Greetings! You have found Good Beer and Country Boys, a blog created about the first by the latter. Some native Kentuckians chronicle their search for great beer in The Bluegrass and Beyond!
After the Optimator and the animals, I met the lady and we made our way into downtown. It was time for a little Christmas Shopping, and by 'Christmas Shopping' I mean letting the girl shop while I get out the jibeer selection at a local store. (Yes, I am lucky that I have a girl that cool.)
I checked into Spirits and purchased another Imp. Chocolate Weizen and a Kinshachi IPA. I then headed to the secret gaijin beer drankin' park that only I and a few select others know of. Everyone else in Nagoya knows it as the little picnic table like thing near LOFT.
I also picked up a Cuban stogie and some Black and Milds. I saved the Cuban to bring back to KY, and I tried a B&M with the IPA. Just as I suspected, tasted like smoke. I don't know why I bought those cigars, must have thought I was back in KY. They did make for some nice pictures.
Kinshachi IPA is a good beer, but not the best IPA made in Japan. Kinshachi makes some good brews, but at at least 500 yen a bottle, they are overpriced and sometimes run-of-the-mill. However, as it is Nagoya's only craft brew, I have to drink it when I am there.
Winter Vacation is about in full swing, so get ready folks. It's time for ALTs to cut loose here in Japan by traveling and spending all of that hard earned cash. That is, unless they are headed back to KY, where things are cheap and life is grand!
For some reason it seems that I have been attracting cats these days. When we were in Numazu, everywhere I looked there was another cat just giving me the evil eye. I didn't like it.
This past Saturday I grabbed some bread and cheese, and a SpatenOptimator. I found a local part in downtown Nagoya and had myself and mighty fine little picnic while I waited for the girl to get done with clubs and make her way into Nagoya. I noticed I made a new friend.
This black cat stared at me for a long time before finally getting brave enough to sneak up and steal some cheese. No sooner had he left, than a flock of pigeons came in and took his place! I was beginning to think that I was in a bad Hitchcock movie, but the birds left and started pestering some other poor sap.
All in all, the Optimator was good and the serenity of the park was appreciated. I must say that one of the things that Japan does well, is parks. Of course, I had already drank a Kinshachi Imperial Chocolate Weizen (9%), so maybe I was just in an extra good mood.
I had a great weekend with the girls and old friends in Nagoya, where I did drink some Kinchachi's Imperial Chocolate Weizen. It was good. I stand corrected.
I'll be back with some more pics tonight, but I just wanted to bring you this article from the Japan Times written by Amy Chavez about the rules for flying when you sit in the aisle seat. Her main point: Drink as much free beer as possible, go to the bathroom often, sit in the aisle, and you will have the best experience possible. I agree.
Sparked by an article over on Beer in Japan, I started think about about how so many bars and restaurants in Japan still allow smoking, and many don't segregate smokers from non-smokers at all. I must admit, while I don't have a problem with anyone smoking as it is a choice, I am a huge fan of smoke free bars.
My town and the large city nearby in KY recently went smoke free. You are not allowed to smoke in any restaurant or bar inside the city. Recently, the University of Kentucky went entirely smoke free, meaning that you cannot even smoke on University property if it is outside. Now, if Kentucky can be smoke free...couldn't Japan?
I wonder. Smoking here is still not viewed in the negative light as it is at home. Many teachers still smoke at my schools, and my students don't seem to mind. In America we have almost made smokers into a 'dirty' class of people with many thinking that only poor people smoke. Some of this comes from the idea that smokers "drive up insurance and health care costs" whether there is any truth to that or not.
Still, I must admit that I love going into a bar that I know is smoke free. I used to hate going to the bars in KY and coming home smelling like an ashtray. Besides, when I enjoy a good brew, I don't want to be smelling hop, malts, and tar smoke. They just don't go well together. But, many of my good friends are smokers, and we all enjoy going out to beer bars together, even if it does mean that they must leave every fifteen minutes for a smoke.
Here in Japan, smoking seems to still be so much a part of the culture. I think the days of the smoking, drunk salary man are on the way out...could the acceptance of smoking follow?
What do you think? Do you think your favorite izakaiya will be smoke free? Or does the old man smoking a cigarette at the bar add a bit of ambiance and mystique?
Well, we got snow in this part of Aichi last night which means one thing: it is cold. Well, I'm sure it means more than that, but for sure being cold is obvious. My apartment feels like the inside of a deep freeze and I'm really feeling the need for some high ABV Imperial Stouts. Drat. Don't have any. Do you think if I mix some Ichiban Shibori and coffee I can have something worth drinking??
I am heading into Toyohashi tomorrow night where I'll watch Andrew Scott give a kickin' concert. Check him out on itunes if you haven't already. While there hopefully I'll be able to scare up something good to drink!
