Tag Archives: 美食

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

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/12/28): The Dawn of a New Year

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

The Dawn of a New Year

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

It has become a Baird Beer tradition to greet the dawn of each new year with a special “First Brewed” (Hatsujozo) seasonal specialty beer. At the stroke of midnight on the evening of December 31, we — along with a host of other Baird Beer retailing pubs/restaurants in Japan — pour this commemorative Hatsujozo and share it with our fellow beer enthusiasts in a toast to the New Year.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:
*Hatsujozo 2012 Strong Belgian Gold (ABV 8%):

This year’s “First Brewed” is a take on a Belgian-style strong golden ale: a base-malt grist (Maris Otter, Pils, Munich, Sour) buttressed by a mammoth addition of Japanese korizato sugar that yields a strong 17.3 Plato wort; a moderate hopping regimen (30 IBU) that is conducted in five separate additions and combines nine different hop varieties (Motueka, Tradition, Perle, Vanguard, Glacier, Sterling, Hersbrucker, Saaz, Tettnanger); warm fermentation with our house Belgian ale yeast; and secondary fermentation and natural carbonation in package with the same Belgian ale strain. 2012 promises great things; Hatsujozo 2012 Strong Belgian Gold is the first it will deliver!

Hatsujozo 2012 is available this year exclusively in kegs. It is meant to be enjoyed at a fine pub or restaurant on draught and in the company of friends, family, colleagues and all the great people we count as beer enthusiasts.

Kampai to 2012!

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, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/12/22): A Time for Jubilation

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

A Time for Jubilation

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Life is a fleeting thing. Each of us is here but a very short time. The older we get, the more clearly we comprehend this inexorable reality. And despite the sometimes awful travails and the always regular monotony of life, it remains a mysteriously beautiful thing. The end-of-the-year holiday season provides wonderful occasion for reflection and appreciation of the joy of living.

At Baird Brewing, 0ur appreciation of this joy is manifested in a celebratory Christmas-New Year season holiday ale which we call Jubilation Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Jubilation Ale 2012 (ABV 7.5%):

This malty rich, festively red-hued ale derives its special character primarily from the addition of two wonderful local ingredients: (1) fully ripened and freshly picked figs (ichijiku) and (2) cinnamon twigs culled from a Japanese nikki tree. The full bodied character combined with the attendant alcohol strength will warm the flesh just as it brings jubilation to the soul.

Jubilation Ale will be available on draught and in bottles (633 ml) throughout Japan beginning Friday, December 23. Consumer purchases of bottles direct from the brewery are possible through our online E-Shop.

Holiday Season 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

美食, 観光, 魚, Fish, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, sushi, Tourism, 寿司

Sushi Set in a Shizuoka City Supermarket!

4 Comments

There is this kind of quaint rivalry between Tokyo and the rest of Japan when it comes to gastronomy, a situation which is fueled by some famous/notorious guides of international repute/disrepute for obvious financial reasons.
How many times was I told almost brutally by other expats living the grand life of Tokyo that nothing compares with the metropolis when it comes to gastronomy…
Admittedly some regions of Japan are grudgingly granted some kind of recognition, i.e. Kyoto, Hokkaido, etc. under the leadership of the media cited above, but for the rest….
The case of Shizuoka is particularly acute. Tokyo expats (not all, mind ou!) go as far as considering Izu Peninsula and Mount Fuji as their own back gardens!
The situation is purposefully exacerbated by most famous restaurants in the Capital who certainly do not wish people at large to know too much about Shizuoka Prefecture for the simple reason that many of them wouldn’t exist without the myriads of vegetables, meat and fish varieties produced here.
Just visit a supermarket in Shizuoka City and you will understand my meaning! Actually, I stopped completely eating in Tokyo! My money is better spent looking for the hidden treasures of faraway Prefectures.
Enough complaining, and just allow me to show you an example to illustrate this topic:
As the Missus was working today I was responsible for the shopping.

