Tag Archives: 酒

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

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2013/09/20): Fall Seasonal Release — Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale

September 21, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Fall Seasonal Release — Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

As is most often the case, summer in Japan gets blown out and autumn ushered in by the winds of a tempestuous typhoon. We are welcoming fall with today’s release of a beer that has become synonymous with the fall season: Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:
*Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale (ABV 7.5%):

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 glass is enough to take the bite out of the evening autumn chill. Two glasses will leave you toasty and blissfully warm. Three glasses and …. YABAI!

Yabai-Yabai begins pouring from our Taproom taps tonight (September 20) and is available in both kegs and bottles for immediate release to Baird Beer retailers throughout Japan.

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,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, 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, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, 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: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

美食, Drinks, 酒, 観光, 農業, Fujinomiya City, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Torigai

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Fuji-Takasago Brewery-Junmai Ginjo “Nama”

September 14, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a “nama”/unpasteurized sake by Fuji-Takasago Brewery in Fujinomiya City!
If you don’t want to spend or drink too much it is always a good idea to buy smaller bottles containing only 180 ml, or even drink two them if you want variation in low quantities!

I can recommend Cenova Department Store in Shizuoka as they take the pains of adding extra information!

Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 14.5 degrees
Dryness: + 4
Bottled in May 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Light golden
Aroma: Assertive. Dry and fruity. Pineapple, citruses.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Very dry attack wit strong junmai petillant.
Complex.
Lots of nuts.Oranges.
Lingers for a little while warming up the back of the palate.
Ends up on an even drier note with oranges, nuts, almonds, chestnuts.
tends to take a back step with food although junmai petillant is still very strong and dryness more accentuated with more nuts.

Overall: A sake for dry sake lovers!
Enjoyable with and away from food.
Strong in spite of normal alcohol content.
Tends to take a mellow turn once away fro food again.
Although I appreciated it on its ow, it is probably conceived to be drunk with heavy izakaya food.

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Shop with Intent by Debbie
BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,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, 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, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, 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
The Wine Wankers by Stuart in Australia!
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Senju Brewery-Oo Kara Kuchi-Kyoku +20 Honjozo

September 14, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

I already tasted this limited sake from Senju brewery in Iwata last year and am always looking frward to tasting it again every year as sake is never the same!
+ 20 means it is extremely dry, probably the record in Shizuoka Prefecture!

In any case they almost overstate it: Oo (very) Kara Juchi (dry) Kyoku (exceptional)!
This is an honjozo meaning that it needed a lot of work blending it with pure rice alcohol!

Rice milled down to 65%
Alcohol: 14~15 degrees
Bottled in August 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very light golden hue
Aroma: very light. Pears, custard. Dry and fruity
Body: very fluid
Taste: Very dry attack.
Complex, hard to “catch”.
Greens, nuts.
Marries exceptionally well with heavy izakaya food.
Disappears quickly on dry nutty note.
Always seems to incite you into the next cup!

Overall: A sake for izakaya food. Full stop.
Not the kind of sake you really want to extol on, but just drink!
Its extreme dryness makes for a great experience though.
Could be enjoyed at any temperatures but it should definitely be enjoyed lukewarm!

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Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2013/09/12): Baird Beer Seasonal Release: Kellerbock

September 12, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Baird Beer Seasonal Release: Kellerbock

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

There is enough diversity inherent in the flavor of beer for a brewer to be able, theoretically, to brew and release a different and distinctive beer every day of the year. Beer truly is the gift that never stops giving. Today’s beer gift is Baird Kellerbock.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:
*Baird Kellerbock (6.5%):

Bock is a strong, malt-centric lager of German origin. Bock beers have historically been associated with special occasions — religious festivals and whatnot. They also enjoy a long history of being brewed and consumed by Bavarian monks as a source of nutrition during times of fasting.

Baird Kellerbock is an unfiltered and secondarily fermented version of this old German style. It is chestnut-brown in color, richly luxuriant in texture, and hugely malty in flavor. It is a beautiful beer to imbibe in this season of dropping temperatures and shortening days.

Baird Kellerbock is available for immediate release in kegs only (no bottles). It begins pouring from the taps of our Taproom pubs tonight (Thursday, September 12).

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

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Shizuoka Beer: Naoki Mando and Aoi Beer Brewery in Shizuoka City!

September 10, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Naoki Mando/満藤直樹さん!