While looking through some old pics I found a few of me and some weird Japanese craft brews that didn't get their own post. I don't remember anything about how these beers tasted, which probably means that they were neither stellar nor horrible. For your viewing pleasure:
I'll also be headed home in less than a week, so you will see a drop off in the posting. While there I will be enjoying all that a Kentucky Christmas has to offer, and trying to relax in the process. I will be returning to Japan with a suitcase full of brews you can't get here....any suggestions? I feel a meetup in Numazu coming in spring!
The year-end holiday season is upon us. While 2009 has proved a difficult year economically in Japan and around the world, the blessings of life remain numerous and they deserve recognition and celebration. At Baird Brewing, we eulogize these blessings in liquid form each December with the release of Jubilation Ale.
Jubilation Ale (ABV 7%):
This malty rich, festively red-hued ale derives its special character from the addition of two wonderful local ingredients: (1) fully ripened figs candied in Japanese red sugar 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 is available on draught at our Taproom pubs and other specialty beer retailing bars and restaurants in Japan beginning Thursday, December 17. The bottle-conditioned version (633 ml) also is available for purchase from Baird Beer retailing liquor shops in Japan beginning the same day.
If joyous celebration this holiday season is simply beyond your capacity, we fully understand. There is a Grinch in all of us and it needs recognition too. For the Grinch inside of you, we proudly release Bakayaro! Ale.
Bakayaro! Ale (ABV 8%):
This insolent, snotty and mean-spirited brew is pungently hoppy and wickedly strong. High in malt gravity (1.080), bitter in hoppiness (90 IBU), aggressive in aroma (double dry-hopping with Centennial), 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 draught only. It will be pouring from the taps of pubs and restaurants everywhere beginning Friday, December 18. Lead Brewer Chris Poel, Bakayaro! Ale’s father, will be kicking off the mean season in person at the Harajuku Taproom on Friday evening. Please show up and tell him to piss off!
Finally, I would like to publicly announce that the long tenure at Baird Brewing of our current Nakameguro Taproom manager, Yokota-chan, is coming to an end this month. Yoko-chan is the first individual that Sayuri and I hired to join us in full-time work at our company. He started at the Fishmarket Taproom back in 2004 and in his almost six years with us has brought great dedication, honesty and professionalism to the task. He will be sorely missed. He is moving on to start his own restaurant business and Shizuoka and we wish him the very best.
Sayuri and I will be at the Nakameguro Taproom this Friday evening participating in a send-off party for our departing manager. Please plan on stopping in and saluting Yoko-chan for his many year’s of dedicated service.
Artisan brewing is a matter of the heart and the heart, generally, is tied to place. The place tied to the heart of Baird Beer is Numazu city in Shizuoka prefecture. Sayuri and I moved to Numazu in 1997, started a family here and then launched the Baird Brewing Company in the fish market area of Numazu in 2000. Numazu very much reminds me of America’s heartland, the Midwest, the place I grew up. The people of Numazu tend to be simple, honest and industrious; they also share an easy-going attitude and big-hearted spirit. Located at the base of Mount Fuji and on the shore of the Suruga Bay, Numazu is almost idyllic in its natural beauty.
We long have wanted to dedicate a beer to this place of heart of ours and at last we have done so. Numazu Lager is debuting on Tuesday, December 15 as the ninth member of the Baird Beer year-round lineup, and the team’s first lager representative.
Numazu Lager (ABV 5.2%):
One of the strengths of brewing in Numazu is the area’s wonderful natural water supply. It is soft, clean and round, lending a lovely, albeit subtle, character to beer. This character is an important attribute of the amber-tinged golden Numazu Lager. Supremely refreshing, Numazu Lager combines malt roundness and lager-style smoothness with a snappy and brisk hop essence. And unlike industrial lagers, Numazu Lager is minimally processed (unfiltered and naturally carbonated in package) and thus enjoys great depth of flavor.
This maiden batch of Numazu Lager has been bottled in seasonal-style 633 ml bottles. It will be available in our normal 360 ml bottles beginning with batch #2. You will be able to enjoy it on draught at all of our Taproom pubs as well as at other Baird Beer retailing pubs and restaurants in Japan.
The artwork for Numazu Lager has been done, as always, by our talented designer and friend, Ms. Eiko Nishida. The label depicts a view of the Numazu fish market area with our Fishmarket Taproom in the upper left background. You can check out the new label on our website: http://bairdbeer.com/en/bairdbeer/year-round-beers.
Well hello Mr. Sapporo Craft brew. What are you? Who are you? Do you even make sense? Anyone out there had one? I think they are available on the net only...and it looks like today is the last day to order.....anyone?
This quote adorns the refrigerator of my apartment back in KY. Good for a Monday morning:
This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, reexamine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body........
