Don't forget to think of some good questions to ask Greg Koch, the CEO and co-founder of Stone Brewing--makers of great beers like Ruination IPA. Post your questions in the comments of yesterday's post.
Yesterday was also the start of another ground breaking, historic, sure to change the future of Japanese beer as we know it event. Asahi's "The Master" was released. What many don't know is that Asahi created a brand new style of beer for this brew. They are the first in the world to create the "bater" style of beer. Tee hee.
"The Master" hit sheves yesterday, and you can try to win some free cans here. We told you in a past post that Yamaguchi-san, the head brewer at Kinshachi, had already tried this-- and he said it tasted "neutral". But really, what did you expect?
14 comments:
The ads were up on the trains yesterday.
Kept an eye out for it in convenies on the way to the oktoberfest but didnt see any. Had 9 or 10 craft beers in my bag, anyway - got hammered again.
You can listen to the master's song
http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/the_master/
Ahhh...brings back memories of the Schnapps Band at the Horbrau house and power prosit toasting!!!!
Now...if only they know Charlie Mops?
It's really weird, but then that's my life. I can distinctly rememebr trying to find The Master last night but to no avail.
Opened my fridge in the kitchen around lunchtime and there was a can of The Master, staring me in the face.
I must have bought it last night, along with the chicken curry I later found in my beer fridge. Man, I was hammered last night. 3 Oktoberfests in 4 days. A friend wants to meet me there tonight and I may have another meeting there on Thurs. How much can a grown man/small child take? That wasn't meant to sound dirty.
THe Master was OK, it's just Asahi's version of Suntory's The Malts. (not Premium Malts)
For what it is I would much rather have a sixer of Premium malts, but the shit was on sale and it was advertisted on the trains today so what the hell.
I posted a review at my site http://japanesebeer.lifeintokyo.info
Also it's on sale at Daiei stores for 100yen off retail right now because it's new. I got 6 tall cans for 1480.
And no one bit on the "bater" comment. Too easy?
yeah no thanks....and whats this other 'elitist' beer site you talk of grits on your website. Just because people enjoy great beer doesn't make them 'elitist'. Some of the beer folks round these parts are the most down to earth guys you'll ever meet
I'm living proof of that - for now. I may be dead soon, the way I'm going.
I'm so down to earth, I'm always soiling myself.
I have been debating the master all day and I think I'd better put an end to it, before I go blind.
Will let you guys know how I found it.
The Master is crap. I actually bought The Straight and The Master the other day and tried them side-bye-side, just to have the Battle of the The's.
And crappy The Straight won, in my book.
Had to say, though, I've had some crap Kinshachi, too. Got their hopmeister or whatever thingy (the one in the green bottle) the other day and thought it was pretty blah.
But of course, that's just me.
Yes, Ryan, microbeers or craft beer (as it seems to be called these days) brewers are not as popular as the big mass produced stuff. Perhaps because they don't have the marketing budget or ruthlesness to compromise quality or quantity or the ability to get around the incredibly silly tax laws that actually punish good beer makers and reward the moneythisty porfiteers that just pump out any old shit and know it will sell. Those are the big 4, more or less (quite a few microbreweries sometimes operate the same way). The guys who more or less decide the mass populace drinking style. Those are the guys that just seem to copy each other, bringing out 'fruit beers', happoshu, lately the craze for high strength crap is quite amusing and at the same time frightening. I'm not sure that carft beer drinkers can be termed 'elitist', although some of them do have negative attitudes towards the crap that is around, please don't forget that we all started by drinking the very same 'crap' we now turn away from (heck, when I first came here, I was a guinness dirnker and often drank malts or sapporo - though even then I couldn't stand happoshu or super dry). Also, for me, an attack on what I or others may think is bad beer is not necessarily an attack on the people who drink it. I respect peoples' choices to drink Asahi Supr Dry if they want to. In fact, if they love that stuff, more power to them, as they save a lot more money than I do! It's just I really don't like it and don't want to drink it. I respect their choice if they do, so I hope they can respect my choice if I don't. I am after a whole other world. A world were the choice of brew is not limited to decisions in a faceless, souless board room, rather the imagination of one or two individual brewers, real people. People who actually MAKE the stuff. Those same people who bring the human element into the whole shabang. You can approach them and tell them what you think of their beer and give them suggestions and they RESPOND. It really is fantastic that so many styles of beer are made in this country, some of them made very, very well. If Joe Bloggs wants to drink Magnum Dry or Hoppy, great. I don't think any less of him (although I would wonder if he/she would still go with their choice if they knew what else was out there). But if I want to drink Takeshi Imperial Stout, Ozenoyukidoke American style IPA or some other craft beer wonder of flavour, then please don't think any less of me, either.
Good luck with your beer review blog. I'll keep checking yuor posts!
I know a lot of beer review/information sites out on the web about beer over here, and as far as I know, I don't know any that I deem elitist. But if they appear so, then that certainly is a concern. As a craft beer drinker myself (well, more a beer drinker really, but the choices I make are usually craft beer), I really do feel a great sense of community, among the drinkers and brewers alike. I hope you have a chance to attend one of the craft beer festivals and see what I mean. All the best, dude.
Keep those posts coming!
p.s. loads of bars of course have the big 4 on tap. It would be interesting to know the best deals and how they compare, beer quality wise. e.g. Jiyugaoka O Carolans has a good deal where you can get iced jokkies of yebisu for 600yen. Kura kura had an offer of all u can drink yebisu for about 90 mins for around 1500yen. Loads of good nomihodais around, featuring very drinkable big 4 beers.
Chuwy.
p.s. just drank the master.
Lovely color and head. Drier and more hoppy than the malts. Also more astringent aftertaste. 5.5% alc. I can drink this on tap, but not too much.
Chuwy...good words. You are right about the community thing--I feel like I know you guys well, even though (when it comes to me) we have only met once...
And If you think I am elitist...wow. You are going to be disappointed.
I'll try to get a post up today about beer styles and tastes, but also--give me some questions!
Maybe my tastebuds are screwed, but I tried The Master the other night and found it quite remarkable --- an all-malt beer with absolutely no discernible malt character, and no hop character apart from the bittering hops. In other words, an all-malt version of Super Dry.
I hadn't realised it was possible to make such a bland and characterless brew using all malt in sufficient quantity to give 5.5% ABV. Hats off to Asahi for showing it can be done.
It's not bad, because it's not anything at all.
Simon, your second paragraph gave me the best laugh I've had in a while. Excellent stuff, sir. :)
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