As I mentioned in my first report of the newest standing bar in Shizuoka City, namely Aoi Beer Stand, his owner, Naoki Mando/満藤直樹さん, will open the newest beer brewery/microbrewery in Shizuoka Prefecture, the 11th, by April 2014!

First of all, why the name “Aoi”?
Well, the address is Aoi Ku, and “Aoi/葵” means “Hollyhock” in Japanese, whose leaves are represented on the family crest of Tokugawa Ieyasu who retired to shizuoka City, then Sumpu, at the beginning of the 16th Century!

The ever-changing craft beer menu at Aoi Beer Stand!

Naoki Mando founded BECK Co. Ltd. 4 years ago which firts included Mando Bar, Growstock Bar, Cherry Beans (sold since then) before opening Aoi Beer Stand in July this year.
Everything but the final estate agency contracts to be signed has been made ready.
The experienced brew master. mr. Kouichi Taka, from Ibaraki Prefecture, has been recruited from NEST BEER Co.
Aoi Beer craft beers will be served at the tap at Aoi Beer Stand, Mando, Growstock and in other establishments and marketed in and outside town.

Hansharo Porter from Kuraya-Nagasawa Brewery in Izu Peninsula!

Naoki will continue offering other craft beers from the Prefecture on a collaboration basis while serving at least 4 of his beers on the tap.
Among the regular and seasonal/limited beers he plans to offer next year one will have the pleasure to taste white beer, IPA pale ale and a novelty, kikuimo Beer!
Kikuimo/菊芋/is Jerusalem artichoke in English or Topinambour in French.
The concept is not only new but so interesting because kikuimo has been confirmed as natural medicinal plant effective for treating diabetes!
Which means that Diabetics will have a beer to enjoy at last!

Baird Beer Rising Sun!

Considering that craft beer breweries in our Prefecture are concentrated in the eastern and western part, having a new brewery right in the middle in Shizuoka City will at last fill a space for the pleasure of all true beer lovers!

Soon, as the sites have seen quite a few changes during the past year I will report anew on Mando, Growstock and the Oktober Fest events held there!

NAOKI MANDO
BECK Co. Ltd., Growstock, Mando, Aoi Beer
420-0031 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Gofuku-Cho, 2-4-6, Mori Bldg., 1F
Tel. & fax: 054-221-5103
Mobile: 090-3350-6208

AOI BEER STAND
420-0847 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyuki Cho, 4-6, Den bill, 1F
tel.: 054-260-5203
Opening hours: 11:00~23:00
Credit cards OK

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Shizuoka Shochu Tasting: Senju Brewery/Distillery-Ginjo Shikomi Honkaku Shochu 37

September 9, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Once again Sissi should be interested with this shochu made in Shizuoka!

it is a shochu made by Senju Brewery/distillery in Iwata City with sake lees.
Apparently making shochu directly from rice requires a different license! Otherwise it still can be called a rice shochu although by law it is a sake white lees shochu!

Sake (rice) white lees
Yeast: Shizuoka yeast
alcohol: 37 degrees

Clarity: very clear
Color: transparent
Aroma: distinctly fruity and extremely complex. Pears, nuts, vanilla, custard, almonds, umidofu (tofu variety)
Body: fluid
Taste: Very well-rounded and fruity attack.
Strong alcohol but very elegant and easy to drink.
Complex and very difficult to catch.
Dry chestnuts, dry custard, pears, fresh cream.
Stays very dry on the palate but tends to disappear on a sweeter note, this being certainly due to the variety of yeast used to make the sake whose white lees have been distilled into that shochu.
Extremely sophisticated for a shochu!

Overall: Best enjoyed on its own despite the strong alcohol at room temperature.
The distillers advise to enjoy it straight on plenty of ice.
At the most could be mixed with water.
Anything else would be tantamount to infanticide!
Drink it away or before/after a meal!
The perfect nightcap? Mind you it is strong so better use a chaser before hitting the sack!

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Beer Standing Bar: Aoi Beer Stand in Shizuoka City!

September 4, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer Rising Sun!

Service: Easy-going and smiling. Very hospitable and friendly
Facilities: Very clean overall. Washroom inside Den Bldg, extremely clean and modern
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive (but craft beer is never cheap!)
Strong points: All micro brewery craft beers!

After the recent complete overhaul of Den Building in Aoi Ku a few minutes walk form Shizuoka JR Station North exit, the large street and its pavements were also remade and now we find ourselves with a new space downtown which is slowly starting to attract a new crowd.

