seasonal Releases — Saison Sayuri and Continental IPA

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The greater Tokyo area has always constituted the primary market for Baird Beer. In fact, even though our brewery and first Taproom business (Fishmarket Taproom) were started and are based in Numazu, Shizuoka, it would be no exaggeration to state that we survived our first decade because of the fan base in Tokyo.

It was four years ago this month that we finally brought our Taproom concept to where the action was — Tokyo. We opened the Nakameguro Taproom on May 10, 2008. We will be celebrating the 4-year anniversary of our Nakameguro Taproom beginning this Thursday, May 10.

Upcoming Taproom Events:
*Nakameguro Taproom 4-Year Anniversary Celebration (Thurs-Sun, May 10-14):

This 4th birthday party promises to be a culinary, as well as beer, treat as new head chef Joon and his kitchen staff are planning a special menu of French brasserie style dishes. Menu highlights include: Quiche with homemade smoked bacon and cheddar cheese; “Palourdes Sayuri” with Frites (Saison Sayuri steamed clams with fries); and Morning Coffee Stout Float with Maris Otter Tuile. (Go to the Nakameguro Taproom blog for a complete menu listing: http://bairdbeer.com/ja/blog_nakameguro/). For those of you who have not been by to meet and taste the wonderful food of Chef Joon, this is a golden opportunity.

Of course no Taproom birthday celebration would be complete without a special commemorative batch of Baird Beer. This year, our brewers are honoring the Nakameguro Taproom with NT-4 Belgian Real Red Ale. This spicy and fruity Belgian-yeast fermented red ale (ABV 6.6%) is to be served de-gassed as ‘real ale’ dispensed through an English hand-pump — a first for us with a Belgian yeast beer. NT-4 Belgian Real Red Ale will be tapped at the opening of business on Thursday, May 10.

May 10 also happens to be the birthday of my partner and wife, Sayuri, and she and I will be celebrating at the Nakameguro Taproom with the sneak-preview release of Saison Sayuri 2012. Please plan to join us for what promises to be a deliciously fun celebration.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Saison Sayuri 2012 (ABV 6%):

Saison is an idiosyncratic Belgian-style beer of moderate strength that tends to be spicy and highly refreshing. Sayuri, of course, is my wife and partner and matron saint of Baird Beer. Saison Sayuriis my annual birthday tribute to this lovely woman. The 2012 version is brewed with small spice-like additions of the peels and fresh juice of local aoshima mikan fruit from the local orchard of our carpenter and friend, Nagakura-san. The result is a piquantly quenching brew that still manages a great, albeit understated, depth of character.

Saison Sayuri will be available both in kegs and bottles (630 ml) at Baird Beer retailing pubs, restaurants and liquor stores beginning Friday, May 11.

*Continental IPA (ABV 6.7%):

This is our first go at an India Pale Ale brewed entirely with continental European malt and hops — malt being German and Slovenian, hops being all German (70 BUs in the kettle and whirlpool; double dry-hopping with a combination of Tradition, Spalter, Tettnanger, and Hersbrucker). The character is wonderfully herbal and floral.

Continental IPA is part of our May Hop Madness Month event which is ongoing at all of our Taproom pubs. It will be available both on draught and in bottles (630 ml) at other Baird Beer retailing pubs, restaurants and liquor stores beginning Friday, May 11.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/05/03): Upcoming Event: Nakameguro Taproom 4-Year Birthday Celebration

May 3, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Upcoming Event: Nakameguro Taproom 4-Year Birthday Celebration

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

May Hop Madness Month is not the only gig we got going on at our Taprooms this month. May 10 is a day of two significant birthdays for us — my wife and Baird Beer matron saint, Sayuri’s, and the Nakameguro Taproom’s. Nakameguro Taproom is turning four, Sayuri 4x.

Please join Sayuri and me for a double birthday celebration at the Nakameguro Taproom on Thursday, May 10. Beer highlights will include the 2012 debut tapping of Saison Sayuri, my annual beer tribute to her, as well as the unveiling of NT-4 Belgian Real Red Ale, our first go at a Belgian yeast-fermented real ale dispensed via hand-pump. Even more glorious, though, will be the special Belgian Brasserie-inspired food menu being put together by our extraordinarily gifted new head chef, Joon Ou. If you haven’t yet had a chance to sample the amazing beer cuisine that Chef Joon has been crafting since his start a month ago, this is your opportunity.

More event details will be forthcoming shortly. In the meantime, enjoy a very hoppy May!