This is what I found at the nearby Shizutetsu Supermarket: a sushi set prepared by Uogashi Company (they have a branch in Yokohama), a fish and sushi company located in Numazu City, in the Eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture.

The price: 980 yen! Less than 10 Euros or 13 US $!

And all the ingredients are clearly indicated!
Actually, you could buy in lieu of a bento box!
All the fish comes from nearby seas!

Now, what do we have?

From top to bottom, left to right:
Maguro & maguro akami/鮪赤身/tuna lean part. Not the bluefin tuna, but most probably mebachi maguro/目鉢鮪/big eye tuna.
Ika/烏賊/Cuttlefish, most probably surume ika/鯣烏賊/Japanese flying squid.
Shiradai (also called Shirodai)/白鯛/”White seabream” (Gymnocranius euanus Günther).
Sanma/秋刀魚/Pacific saury topped with chopped leek.
Tachiuo/太刀魚/Scabbard fish or largehead hairtail.

From top to bottom, left to right:
Ika/烏賊/Cuttlefish, most probably surme ika/鯣烏賊/Japanese flying squid.
Suzuki/鱸/Japanese seabass/seeperch.
Tamagoyaki/玉焼き/Japanese omelette.
Tachiuo/太刀魚/Scabbard fish or largehead hairtail.
Shirasu gunkan/シラス軍艦/A gunkan style sushi topped with raw sardine whitebait seasoned with chopped leek and ginger.
Sakuraebi Gunkan/桜海老軍艦/Cherry Shrimps seasoned with grated ginger.
You will not find the last two in Tokyo except in ridiculously priced exclusive restaurants!
Soy sauce and grated wasabi.

You will not find such a set at that kind of low price (if you are lucky enough to discover them fresh) for such variety and quality in Tokyo!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
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

Cocktails, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Fruit, Tourism

Fruit Cocktails by Wataru Matsumoto at Botanical (1): Kiwi Fruit!

2 Comments

Service: Pro and very friendly.
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Splendid washroom.
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Great fruit cocktails. Always keen to learn from customers! Very comfortable cocktail bar.

Shizuoka Prefecture is actually the third producer of kiwi fruits in Japan way ahead of the rest!
It is full season for all kind of varieties during the winter and here is a basic recipe for any kind of this exquisite fruit!

RECIPE:

Kiwi fruit: 1
Home-made limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur)
Sugar syrup: 1 teaspoon
Ice
Tonic water

Peel and manually crush the kiwi fruit finely to a pulp.
Pour inside the glass part of a Boston Shaker with all the other ingredients.
Shake well.
Take out cleanly half of the ice.
Add tonic water and stir gently.
Pour the lot in a tulip glass and decorate with fresh mint.

A very refreshing liquid dessert!
Great balance between sweetness and tanginess!
As it is low in alcohol it will suit young people and ladies!
It actually contains an excellent amount of very healthy ingredients thanks to the fresh kiwi, the lemon and the mint!

BOTANICAL (Comfort Bar)
420-0082 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Ryogae-cho, 1-6-13, Shade Bldg, 1F
Tel.: 054-221-8686
Opening hours: 17:00~01:00
Closed on Mondays.
Credit Cards OK

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
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

Bars, Cocktails, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bartenders Club Shizuoka 2: Wataru Matsumoto at Botanical

Leave a comment

Service: Pro and very friendly.
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Splendid washroom.
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Great fruit cocktails. Always keen to learn from customers! Very comfortable cocktail bar.

The Bartenders Club Shizuoka was founded last month by 7 celebrated bartenders all owning their own cocktail bar in Shizuoka City to not only promote their businesses and make fruit cocktails in particular more accessible to customers but also to make products and their farmers better known to the public.
From January they will create cocktails from a designated Shizuoka producer and his/her fruit or vegetable at regular intervals.
Moreover, the producer will be introduced in blogs and bars to prove the traceability and safety of the delicious fruit or vegetables.

But let me continue the introduction of those seven “samurai” and their establishments with Wataru Matsumoto at Botanical!