The latest addition is a minuscule standing bar called Aoi Beer Stand which opened on the 1st of July!
It is the last addition to Beck Co. Ltd which already owns Mando and Growstock bar/restaurants in Shizuoka City.
To start with the opening hours are a bit unusual: 11:00 am to 11:00 pm every day!

The name Aoi is fairly easy to explain as this bar is located in Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City!

But there is another reason. Mr. Mando, who I should interview soon, is planning to start a brewery of the same name in the very city of Shizuoka! I know where but as this is still confidential you will have to wait until next year for more information! Just know it will become the 11th craft beer brewery/microbrewery in the Prefecture! Whereas the average number of microbreweries in Japan is 5~6 per Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture is simply becoming a major area!

Ever-smiling Ryousuke Ono/大野良輔さん is looking after the place in day time whereas Mr. Mando take things in charge in the evenings.

Now, they serve only craft beer and absolutely nothing else!
For the moment they serve 6 craft beer from all over Japan (changing regularly), including 2 from Shizuoka prefecture.
When the new brewery starts they will probably serve only Shizuoka craft beer!
Note that the prices are for large glasses. Add 200 yen for a pint-sized glass.

Although the place can sit 6 people on high stool, the moment you have reached 7 guests the stools are pushed under the bar counter and you drink standing on some crowded nights patrons can be seen drinking standing on the pavement!

The door inside on the left does not lead to a washroom (which is located inside Den Building) but a minuscule cellar for the beer kegs as all beers are served draught!

The two Shizuoka craft beers presently on offer are from Baird Beer Co. in Numazu City!

Baird Beer Red Rose Amber Ale!

There is some food available though, but the accent is definitely on the beer!

Will come back with another interview of the owner and of his projects soon!

AOI BEER STAND
420-0847 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyuki Cho, 4-6, Den bill, 1F
tel.: 054-260-5203
Opening hours: 11:00~23:00
Credit cards OK

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Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2013/09/04): Baird Beer Seasonal Release — Wheat King Wit

September 4, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Baird Beer Seasonal Release — Wheat King Wit

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Ingredient experimentation in brewing is one of the key elements to innovation and flavor improvement. Brewing single-hop beers that share an identical recipe and differ only in hop variety is one way that we experiment with ingredients to understand particular flavor contributions. Fermenting a regular year-round beer with a different yeast strain than usual is another way we conduct this experimentation. Today we are happy to share with you the results of one of the latter experiments: Wheat King Wit.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:
*Wheat King Wit (ABV 4%):

Wheat King Ale, of course, is one of our current ten year-round beers. It is a beer designed to highlight the crisp, wholesome, bread-like characteristics imparted by wheat as opposed to barley, which normally dominates a recipes’ grist bill. Wheat King Ale is fermented with our house ale yeast, which is a very flavor-neutral strain (i.e. it ferments clean without imparting distinctly noticeable flavor attributes of its own).

Wheat King Wit, as the name implies, is our Wheat King Ale recipe fermented with a Belgian witbier yeast strain (the same one we use to ferment Single-Take Session Ale). Witbier yeast strains tend to impart distinctive fruit and phenolic flavors in the course of fermentation. Our witbier strain is more restrained than some, but the flavor difference between Wheat King Ale and Wheat King Wit is clear and interesting.

We are now accepting orders for Wheat King Wit. It is keg-only and will begin pouring from our Taproom taps tonight (Wednesday, September 4). By all means, avail yourself of this valuable beer tasting 101 flavor comparison opportunity — Wheat King Wit beside Wheat King Ale. Can you taste the difference? What is your preference?

And we have a special late-summer beer treat for our Taproom patrons — Chris’ Garden Cascade Hop Ale (4.5%). Draught beer manager Chris Madere’s home hop garden has just been through its third harvest, and as is often the case in hop growing, the third year is the charm. Chris’ 2013 organically grown Cascade hops were his best and most plentiful to date. We loaded about 500 grams of them in our 250 liter kettle in three different additions. We dosed another 400 grams in the conditioning tank in an aroma-imparting dry-hop addition. The base beer is a light golden ale of moderate starting gravity (11.7 Plato).

Chris’ Garden Cascade Hop Ale is available exclusively at Baird Taproom pubs and begins its run through our British real ale hand pumps tonight. Enjoy, and drink one to Chris!