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/04/30): May is Hop Madness Month; Two New Hoppy Seasonal Releases

April 30, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

May is Hop Madness Month; Two New Hoppy Seasonal Releases

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

As you know, hops are dear to the hearts of the brewers of Baird Beer. We simply love hop character in beer. The hop is so important to us, in fact, that we have decided to designate May as “Hop Madness Month,” and to celebrate it through the release of sixteen different varieties of hop-forward beer. The May Hop Madness Month beer menu reads as follows:

May Hop Madness Month Baird Beer Menu:

Bohemian Pale Ale (5.0%): Saaz hops and floor-malted Bohemian barley (handpump)
Spalter Golden Ale (4.7%): Famous Spalter aroma hops from Germany
Summit IPA (6.7%): These IPAs share the same recipe but a different US hop
Chinook IPA (6.7%): These IPAs share the same recipe but a different US hop
Columbus IPA (6.7%): These IPAs share the same recipe but a different US hop
Nelson Sauvin IPA (6.7%): Same IPA recipe, different New Zealand hop
Daidai IPA (6.5%): Fruited & dry-peeled IPA
Teikoku IPL (6.5%): Our Year-round IPA fermented with our lager yeast
Continental IPA (6.7%): Double dry-hopped with 4 continental European hops
Triple-Dry Bohemian Pils (5.7%): Triple dry-hopped Bohemian-style Pilsner
Suruga Bay Belgian Imperial IPA (7.7%): Belgian yeast fermented Suruga Bay
Belgian Strong Pale Ale (8.0%): Dry-hopped with 6 European hop varieties
4-C Strong Pale Ale (6.0%): Hopping with Columbus, Chinook, Citra, Cascade
4-S Belgian Blonde Ale (5.5%): Hopping with Sterling, Santiam, Saaz, Styrian Gold
Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale (6.2%): 90 IBU pale ale that is double dry-hopped
Red Hop Ale (5.7%): Hoppy American-style Red Ale (handpump)
We are kicking off May Hop Madness Month with today’s general release of the following two beers: Daidai IPA and Teikoku IPL.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Daidai IPA (ABV 6.5%):

Daidai is an extremely aromatic and tartly sour local citrus fruit that we marry together with three powerfully fruity varieties of American hops: Citra, Simcoe and Chinook. 65 bittering units of hops in the kettle provide a magnificent stage for the daidai fruit performance that happens in the whirlpool (juice and peels) and then again in the conditioning tank (dry-peeling). The result is magnificent — an IPA like no other.

Daidai IPA is available in both kegs and bottles (630 ml) and will be pouring from taps all over Japan (including our own Taprooms) beginning Tuesday, May 1.

*Teikoku IPL (ABV 6.5%):

Teikoku IPA, of course, is our year-round India Pale Ale whose signature character derives from the deft combination of three varieties of earthy and spicy aroma hops — Kent Goldings from England, Styrian Goldings from Slovenia, and Glacier from the United States. A robust malt backbone courtesy of floor-malted Maris Otter barley from England makes Teikoku an extraordinarily balanced and thoughtful IPA.

Teikoku IPL is the lager version of Teikoku IPA — we ferment it with our Numazu Lager yeast rather than our house ale yeast. Drinking the two (IPA and IPL) side by side provides a wonderful edification in the flavor differences derived from a single source — yeast.

Teikoku IPA also is available in both kegs and bottles (630 ml) and will be pouring from taps all over Japan (including our own Taprooms) beginning Tuesday, May 1.

May Hop Madness Month @ Baird Beer Taprooms:

During the month of May, all sixteen of the hop-forward beers on the May Hop Madness Baird Beer Menu above will be on tap at one time or another at all four of the Baird Beer Taproom pubs. The Nakameguro and Bashamichi Taprooms will devote five taps at all times to a rotation of the Hop Madness beers; the Harajuku and Fishmarket Taprooms will be pouring 2 to 4 varieties at any one time. Each Taproom will be blogging regularly about the daily lineup of Hop Madness beers that will be pouring from its taps.

There will be available at each Taproom stamp cards that we call the May Hop Madness Baird Beer Card. Any customer who enjoys all sixteen varieties and thus completes the stamp card before the end of May will receive his or her choice of a free Baird Beer T-shirt or Baird Beer logo glass (any variety). The May Hop Madness Taproom Baird Beer Card can be used at any of our four Taproom locations. It is not a pre-paid card. You may receive one at any Taproom beer counter beginning May 1– just ask a staff member.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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, Beer Brewery, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/04/12): More Spring Seasonal Releases: Four Sisters & Pacific Century

April 12, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

More Spring Seasonal Releases: Four Sisters & Pacific Century

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Every season is a good season for characterful craft beer; spring, though, being a time of new beginnings, seems a particularly propitious season for the release of exciting and innovative beer styles. Today I am happy to announce the 2012 release of two terrific spring seasonal brews: Four Sisters Spring Bock and Pacific Century Citrus IPA.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Four Sisters Spring Bock 2012 (ABV 7.5%):

Baird Four Sisters Spring Bock is brewed in the spirit of a German Maibock, albeit one of the type that was brewed centuries ago in the city of Einbeck and that was noted for its generous use of malted wheat. Four Sisters Spring Bock sports a deep copper-gold color and enjoys a sweet floral nose from aroma additions of German Hersbrucker hops. In the mouth, a rich malty character will introduce itself before quickly giving way to an extremely smooth, round finish in which a hint of honeyed-malt flavor and warm alcohol character lingers.