Wataru Matsumoto/松本亙 at Botanical (Comfort Bar) is not only an expert at his trade but is always keen to venture onto new paths and promote his peers!
Actually his establishment has turned into the meeting point of officionados always ready to share their views and enthusiasm with their neighbors whatever their social standing. Botanical is the place if you enjoy a nice and productive chat with your fellow drinkers and Wataru!

Kiwi cocktail (recipe in the next article!)

Wataru had already no less than 16 years in the trade in two different establishments before going independent with his cocktail bar Botanical (Comfort Bar) away from the bustle of central Shizuoka City on the 25th of July 2009.
His establishment looks like a European brick house with windows allowing for a discreet peek inside or outside ensuring both enough privacy and openness.

Wataru naturally will produce exquisite fruit and vegetables cocktails but will also please everyone with an enormous range of cocktails, fruit juices and even delicious coffe and tea for the non-drinkers you might encourage to come!

BOTANICAL (Comfort Bar)
420-0082 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Ryogae-cho, 1-6-13, Shade Bldg, 1F
Tel.: 054-221-8686
Opening hours: 17:00~01:00
Closed on Mondays.
Credit Cards OK
RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
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

Bars, Cocktails, 美食, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

Fruit Cocktails by Masato Matsumura at Juillet (1): Squat Persimmon

Leave a comment

Service: Pro and very friendly, if a bit shy
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom.
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Great fruit cocktails. Doubles up as a coffee-bar. One of the rare establishments selling top-class cigars!

Squat Persimmons, called jirou Kaki/次郎柿 in Japanese) were actually first grown in Shizuoka Prefecture back in the 19th Century!
There are in full season now and can be appreciated as fruits, vegetables for salads and of course as cocktails!

RECIPE

Ripe squat persimmon: 1/2 (one half)
Havana Club Rum (red): 40 ml
Orange juice: 15 ml
Home-made Star Anise syrup: 2 drops
Crushed ice: 1 tablespoon

Peel and cut the persimmon in quarters and drop all ingredients inside a blender bowl. Use blender or even better a bar mix blender to attain the right consistency. Do not overblend it as it will become too liquid.
Pour in a semi-long glass.

Very deep and fruity taste with a great balance between acidity and sweetness with a tangy note, the whole enhancing greatly the exotic flavors of the persimmon!

To drink slowly!

JUILLET
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajyo, 2-10-8, Passsage Takjyo, 1F
Tel,: 054-273-5755
Opening hours: 12:00^24:00 (~21:00 on Sundays)
Closed on Wednesdays
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
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

Bars, Cocktails, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bartenders Club Shizuoka 1: Masato Muramatsu at Juillet

2 Comments

Service: Pro and very friendly, if a bit shy
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom.
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Great fruit cocktails. Doubles up as a coffee-bar. One of the rare establishments selling top-class cigars!

The Bartenders Club Shizuoka was founded last month by 7 celebrated bartenders all owning their own cocktail bar in Shizuoka City to not only promote their businesses and make fruit cocktails in particular more accessible to customers but also to make products and their farmers better known to the public.
From January they will create cocktails from a designated Shizuoka producer and his/her fruit or vegetable at regular intervals.
Moreover, the producer will be introduced in blogs and bars to prove the traceability and safety of the delicious fruit or vegetables.

But let me first introduce those seven “samurai” and their establishments starting with Masato Muramatsu at Juillet!

Juillet is located in a very quiet neighborhood on the firstt floor the “Passage Takajyo” building in Takajyo, a district replete with higher quality great restaurants, izakayas and bars.

You will be forgiven if you think it is another fashion shop at first!
But newcomers will soon discover this is a little haven away from the crowds all in sober and elegant white surroundings.

Actually Juillet is open at unusual hours (12:00~24:00) as it doubles up as a coffee-bar all day, too, where one can savor Masato’s wife’s cakes and his own scones!

Before Masato, a native from Yaizu City, opened his cocktail bar in December 2010 he had already had spent 15 years in the trade in the Kansai region and Kyoto where he met his future wife!