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

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Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2013/09/01): Baird-Country Boy Collaboration Beer Japan Debut

September 3, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Baird-Country Boy Collaboration Beer Japan Debut

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Do you remember the Country Boy Blog — Nate and DH’s fun, humorous and informative account of their exploration into the Japan craft beer scene? The very first time I met them at our Fishmarket Taproom in an interview for the blog, I could see the twinkle in their eyes and the passion in their hearts. These ‘what you see is what you get’ good old boys bled beer. During their time in Japan they became stalwart fans of Baird Beer and close personal friends of the Baird Brewing family.

Well, back at home in Lexington, Kentucky the Country Boys have brought their burning love of beer to a new and higher level. They opened Country Boy Brewing in 2011 and have achieved such success right out of the gate with their delicious, down-to-earth, no-bullshit style of brewing that it almost makes their old mentor a little jealous. Pride, though, trumps jealousy in the sip of a Country Boy pint. The Country Boys are doing things right and you can taste it in their beer.

It was a tremendous honor for us thus to be invited to participate in a collaboration beer at the Country Boy brewery in Lexington this past spring. Lead brewer Chris made the trip for Baird and spent a raucous weekend with Nate, DH and the boys brewing up Angry Amos Collaboration Ale.

*Angry Amos Collaboration Ale (7.5%):

In the words of Nate, Angry Amos is “an amped up collision of [Baird] Angry Boy and [Country Boy] Amos Moses.” Floor-malted Maris Otter anchors the grist bill which also features Munich, Crystal, Aromatic, Chocolate and Wheat malt. The hop bill too borrows from both beers, featuring Columbus, Chinook, Cascade, Galaxy, Appollo and Millenium in the kettle, and a massive dosing of German Tettnanger as dry hops in the conditioning tank. Before dry hopping, though, Angry Amos took a unique 2-month Kentucky detour through Maker’s Mark bourbon barrels. Country Boy brewer Nate says of the finished Angry Amos: “Between the malt depth, the massive load of hops, and the barrel aging, it’s an extremely complex ale that changes as you drink it.”

Let’s get busy drinking it! Fortunately, our friends at Nagano Trading joined this collaboration as the import agent arranging shipment to Japan of a pallet of Angry Amos and a pallet of a few other Country Boy year-round brews. These beers are:

*Amos Moses (6.0%): An American Brown Ale that is the love child between a brown ale and robust porter.

*Lazy Rye Pale Ale (6.0%): A crisp, hoppy American Pale Ale with a spicy, dry finish imparted by additions of malted rye.

*Knotty Pine IIPA (9.6%): A Chinook hop bomb!

*Baird-Country Boy Tap Takeover Event at Antenna America (Thursday-Friday, September 5-6):
All of the above Country Boy beers, including the Angry Amos Collaboration Ale as well as Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale, will be featured at Nagano Trading’s Yokohama beer outlet Antenna America in a two-day tap takeover event. Doors open and beers begin pouring at 3:00 pm sharp Thursday, September 5. On Friday, September 6 at 7:00 pm I will be in attendance for a ‘meet the brewer’ session in which I will talk about the beers, the collaboration and anything else beer that folks want to hear about. Mark you calendar and please plan to join all of us at Baird, Country Boy and Nagano Trading for a good ol’ down home beer blast.

Angry Amos Collaboration Ale will make its debut at all Baird Taproom pubs on Saturday, September 7. The other Country Boy beers will be available exclusively at the Nakameguro, Bashamichi and Numazu Fishmarket Taprooms, also beginning Saturday, September 7.

Attention Japan craft beer retailers: Ten 20-liter kegs of the Angry Amos Collaboration Ale are available for purchase direct from Nagano Trading. Nagano Trading will begin accepting orders on Monday, September 2 for shipment beginning Saturday, September 7. Please direct all inquiries and orders to Nagano Trading (contact person — Taketo Murakoshi; email address — order@naganotrading.com; Tel. 045-315-5458).

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

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Shizuoka Mirin Tasting: Sugii Brewery-Atsukayama

August 28, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

This is the very first time I felt compelled to write a tasting report on a mirin (cooking sweet sake)!
But Atsukayama brewed by Sugii Brewery in Fujieda City has nothing in common with even the best mirin used in Japanese cooking!
I recently used it for making umeshu with plenty of it and shochu distilled by the same brewery, with the diffrence I didn’t have to use any sugar!
Mind you, it is pretty famous all over the country and not easy to obtain but I can assure you this is a must if you want to enjoy a sweet drink away from the beaten tracks at your next repast!