Four Sisters Spring bock is available on draught and a small quantity of bottles (630 ml) will be for sale through our brewery E-shop.

*Pacific Century Citrus IPA 2012 (ABV 7.5%):

We have brewed this unique IPA annually for the past several years, each time combining a different local citrus fruit with a changing blend of hop varieties. This year we chose aoshima mikans as the citrus fruit and combined them with the following blend of hops: Magnum, Nelson Sauvin, Cascade, Santiam and Ahtanum. The result is a deeply complex IPA that enjoys a nuanced and layered citrus-fruit character.

Pacific Century Citrus IPA is available in both kegs and bottles (630 ml). Quantities are limited and sold on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/04/04): Three Spring Seasonal Releases

April 4, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Three Spring Seasonal Releases

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

April in Japan coincides with the new school and business year. The scene around Tokyo is of thousands of newbusiness suit-cladded shain (company employees) shuffling around apprehensively from one orientation meeting to another. When they are not attending indoctrination rallies, they are busy carrying out their first corporate assignment: organizing and reserving space for the company Hanami party. Hanami parties in Japan, of course, involve consumption of copious amounts of alcoholic beverages. It is one of our spring seasonal missions at Baird Beer to class up the alcohol beverage scene at Hanami parties. In addition to our terrific lineup of year-round beer, this year we are releasing three wonderful seasonal brews tailored especially for this rite-of-passage month: Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale, Pawa-Hara Golden Ale, and Temple Garden Yuzu Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale (ABV 8.5%):

The inspiration for this refreshing, effervescent yet potent brew is the renowned Belgian classic, Duvel. The key attributes of Duvel are light body, high alcohol, and spritzy effervescence. We aim for the light body and strong alcohol through a high starting gravity (18 Plato) that contains a large amount of Japanese korizato sugar (25 percent). High attenuation and natural carbonation through secondary fermentation in package provide the sprite, refreshing character. A touch of spicy-floral hop flavor and aroma (Sterling, Saaz, Styrian Golding) helps to round out the character.

Bureiko jikan (literally, “time for impertinence“) is a classic Japanese cultural construct: it is a time when, generally fueled by alcohol, the strict bonds of hierarchical relationships melt away and individuals on the lower rungs of those relationships can let their true feelings and frustrations out without threat of later recrimination. It is a cathartic venting mechanism that effectively perserves the hierarchical system of relationships here. So, invite your boss or senpai out for a Baird Beer, order up a glass of Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale, and let it fly!

Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale is available for immediate release in both kegs and bottles (630 ml).

*Pawa-Hara Golden Ale (ABV 6.5%):

Recently I have heard of a new and interesting Japanese cultural construct which is essentially the polar opposite of bureiko jikan. Japanese call it pawa-hara which is short for “power harassment”. This is a situation in which someone on the top rungs of the hierarchical relationship ladder invites underlings out for a drink and bite with the express intent of bullying and berating them. Alcohol, it seems, fuels this newly coined social custom too.

Well, if this is going to take place, we feel there needs to be a good beer suitable to the occasion. Our answer: Pawa-Hara Golden Ale. The recipe is exactly the same as Bureiko Jikan, only the original gravity (14.2 Plato), alcohol (6.5%) and hop bittering units (20) have been lowered somewhat. The result is a beer of seductive but not overwhelming strength; ideal for buttering someone up for the lambasting to come!

Due to its experimental social nature, and the fact that it is a small batch yielding only a minimal number of kegs, Pawa-Hara Golden Ale will be available on draught exclusively at our Taproom pubs. If you are a person in a position of power and need to berate the troops a bit, come on in to a Taproom — we got the elixir you’ll need!