Japan is no stranger to gimmick beers. In fact, it could be said that Japan is the mother of all gimmick beers. Or maybe the Gimmickyest of them all.
My friend Miyuki gave me a present not too long ago, and one of the items in the present was a bottle of On The Rocks Beer. Or if you prefer katakana: ON-ZA-ROKKU-BI-RU. Now, at first glance you may just think this is a clever name for a brew, but then after seeing the picture, you would realize that they aren't kidding. The makers of this beer actually expect you to pour this beer over ice and drink it.
Strange.
I've seen people drink ice in their beers before, but I used to just attribute it to ignorance or just really stupid people. While working at the bar I had people order ice for their beer (even ice for their Merlot!), olives for their beer, and salt for their beer. I remember one instance at a Japanese restaurant where a guy ordered a Sapporo beer, and after smelling it, dumped about a pound of salt in it. Travesty.
But On The Rocks Beer? Beer that was meant to be drank over ice? I didn't have high hopes. I put some cubes in a glass and filled it up. The beer is a nice brown color and had a nice smell. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. This beer actually had a nice aroma and color.
Coke?
Of course, once it was over the rocks it was watered down and tasted......like you poured an OK beer over the rocks. What a surprise. I drank the rest of the bottle and found it to be enjoyable, but nothing super.
This beer is a exactly what it claims to be: a novelty that you can enjoy with your friends and laugh about before you get into drinking the real beer.
Last week I wrote about the Hakusekikan Hurricane that Chuwy brought to Numazu. He also brought a Ozeno Yukidoke IPA. I had heard good things about this beer and how it was available in Toyko dry hopped with many different kinds of hops. I have only found Ozeno Yukidoke beer in Aichi one time, at the 700 year old lady's liquor shop in Toyohashi. However, they don't have it any more....
This beer wasn't a super hoppy, west-coast style IPA, but it was good. It had a nice balance, and was quite tasty. If you see it in your local liquor shop, pick it up!
The season for potent and warming beers designed for leisurely sipping is once again upon us. Baird Beer is kicking it off with the release of our 2009 version of West Coast Wheat Wine.
*West Coast Wheat Wine 2009 (ABV 9%):
Wheat Wine is a beer style born on the U.S. West Coast in the 1980s. It has as its progenitor the English Barely Wine style. A Wheat Wine, generally, is characterized by a massively rich and hearty complexity that is lightened and made a touch sprite through a predominantly wheat rather than barley malt base. It is a style representative of the irreverent creativity and unrelenting passion that are the 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 2009 version of West Coast Wheat Wine is a touch darker than previous due to additions of caramel wheat malt. A lusciously lip-smacking maltiness is complemented beautifully by a fruity West Coast American hop character. Three yeasts (Scottish, English and American) combine in three stages of fermentation to produce a piquancy in the depth of flavor that is most interesting and uncommon. Perhaps still a touch young, West Coast Wheat Wine 2009 promises to condition in the cellar quite well over time.
We now are pouring West Coast Wheat Wine from the taps of each or our Taproom pubs. It will be available on draught and in bottle-conditioned form (633 ml) from other Baird Beer retailers in Japan as early as Tuesday, December 8.
Another early winter seasonal treat that we have begun to pull in Real Ale form through the English hand-pumps at our three Taproom pubs is Inaka Smoked Porter.
*Inaka Smoked Porter (ABV 5.5%):
This soft and chewy robust porter is imbued with a magnificently balanced smoke character through additions of Bamberg smoked malt. U.S. Golding hops contribute a delicately earthy character. Fermentation with our Scottish Ale yeast accentuates the malty richness. This brainchild of our Lead Brewer, Chris Poel, is being poured exclusively at our Taproom pubs. Stop in for a pint or two while quantities last.
Sometimes you just get lucky. I hate to admit it, but more often than not, I am just a lucky guy. Of course this comes from having great friends who enjoy sharing the wealth of good fun, food, and of course--good beer.
When we met in Numazu a few weeks ago, Chuwy brought a few surprises. One of his surprises was a bottle of Hakusekikan Hurricane. Now, many of you may remember that Nate wrote a post about when he tried to visit the Hakusekikan Brewery, and it was not so kind. Evidently he had some dog crap on his upper lip, either that or the bad trip that he had at the brewery affected his opinions of their brews. I think it was a combination of both.
Hakusekikan hails from Gifu-ken, and for the most part I have enjoyed all of their beers. This one however, was nothing like any of their others!
The Hurricane was a sweet, alcoholic, malty, vanillaey (is that a word?) punch in the face. I'm not the biggest fan of huge beers, and this beer most certainly is that, but this was good. The Hurricane packs 15% alcohol, so be careful. You can't (read: don't want to try to) drink this beer like a normal brew. It is to be savored and appreciated.