Shizuoka squat persimmon cocktail (recipe in next article!)

Masato is not only an expert in fruit cocktails, but he will be happy to concoct fresh fruit juice for non-drinkers apart of coffee, tea and soft drinks!

And Juillet is one of the rare establishments providing cigars of the best class!

JUILLET
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajyo, 2-10-8, Passsage Takjyo, 1F
Tel,: 054-273-5755
Opening hours: 12:00^24:00 (~21:00 on Sundays)
Closed on Wednesdays
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
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

美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Japan, Shizuoka, Tourism

Italian Cuisine with Shizuoka Ingredients at Aquavite (Fall~Winter 2011)

Leave a comment

Service: Excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great and very large washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable to expensive.
Strong Points: Local ingredients used whenever possible. Top-class Italian wines. Private room for~8 people.

Aquavite has achieved a long-standing reputation not only for its high-level Italian cuisine and atmosphere, but also for their constant efforts to use as many local ingredients as possible be they from the land or the sea!
I paid a belated visit recently in the company of some friends as three is definitely better than one to try and savor as many dishes as possible!
So with the expert help of Chef Masaru Aoki/青木勝 we carved our way through the following dinner!

Organic vegetables from Shizen no Chikara Farm in Shizuoka City served with bania cauda sauce!

Vegetables from Shizen no Chikara are fast becoming the reference in this city!
If you are vegetarian or vegan ask for a high class olive oil!

Bread is always baked on site!

A plate of appetizers. Even the Bioran eggs and jumbo peanuts are from Shizuoka!

Sauteed Isaki/Chicken Grunt Fish and red squid from the Suruga Bay with organic vegetables!

Cooked to perfection!

A vegan plate of organic vegetables/tubers from Shizen no Chikara Farm in Shizuoka City and Matsu Bio Farm in Fujinomiya City!

For a better view!

Home-made Tagliatelle!

Fresh porcini mushrooms from Italy!

Creamy Porcini Tagliatelle! That dish alone would guarantee a visit!

Real Mont Blanc with the chestnuts at the bottom and the cream on top!
Chef aru Aoki/青木勝’s desserts are definitely of a rare class!

how about that for Tiramisu!

But the caramel pudding is a real sin!

To be followed…

AQUAVITE
Address: 420-0034 Shizuoka Shi, Tokiwa-cho, 1-2-7, Tomii Bldg. 3F
Tel. & fax: 054-2740777
Opening hours: 11:30~14:00 18:00~22:00
Homepage (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK
Smoking allowed. Private room can be made non-smoking

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
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

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

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/12/14): Holiday Season News: Beer Releases, Upcoming Events, Taproom Schedules

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

Holiday Season News: Beer Releases, Upcoming Events, Taproom Schedules

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The end-of-the-year holiday season is upon us once again. Although 2011 has been a trying year in Japan, we hope everyone may enjoy more than a little peace and happiness during the Christmas and O-shogatsu season. We take great joy in our fortune to be able to celebrate this special season each year with our many customer-friends. We hope to provide you many reasons to get out and share the holiday happiness with your fellow beer enthusiasts. Let me list several of these reasons below.

New Baird Beer Holiday Seasonal Releases:
*Midnight Oil Export Stout (ABV 6.5%): In a change from tradition, we are moving up to December the release of our annually brewed foreign export stout, Midnight Oil. Why? I tasted a test bottle a few days back and felt it so richly delicious, and so appropriate to this warm and festive season, that I couldn’t hold back.

Export stouts generally are rich and roasty in flavor, moderately high in alcohol strength, and sport some noticeable hop character (normally registering in terms of bitterness and flavor). Baird Midnight Oil Export Stout enjoys a complexly layered roasted malt (barley & wheat) character that is balanced beautifully by just a kiss of caramel sweetness. An unctuous, oily smoothness brings about a perfect finish.