*Temple Garden Yuzu Ale (ABV 5.5%):

This lovely spring ale is brewed with wonderfully piquant and aromatic yuzu fruit that is local and fresh. To put it simply, this is a sublime fruited ale. Because it is our policy to use only fresh fruit in season, and mostly local fruit, we can only brew Temple Garden once a year. Sadly, our supply of yuzu fruit was very limited this year enabling us to brew only two small batches. This has yielded only a very small quantity of kegs and no bottles. We apologize to all good Baird Beer retailing accounts that are unable to procure Temple Garden Yuzu Ale this year. We will do our best to find and procure more yuzu fruit next year and turn it into a far greater volume of this one-of-a-kind ale.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, 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,
Susan at Arkonlite, 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

Bars, Beer, Beer Brewery, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/03/09): A Season for Stout

March 27, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

A Season for Stout

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Stouts are top-fermented ales that are black in color. While the captivating mystery of Stout is tied to its midnight hue, the opaque darkness of the style also tends to camouflage the diversity of flavor inherent in it. This is a shame because all black beers most definitely are not the same. For me personally, exploration of the flavor diversity inherent in the Stout category has been a joyful road of discovery. Today, I would like to share some of that joy in the form of two special seasonal sweet stouts that we are releasing: Mama’s Milk Stout and Chocolate Wheat Stout.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Mama’s Milk Stout (5%):

Milk Stout is a stout of moderate gravity and alcohol that is brewed with a portion of milk sugar (lactose). This lactose is not fermentable by brewer’s yeast and thus remains in the beer after fermentation, contributing to the body and mouthfeel of the beer. Milk Stout was once thought to be a beer good for nursing mothers. The flavor is certainly one that makes the imbiber feel wholesomely nourished.

Mama’s Milk Stout is available on both draught and in bottles (630 ml).

*Chocolate Wheat Stout (5%):

This is another version of a sweet stout (i.e. a low-attenuated stout that is rich and full in body and mouthfeel). Normally, stouts derive their color and roasty character primarily from roast barely and/or black patent malt. This stout is brewed with a single specialty malt from Germany: chocolate wheat. Chocolate malt is less heavily roasted and charred than roast barely or black patent malt, while wheat tends to be lighter, tangier, and rounder in flavor than barley.

Chocolate Wheat Stout is available on draught only.

These unique seasonal stouts begin pouring today from the taps of our Taproom pubs. They will be available at other fine Baird Beer retailing establishments in Japan beginning Wednesday, March 28.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India
Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London
Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, 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,
Susan at Arkonlite, 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

Baird Beer, Bars, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/03/09): Seasonal Release: Second Strike Apple Ale; Upcoming Taproom Event: Lucky 7 Stout Week

March 9, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Seasonal Release: Second Strike Apple Ale; Upcoming Taproom Event: Lucky 7 Stout Week

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

March is the month of dynamic transition from winter to spring. As brewers, we try to embody this change with equal dynamism in the lineup of beers which we release. Today we are tapping a seasonal beer whose beauty is fully intertwined with the bounty of nature: Second Strike Apple Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:

*Second Strike Apple Ale (ABV 5.5%): The concept, and the succulent Nagano prefecture apples, for this brisk and refreshing fruited ale, brewed for a third consecutive year, were provided by our friends at the Harajuku-based company Alias. This year we have lowered the wort strength considerably (from 13.6 to 11.9 plato) and lightened the hopping (25 to 15 IBUs) in order to accentuate more fully the wonderful flavor of the Nagano apples we use. We mashed long and low to achieve a very high fermentation attenuation (88.2%) and thus a dry, cider-like character. We fermented this year with our house Scottish ale yeast. The result is our best Second Strike Apple Ale to date.

Second Strike Apple Ale is on tap at each of our Taproom pubs and is available for immediate shipment (kegs and bottles) to Japan-based Baird Beer retailers.

Upcoming Taproom Events:
*Lucky 7 Stout Week @ Nakameguro Taproom (March 17 – March 23):

Each of the past several years we have used the Irish national holiday, St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), as an excuse to celebrate the quintessential Irish ale style — Stout. Stout, of course, is a wonderful pitch-black ale that enjoys many stylistic manifestations. We serve up seven different interpretations of Stout during our week-long celebration which we call Lucky 7 Stout Week. This year we will be holding Lucky 7 Stout Week at our Nakameguro Taproom, kicking off at noon on Saturday, March 17 and running through Friday, March 23.

The Stout list this year is as follows:

Mama’s Milk Stout
Chocolate Wheat Stout
Smoke & Fire Stout (brewed with smoked base malt and Habanero peppers)
Midnight Oil Export Stout
Morning Coffee Stout
Belgian Chocolate Stout
Dark Sky Imperial Stout
Our wonderful year-round Dry Irish Stout, Shimaguni Stout, will round out the Baird Stout lineup. Additionally, we plan to serve a few specialty guest Stouts from other world craft beer brewers. We also will make St. Patrick’s Day the occasion to tap our yearly ‘real ale’ tribute to Irish beer culture: Luck of the Irish Red Ale.

We will be selling special Lucky 7 Stout drink cards throughout the week and purchasing customers who complete the card during the week will be eligible for a raffle of special Baird Beer prizes. The NT kitchen will be serving seven Irish specialty dishes all week to match the stouts. Please follow the Nakameguro Taproom blog for more Lucky 7 Stout Week details as event kickoff approaches.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India
Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London
Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, 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,
Susan at Arkonlite, 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,