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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

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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

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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

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

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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)

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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

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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

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Baird Beer Seasonal Release: Black Velvet Dark Lager

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

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

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

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

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

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Celebration of the Life of a Country Girl

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

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

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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Bakayaro!

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

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

*Chotto Baka Ale (ABV 4.2%):

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

Up yours!
(Cheers,)

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

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

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

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Bohemian Pale Ale (ABV 5.5%):

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

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

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

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

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Newest Seasonal Release: Belgian Pale Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

Oktober Fest at Beer No Yokota Pub in Shizuoka City!

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

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

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

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

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

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Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

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

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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Draught-Only Seasonal Release: Black Fantasy Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan

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

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Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
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Early Autumn Seasonal Releases

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

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

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

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

*Baird Red Rye Lager (ABV 5.0%):

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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

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

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

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

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

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

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:

*Baird Belgian Wit (ABV 4.7%):

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

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

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

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

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

Must-see tasting websites:

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