Midnight Oil Export Stout begins pouring from our Taproom taps today, December 14. It also will be available at other fine Baird Beer retailing pubs, restaurants and liquor shops beginning December 15. The bottle-conditioned version (633 ml) will also be available for purchase direct from the brewery through our online E-Shop.

*Upcoming Holiday Seasonal Releases: Mark you calendar for Friday, December 23 (which is a Japan national holiday). This will be the release date for our special holiday season spiced ale — Jubilation Ale. Brewed with Japanese figs (ichijiku) and cinnamon twigs (nikki), Jubilation Ale is a Christmas and O-shogatsu celebratory standout.

As many of you know, we also have established the custom of ringing the arrival of each new year with the December 31 stroke-of-midnight release of a special Hatsu-jozo (First-brew) beer. Hatsujozo 2012 is a strong golden ale fermented with our house Belgian ale yeast. Kampai toasts will be made with it at the countdown parties of many Baird Beer retailing establishments in Japan, including our own Taproom pubs (which will pour a complimentary glass to attending patrons to celebrate the first toast of 2012).

Upcoming Taproom and Beer Events:
*Special Cheese & Beer Tasting @ Nakameguro Taproom on Sunday, December 18 (1:00 – 3:00 pm): We are teaming with Nagano-based cheese expert, Ms. Tomoko Tsuyuguchi, to introduce a marriage made in heaven — six gourmet cheeses paired with a selection of Baird Beers. We’ll provide a bit of history and guidance (in Japanese); the fun part, though, will be arriving at your own conclusions with regard to the perfect beer/cheese matchup. Cost is 4,500 yen per person. There are only a few spaces remaining, so kindly RSVP to the Nakameguro Taproom staff as soon as possible (nakameguro-tap@bairdbeer.com or 03-5768-3025).

*Grand Opening of Goodbeer Faucets on Sunday, December 18: A brand new 40-tap craft beer pub in the heart of Shibuya called Goodbeer Faucets is opening its doors for business on December 18. In addition to other great domestic and international craft beers, this will be the first non-Taproom pub in Tokyo to pour the entire lineup (year-round and seasonal) of Baird Beer. These guys have a great concept in a great location. Check them out at http://goodbeerfaucets.jp.

*Christmas Celebration @ Nakameguro Taproom (Friday-Sunday, December 23-25): Opening at noon each day of this 3-day Christmas weekend, the Nakameguro Taproom kitchen will be featuring a special menu of Christmas dishes. Jubilation Ale will debut on Friday, December 23.

*Countdown Parties @ Nakameguro, Bashamichi and Fishmarket Taprooms (Saturday, Dec. 31): Each of these Taprooms will be hosting festive New Year’s countdown parties. Nakameguro will be featuring a tasty all-you-can-eat buffet @ 1,500 yen per person and pouring Baird Beer at our low Numazu prices. Chuck and Ken at Bashamichi are busy formulating their own special New Year’s menu as I write. At our Numazu Fishmarket Taproom, we will be hosting, per our custom, an all-you-can-eat Mexican food buffet (1,500 yen per person; served from 5:00 – 10:00 pm) which will be spiced up with a open-mic karaoke night. Hatsujozo 2012 will be tapped at the stroke of midnight and one complimentary glass will be served to all patrons.

Taproom O-shogatsu Schedules:
*Numazu Fishmarket Taproom: Closed on January 1. Open for special O-shogatsu service on January 2-3 (noon to 9:00 pm). Closed on January 4-5. Resumes normal hours on January 6.

*Nakameguro Taproom: Closed January 1-2. Open for special O-shogatsu service on January 3 (noon to 9:00 pm). Resumes normal hours on January 4.

*Harajuku Taproom: Closed on December 31 (Tokyo countdown party @ Nakameguro). Open for special O-shogatsu service on January 1-4 (noon to 9:00 pm). Resumes normal hours on January 5.

*Bashamichi Taproom: Closed January 1-2. Open for special O-shogatsu service on January 3-5 (noon to 9:00 pm). Resumes normal hours on January 6.