We enjoyed this brew with Chris Poel in the Baird Brewery. It was good. Now, we didn't wait for this beer to warm up to room temperature and no, I'm going to apologize for it. But I will thank Chuwy for letting me get a sip!
Happy Friday everyone. Work is over, if you want it. Work is over....NOW.
With BrewDog's latest release of Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32%ABV) claiming the title of the "world's strongest beer", a lot of questions have popped into my head. Here is where I give them to you.
When will we see the end (or at least the law of diminishing returns kick in ((haha! didn't know I was that smart did you?)) ) for 'extreme beer'? BrewDog'sTNP sells for about $80 a bottle (with shipping) which is roughly 40 times what your average 5% brew retails for. Wow. I'll say that again. They are selling a beer (albeit premium and astoundingly high in ABV) for 40 times what an 'average' brew costs. (Also TNP comes only in smaller 330ml bottles...)
Sure they are not the first to do this. Sam Adam's Utopias went up and well over $100 when they debuted a few years back. I am sure that 2009's version will be just as pricey as TNP, if not more.
Will we ever see the end of brewers trying to push the envelope on 'extreme beer'? It seems that many brewers out there today are trying to make a beer that breaks the mold and is extremely unique, rather than a brew that is just stand alone amazingly delicious. Many brewers now are offering very high ABV brews and highly hopped brews and straying from the traditional styles that many enjoy. As people, are our tastes changing?
Enjoying the High Life at a UK tailgate....
Do these extreme beers simply fill a niche? If we say that they do, can we not say that on the flip side, cheaper 'normal' beers fill a niche as well? I can't imagine going to the local bar at home and seeing a table order tall boys of TNP, Utopias, or hell, even 10% brews all night. Many of my close buddies enjoy good beer, but when it comes down to their day in and day out beers, they reach for the cheap and usual.
The same holds true here in Japan. Of course, my mission is to find the best beer out there and write about it for all to see. I have found so many good beers in this country, and they all usually have one thing in common. They are pricey. Sure, the price reflects good quality development, production, and packaging. But do you think I can afford a 900yen bottle of IseKadoya every day? What about when Friday rolls around...can I afford 3 or 4 of them? Every weekend? Not a chance!
I remember one of my teachers at an enkai asking me if I drank beer every night. When I told him that I did not, he said he didn't either....but he did drink happoshu every night. Why? Because he could afford it. "Super Dry is just so expensive," he said.
The same is true in America for sure. At my local bar, I can get a tall boy (about 700ml) of Kentucky Ale for 5$, but I can get the same amount of Bud for $3. It doesn't take long for your average Joe to discover he can drink three of the cheaper brews for what two of the craft ones cost, and for many in the world...the wallet is just as important as the pallet.
Breweries like BrewDog I'm sure will continue to push the envelope. I'm glad. We did our first ever interview on this site with Brewer James Watt many moons ago. I wish them success. Do I think I will ever see the day when my fridge will be stocked with BrewDog Brews? No. But then again, maybe that's not what they are going for.
For me, my wallet (read: fiance) won't allow me to shell out the big bucks for good beer all the time. So if you see me on the train drinking the Black Malt's...don't hate.
For the boys at home, when it comes time for the camp out or the tailgate, I can guarantee that their coolers may have a few craft brews, but you will have to dig through the High Life in order to find them.
I hope some of this random rambling on a Thursday morning makes some sense. I'd love to hear your opinions on high priced beer, cheap beer, and the price of tea in China. Fire away in the comments....
When we left Baird Beer in Numazu last week, we had to bring a few bottles home. Of course, they didn't have the Morning Coffee Stout, which is the girl's favorite beer in the whole world. (But Chris says that it will be coming soon though!)
However they did have the Baird Midnight Oil Foreign Export Stout!
We bought a couple and man are they tasty!
Midweek has struck boys and girls! It's a sunny day here in the hills of Aichi, and it's got me thinking about what this kind of weather means for the boys back home.....huntin'!
...and the hits keep coming. Brewdog has unveiled Tactical Nuclear Penguin, the highest alcohol beer in world, freeze distilled to 32%. Watch the video on their website. What a cool name for a beer.
It was a good weekend for conbini beers. I don't have to mention again that there is only one convenience store in my town, and they rarely get anything new. In fact, the fact that it is even called a convenience store is pretty ironic. Moving on.
When I made it to Toyohashi I was delighted to see that Suntory's The Premium Malt's BLACK was back on the shelves. If you can't find any jibeer in your area, just look for this stuff. For the price, it is very very hard to beat. Pretty good beer.
Kirin also had their Meigi Lager and Taisho Pilsner out in full force. I didn't get a chance to try the Meigi, but the Taisho was pretty tasty. I'll be picking it up again.
Also while I was out I met a couple of Canadians that I knew. Those crazy fools from up north!!!!!
