This weeks discoveries

Well, I made a great discovery this week. At the suggestion of my girlfriend and one of her friends, I ventured to a store called Yamaya. Basically this is a chain liquor store from what I can see. It has a great selection of beer and liquor, more then I had time to browse. Though I did pick up a few beverages to sample this week. One of which I will be writing about today.

Let's just follow the picture (On left) From left to right. Asahi "Strong Off" at 7% alcohol it is indeed fairly strong, I'm not sure I have had a non-american beer with that high of an alcohol content. Really though, that was all it had going for it, no great taste to write home about.

The three new drinks I sampled this week

The second is Sapporo "Premium".  It was slightly darker then the normal Sapporo beer. Not bad, much more drinkable then the regular one, but it was well over 200 yen ($2.00) a can. So I can't see how it would be really worth drinking over the others. Reminded me of Budweiser Select, just a hair darker. Like regular bud, but in my opinion, still not worth drinking.

The third I had this week was one of the two I picked up at Yamaya. It is Tokyo Beer "Tama No Megumi" which seems (According to a quick Google search) is the same as Ishikawa? Correct me if I'm wrong. I did a little reading on the Ishikawa family, who lives in a part of Tokyo and has for over 400 years apparently. Though according to the bottle they have only been brewing since 1998.

The only other English on the bottle says "Bottle Conditioned"  a type of brewing process.  This particular drink from the Ishikawa brewery had a good mix of malty and wheaty, not being a wheat fan, it was not bad. I have had a similar taste before, but I can't remember when. Probably the Michigan Summer Beer Festival. At any rate, keep it real readers!

More oddities for the collection.

Over the last two days I had as many new beverages. The first was called Sirakami Sansui. This one, like some of the others, had a paper ribbon around the neck of the bottle. Unfortunately the only part of the ribbon I could make out was the number 12. 12th place? Who's to say...

Note the interesting tab cap on the Full Moon.

It tasted like a dark lager. With a somewhat more caramel taste then Labatt Blue or Molson. Not terrible, as I enjoy both of those drinks back home.  Though to note there was a website on the side of the bottle as well as an Email. Something I had not yet encountered. anywhere as far as I can remember. This seems to be the drink of a brewery/restaurant chain. Though as I can't read much on the web site, it will be a mystery for now.

The second beer I had was called Full Moon Beer. Finally! Something with a label I can easily read and understand. On the background of the label, there was a vague description about how the beverage has a more "Full bodied taste, after maturing a complete lunar cycle." Quite interesting I thought, so why not try it?

It had a somewhat sharp and hoppy start followed by a almost sweet and honey-like aftertaste. Very different. I can't say I can compare it to anything. Once I poured it, I was relieved to see the dark golden color. I had been worried it might be similar to Blue Moon. Of which, I'm not a huge fan. There's two more interesting beverages to add to the list. We shall see what the next week brings.

The next experience

The other day my girlfriend came home with a new beer from the same market I got the Bock from. Though to my dismay I couldn't read any of the label this time. Nothing. So I went to pouring it, hoping for the best, expecting...

Well, I expected it not to be terrible, as there was a paper label around the neck of the bottle declaring it had won some kind of award. Anyway, it was a golden brown color when poured and had a slightly wheaty taste. I'm not the biggest fan of wheat beer though so I did not enjoy it as much as others would I'm sure.  Though as far as wheat beer goes, it wasn't awful.

This brings me to my next discovery. Asahi Blue. Basically a less flavorful version of the Asahi "Dry" which I really liked. At 4% alcohol the Asahi Blue is very easy to drink. Noting the large 0 on the side of the can, it might be a light beer. Though it's still better then most light beers I have had to be fair.

Also I have had my first encounter with Japanese sake. It was much better than any I have had in the US. I don't have much to compare it to. Though this region of Japan does produce sake, I'm not sure if it is a local concoction.  I will attempt to acquire some soon though so I have a base line. I like to sample local food and drink when I can, to better appreciate the area.

At any rate it has been an interesting experience thus far. Thanks for reading. Until next time. Cheers!

First encounters of the frothy kind

Looked interesting. Why not?

Bad pic, but I got this from a vending machine!

I've been here for a few days now. So suffice to say I've had a few different beers. The first one was Ashai Super "Dry". Not too bad, I've had it before in the United States. The only difference was I got it out of a vending machine. This is cool. I've never seen anything like that.

I also had a glass of Kirin at a local restaurant. To be fair I actually liked the Ashai more.
Then yesterday I discovered a bottle featuring the red and blue demons who are rumored to live in the mountains near Akita city. The only part of the bottle I can read says "Namahage Bock".  I generally like a good bock, so I tried it.  I was not disappointed. Though the price tag was fairly high (around 550 yen) It was definitely worth it. It had a dark somewhat malty taste. It was similar to Bell's Best Brown Ale. By far the best beer I have had yet. There was a whole section with single bottles for sale at the local super market. I hope to try most of them in time. Anyway, that's all for now. Peace.

What is this about?

I have been given the opportunity to travel to Akita Japan for a few months. So I'm planning on trying the local food and especially brews to see how they differ from the many drinks at home. 

I plan on focusing on beer primarily. Being as it is one of my favorite beverages, I hope to be able to give an accurate description of how they taste and compare to some of Michigan's beers.

If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to contact me. And feel free to comment. Thanks!