The latest beverages in my journey

Hello readers, thanks for tuning in. Again sorry for the lull in updates, beer is expensive and money has been tight. That said, I have taken advantage of a local super market providing mixed six packs for 10 dollars. While I do have the option of choosing bottom of the barrel beverages, I try to stick with something a bit tastier.

      First on my list we have Wilhelm Scream from Magic Hat Brewing Company. Overall not too bad, one of the few pumpkin brews I tried this season (pumpkin beer is unheard of in Japan [ edit apparently they do! Thanks Tom!]). I liked it well enough, a definite hint of spices, a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. A good change from the IPAs I usually drink. I enjoyed it well enough, but I wouldn’t drink it year round.

          Next we have El Rojo Red Ale from Griffin Claw Brewing Company, located in Birmingham Michigan. I had not seen this one before and when a friend of mine bought a six pack I had to try it. Coming in a can is a bit different, I almost exclusively buy bottles (I’m not bias, generally the beer I like comes that way) I liked the artwork on it though. The color was reddish brown, not unlike other red ales I’ve had in the past, that aside though there was a dominant malty taste as well as some chocolate, an interesting combo. Not too sweet either. Overall it is good red ale, which I would drink again.

            Now we have Green Flash’s West Coast IPA. Having had many IPAs in my time, some good, some not so great, I really liked it. I would like to try it again sometime to get a better feel for it. The color was a burnt orange. Scent was a bit sharp with some floral bits. Super hoppy, which I generally tend to enjoy, overall not bad!  

            The next beer to mention is Best Brown Ale from Bell’s Brewing Company. Another Michigan favorite of mine, I have always enjoyed Bell’s products they brew fantastic (in my opinion) beer. The Brown is no exception, dark in color, but not opaque. Great malty flavor with a hint of caramel, medium body gives it a very high drinkability. I would easily recommend this one.

            The following beer is Samuel Adams Rebel IPA. Overall I felt like it was a bit lack luster. I was not super impressed, not bad by any means, but there are much better IPAs available for a comparable price. Hoppy and a 6.5% ABV which is nothing to shake a stick at, however I don’t imagine I will go out of my way to find this brew. That said, Samuel Adams makes some other fine beers.

       The last beer on my list is one I had not tasted in a long time. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. This is one fantastic beer. It is hoppy, but not overly done, with malty undertones. The 7%ABV is not overbearing surprisingly enough. Even some people who do not like IPAs may enjoy this beer. This beer has lots of flavor, a nice somewhat piney aroma, a great beer which I would recommend for IPA lovers.

That's all for now. Cheers!

Beer tasting party

Hello again! Sorry for the delay! Work has been crazy as usual. So, as I promised earlier I have taken some note of one of the more recent beer filled adventures I have had in Japan.  Last month I had some friends over and we sampled several beers from around the world.

Kanpai!

Starting on the left we have Coedo from Saitama Japan, the brown is quite good, can't say I remember the blue can as well (good or bad?).  Next we have Satan Red from Belgium, and yes, there was a toast to Satan for this beer. Very metal. It was a fairly strong and heavy taste, a reasonably ABV too.  Following the Satan Red we have a hometown brew for me: The Ypsi Gypsi from Arbor Brewing Company. The Gypsi is a pale ale, with some good flavor, and like some of the other brews I brought to the table, a taste of home. Next there is Samurai from Great Divide Brewing in Colorado. It's apparently a rice beer. Though none of us were terribly fond of it. There was a slight sakeish taste to it, overall an odd drink.  The next two were German, Sorry I have no more insight, no one at the party could read or speak German. I do recall them being fairly dark in color and full flavor as many German drinks tend to be. The next is Mc Chouffe from Brasserie d'Achouffe. It had a slightly fruity taste from what I recall. Not my favorite as some of my readers might note. Overall not a loss though. 

Ben, myself, Tom and Yuki admiring the collection.

Continuing from the left we have several more Michigan brews, starting with  Dirty Bastard from Founders. Personally my favorite from the lot. The Scotch style ale sits at 8.5% ABV. Very solid, great color, with a rich full taste. The next two are brown ales, the first is  Best Brown Ale, from Bells Brewery, another great Michigan brewery The next is Nut Brown from Arcadia Ales in Battle Creek.  A slightly nutty taste as the name would suggest, a full bodied beer with an overall great taste. The next pictured is Siren a amber ale from North Peak Brewing. Very easy to drink, a light malty taste from what I remember. The next two are also from Arcadia, sampler 12 packs are a win in my book. Japanese breweries need to take note of this.  First the is the IPA, 5.9% ABV, with a great hop flavor, and a slight nutty aftertaste. A good IPA, (Then again I'm partial to IPAs). The last one is another Scotch style ale, Loch Down sitting at 8.3% ABV it is a very hearty drink. Slight alcohol taste, not bad, but a little different then most of the previously mentioned drinks. Overall a very rich full flavor though. Likely one I would buy again in the future. 

Yuki, Tomohiro and Mori 

Yuki posing with the cap from the
Satan Red.

As a whole the party went really well! My guests were pleased with the selection of brews from around the world, though not as many as I would have liked, I think everyone had a great time. I hope to get the opportunity to have a similar event soon. Thanks for reading!
Cheers!

Thanks to Sarah for taking all of the pictures!

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.