We are looking forward to celebrating the season together with you.

Warm Holiday Cheer,

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, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2011/12/06): Two First-Time Seasonal Releases (Taste the Yeast Difference)

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

Two First-Time Seasonal Releases (Taste the Yeast Difference)

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Yeast is the most mysterious and arguably most important ingredient in beer. It is a living single-cell organism whose job in the brewery is to transform the sweet wort made by brewers into beer. It does this by eating the wort sugars and turning them into alcohol, CO2 and myriad other chemical byproducts. There exist many different strains of cultivated brewers’ yeast, each with a unique personality which imparts different characteristics to the fermented beer.

In the Baird Beer brewery, we employ three different strains of yeast to ferment our beer: (1) a Scottish ale yeast which is our main house strain, (2) a Belgian yeast strain noted for its use in witbier fermentations, and (3) a lager yeast known to be used widely in North American lager breweries. We selected these strains after many brewing trials because we felt they performed better than others given the processing techniques used at our brewery.

Recently, both for our own edification and that of our customers, we have been fermenting many of our year-round brands with a yeast strain other than the one we normally employ. Today we are releasing two more of these non-standard yeast fermented year-round beers: (1) Numazu Ale and (2) Red Rose Belgian Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:

*Numazu Ale (ABV 5.4%): Obviously, this is Numazu Lager fermented with an ale yeast (our Scottish ale strain). Drink this side-by-side Numazu Lager and witness for yourself the flavor difference between a lager and ale yeast fermentation.

*Red Rose Belgian Ale (ABV 5.8%): Yes, we have fermented Red Rose Amber Ale (normally done with our Scottish ale strain) with our Belgian ale strain. How similar are they? How different? What is the difference? Please taste it for yourself.

Both Numazu Ale and Red Rose Belgian Ale will begin pouring from our Taproom taps on Wednesday, December 7. They also will be available at other fine Baird Beer retailing establishments throughout Japan — in both draught and bottle (633 ml) form — beginning the same day.

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 (2011/11/22): Seasonal Release: West Coast Wheat Wine 2011

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

Seasonal Release: West Coast Wheat Wine 2011

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The onset of cooler weather and shorter days announces the arrival of the season for the enjoyment of hearty, warming and complexly potent ales. We are pleased to greet the season with the release of our 2011 version of West Coast Wheat Wine.
*West Coast Wheat Wine 2011 (ABV 9%):

New Seasonal Baird Beer Releases:

Wheat Wine is a beer style born on the U.S. West Coast in the 1980s, thought to have been originally brewed at the Rubicon brewery-pub in Sacramento, California. It has as its progenitor the British Barely Wine style. A Wheat Wine, generally, is characterized by a rich and hearty complexity that is lightened and made a touch sprite by a predominantly wheat, rather than barley, malt base. It is a style representative of the irreverent creativity and unrelenting passion that are hallmarks of craft brewing on the West Coast of the United States. Baird West Coast Wheat Wine is crafted in annual homage to the skilled brewing artisans and fearless beer entrepreneurs who have pioneered craft brewing on America’s great West Coast!

This 2011 version of West Coast Wheat Wine contains no character malt whatsoever and thus appears in a wonderfully hazy hue of sunset gold. The flavor is characterized by a deep, layered wheat malt complexity that is complemented beautifully by a citrus-fruit accented hop character (exclusive use of U.S. West Coast hops: Citra, Centennial, Cascade, Ahtanum). At packaging, West Coast Wheat Wine is krausened in order to add further flavor complexity and to produce a piquant all-natural carbonation.

West Coast Wheat Wine 2011 will begin pouring from our Taproom taps on Wednesday, November 23 (which happens to be a Japan national holiday — appreciation of labor day). It also will be available at other fine Baird Beer retailing pubs and restaurants throughout Japan. Bottles (633 ml) can be purchased by individual consumers direct from the brewery via our online E-Shop.

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, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Tourism

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

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

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

3 Comments

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

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

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

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!

2 Comments

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

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