Atsukayama
Junmai Hon Mirin (true mirin made with junmai sake!)
Alcohol: 14~15 degrees
Essence: 44%
Bottled in July 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Rich golden
Aroma: Strong and assertive. Fruity. Oranges, loquats, almonds, honey.
Body: Fluid, slightly sirupy
Taste: Very sweet attack backed up with junmai petillant.
Complex and fruity. Apricots, plums, nuts, honey.
Disappears more quickly than expected on a surprisingly drier note with hints of nuts and almonds.
Especially enjoyable at all temperatures.
For all its sweetness drinks more like a mellow sweet sake or a liquorish white wine with such an incredible complexity.

Overall: A mirin for cooking? That would be extremely extravagant unless you use it on its own to accentuate a dish.
A rare “dish ingredient” that should be ignored as such and drunk on its own at a temperature of your liking as an aperitif, a digestif or as a night cap.
Chilled, it reveals itself as a superb nectar. Would do marvelously well in cocktails, too.
You must sample it with blue cheese!

More than a discovery, a blessing!

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Shizuoka Beer Tasting: Gotemba Koogen Brewery-Tamori Cup Beer

August 27, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

“Tamori Cup Beer” is a limited/private label to commemorate a famous Yacht Race called Tamori (famous Japanese Comediann/TV MC) Cup by Gotenba Kogen Beer Co Ltd. (actually the brewery itself owned by Yonekyu Company is located in another location in Gotenba City).

Gotemba Koogen Brewery is located at the foot of Mount Fuji!

Product name: Tamori Cup Beer
Unfiltered, unpasteurized.
Ingredients: barley and wheat malt, hops, yeast
Volume: 330 ml
Alcohol: 5.5%

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Deep apricot orange
Foam: Thin longish head. Fine bubbles
Aroma: Dry and fruity, assertive, sharpish. Bread, oranges.
Taste: Deep ale-like attack. Refreshing.
Bread, oranges.
Lingers for a while before disappearing on a slightly nutty dry note.

Overall: Very refreshing but deeper than a thirst-quenching low alcohol beer.
Its ale-like approach makes it both fit to drink on its own or with food any time of the year.
Although quite japanese in approach, should please European tasting buds

Gotenba Kogen Beer Co., Ltd.
719, Koyama, Gotemba-shi, Shizuoka-ken, 412-0033
Tel 0550-87-5500
Homepage (English/also exists in Japanese)

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Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2013/08/20): Seasonal Release — Baird Rauchbock

August 27, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Seasonal Release — Baird Rauchbock

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Fall is in the air. We have the perfect beer to greet it — Baird Rauchbock.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Baird Rauchbock (6.5%):

Rauchbier is an old German beer style, its origins go back to the 1500s where it was a prominent style in the district of Franconia and the town of Bamberg. ‘Rauch’ means ’smoke’ and this is the signature flavor characteristic of a Rauchbier. The smoked flavor is derived from drying green malt over a beechwood fire. Bock is a strong lager of German origin.

Baird Rauchbock is a strong, malty, velvety smooth take on this old Franconia smoked style. 100 percent of the malt bill comes from Bamberg-based specialty malting company Weyermann (63% of which is beechwood smoked malt). The hopping is extremely light — just enough Halletau Tradition and Czech Saaz to balance the rich malt flavor. Rauchbock was brewed back in December 2012 and has been conditioning in our cellar for the past 8 months. This long maturation has brought the assertive smoke character into perfect balance.

Brewmaster’s tip: Get yourself over to the Bashamichi Taproom, order a plate of the low and slow cherry wood smoked brisket, and enjoy it with a glass of Baird Rauchbock. You will want at that moment for nothing else in life!

Baird Rauchbock is keg only and is available for immediate release. It begins pouring from our Taproom taps tonight (Tuesday, August 27).

We also have an additional early autumn beer treat for our loyal Taproom patrons. Today we are tapping two more in our ongoing lineup of single-hop ales (beers brewed to the exact same recipe and specs save for the use of a different hop variety). The hops featured in this taste comparison are relatively high alpha-acid American varieties Nugget and Millenium. These are very similar hops as Millenium was actually bred from the Nugget. Spicy, herbal, floral — these are all descriptors often associated with these hops. What say you? Can you taste a difference?

Nugget Single-Hop Ale (4.6%) and Millenium Single-Hop Ale (4.6%) are available only on draught and exclusively at Baird Taproom pubs.

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Hamamatsu-Tenjingura Brewery-Shusseijyo Homare Fuji Muroka Nama Genshu

August 26, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

August usually sees some extraordinary limited brews taken out some secret nook of breweries for the utter pleasure of sake lovers in pursuit of unusual nectars.
Hamamatsu-Tenjingura Brewery in Hamamatsu has just put one out with another long name!

incidentally “nakakumi/中汲み” means that only the middle part of the pressed sake was considered whereas 24BY means Year 2013.
This a very local sake as the rice is Homare Fuji, a shizuoka-grown variety and the yeast also a Shizuoka-developed yeast.

Muroka means it was unfiltered, Nama that is was unpasteurized and Genshu that no pure water was added to lower the alcohol contents.

Rice: Shizuoka-grown Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 18~19 degrees
Yeast: Shizuoka Yeast
Bottled in August 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Silvery golden
Aroma: Deep and fruity. Pears, apples, pineapple
Body: fluid, slightly sirupy
Taste: Very rich and fruity attack with puissant alcohol.
Extraordinarily assertive pears reminding La France variety grown in Japan!
Pears, pineapple, apples, oranges.
Lingers only for a while ending on a rich dry fruity note with the same fruits accompanied by dry almonds.
Complex as it almost wildly starts on a fruity sweetish note to rapidly escape on a very dry deep note revealing more fruits.

Overall: Little need to drink such a sake with food!
Makes for the perfect aperitif and even digestif.
Shows its qualities best when chilled.
Splendidly marries with cheese if you must absolutely enjoy it with food!

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Shizuoka Beer Tasting: Hamamatsu Tenjingura Brewery-Porter Ieyasu Kun

August 24, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Hamamatsu Tenjingura Brewery have come up with new labels for its 3-beer range!

First of all they have changed the name of the beers to Ieyasu Kun, the new mascotte of Shizuoka Prefecture in remembrance of Tokugawa Ieyasu Shogun who retired to Shizuoka in the first half of the 17th Century!

As shown until next week at Matsuzakaya Department Store in Shizuoka City the label picture Mount Fuji which has just been accepted as the new UNESCO World Cultural Heritage!

Ieyasu Kun!

Product Name: Tenjingura Beer-Porter/Ieyasu Kun
Unfiltered
Ingredients: Grain malt, Hops
Volume: 330 ml
Alcohol: 4.5%

Clarity: opaque but very clean
Color: very dark rich dark brown/coffee
Foam: Thin head but keeping longer than expected
Aroma: light. caramel, roasted grains
Taste: Well-rounded rich dry attack:
Complex: roasted grains, whole bread, roasted nuts, hints of macadamia
Pleasantly lingers inside the palate with a fizzy feeling before ending on a drier note.
Thoroughly enjoyable on its own chilled or even at room temperature.
Marries well with heavy food thanks to its dry lighter than usual taste for a porter.

Overall: A highly pleasant craftbeer which will be enjoyed by both gender of any age. Can be used as a thirst quenching porter.
I particularly enjoyed it as an aperitif with a potato and bean salad! Should go well with cold meats, too!
Do not forget to collect the label!

Tenjingura/Hamamatsu Brewery Co. Ltd.
430-463-3851 Hamamatsu City, Naka Ku, Tenjin Machi, 3-57
Tel.: 053-4616145
Fax: 053-463-3851
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Business hours: 10:30~21:00
Closed on Tuesdays

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Fuji Takasago Brewery-Sekai Bunka Isan Tooroku-Yamahai Junmai Ginjo

August 22, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Fuji-Takasago Brewery is located in Fujinomiya City and as I said since Mount Fuji has been accepted by the UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage, the brewery felt obliged to advertise the event!

I suspect they printed that particular “flying label” for all their bottles! LOL

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very light golden hue
Aroma: Faint, almost shy. Fruity and sweetish. rice
Body: Fluid
Taste: Well-rounded fruity and sweetish attack with assertive junmai petillant.
Complex. Pears, almonds, hints of chocolate. Later, hints of sweet milk coffee.
Lingers for a while warming up the palate.
Tends to sweeten up with second long sip.
Marries well with food.
Surprisingly sweetish and pleasant sake for a yamahai.

Overall: A sake obviously designed to be enjoyed with heavy izakaya food, although thoroughly enjoyable on its own chilled.
Probably best enjoyed by ladies thanks to its sweetish approach.
Try it with cheese!

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