Moving

I have moved the blog to http://jonno79.wordpress.com/. Please update your links accordingly blah blah blah... see you there soon!

better late than ever..

Secret Society

Shhh I'm a member of a secret society. No not the Freemasons or Skull and Bones or the Illuminati....The Beer in Japan Forum!! And it's by invitation only, so you probably can't join. Unless you show me the secret handshake. Or just ask HBJ. Either way I'm good.

Off to the forum beerman....

Holy cow Bobin

Sucks to be you

Friday night was a quiet one. Just had an Yebisu (6.5/10). Had to try it after all the bashing it has been getting recently. And guess what? It's a good beer. Nice full body. I enjoyed it and would drink again in a heartbeat If offered.

Saturday involved a trek to Shibuya to check out the Oita Ukiyo-e Museum. Being a fan of this style of art, I highly recmmend this place. It's in Harajuku and has a good collection of art. After that I took a quick photo of the Meiji Shrine Torrii and then headed to Mejiro. At Tanakaya they had a good selection in. Picked up a Firestone Union Jack, Lagunitas Hop Stoopid and Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. As you can see coming in to a hot summer requires big, hoppy beers!

I was waiting in McDonalds with a McFlurry for my friend to call. They did, but to cancel our plans, so I decided to drink the Firestone (8.5/10) in the Maccy Ds. Haha. It was good. Really hoppy and sweet without being over the top. Would try it again, but at 1500 yen a bottle, It's pushing it a bit. The Mcflurry was awesome too. Oreo, If you really need to know.

After a bomber of that I headed to Akihabara to visit a maid cafe. I had never been to one and since I'm leaving thought I better cross it off my list. Well it wasn't quite what Iexpected. The maids only smiled and 'Genked' it up when they had to. When I tried to take a photo they nearly jumped on me yelling 'No photo!!'. I drunk my 600 yen coffee, chatted to some young ladies there, then hightailed it to Popeyes.

Popeyes is an institution. The best selection of beer in Japan. 70 plus taps. The staff are great, particularly Aoki san, the affable owner. The beer quality and serving quality are not always amazing, but never bad. On this evening I downed a Yona Yona Real Ale, Rogue Brutal Bitter, Ozenoyukidoke IPA, Yo Ho Barley Wine and a small Divine Vamp, the House Beer. Good times. As this was my last visit Aoki san graciously presented me with a Popeye's mug and magazine. I will always have fond memories of this place and will be back with bells on If I ever come back to Japan.

I then made my way to Aldgate for a Rogue Double Dead Guy. Unfortunately It was finished, so I had a Preston IPA, Aldgate ale (Swan Lake Amber) and a Erdinger Weiss. The boys (ie Capa, Chuwy, HBJ and TimE) showed up for a bit, but by then I was 3 sheets to the proverbial wind so after a bit of drunk banter I took my drunk ass home for some kip.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++@

Sunday was a reasonably early start, as I went bowling with my co workers. It was fun time, but I really need to practice. I sucked! Although in my defence, I haven't bowled in at least two years. After a few games we went for lunch at an all you can eat bread place. I ate about 20 pieces of bread and a salad. Just a small meal. We then took some print club and played some games at the arcade. Man those places swallow your loose change so fast.

After that, I invited my co workers around for a drink at my place. I drunk the Hop Stoopid (8.5/10) and Torpedo (7.5/10) as well as a few Westys (look at the great pouring shots taken by my co worker above). Good times and interesting conversation. After walking these retrobates back to the station it was time for bed. Back to work next morning, where i find myself writing this, during my lunch break on a balmy Summer day. Atsui, ne!?

Hopstar 88 yen beer - sound appetizing? no thanks....

I don't know If this was the name of the shop, but it gave me a chuckle.

music by the numbers

Haven't done a list for a while, so here goes...

Top 10 best songs ever (off the top of my head)

1. Electric Dreams - Giorgio Moroder (hey I'm an 80s child!)

2. Alive - Pearl Jam (My teenage song)

3. No Surprises - Radiohead

4. Float on - Modest Mouse

5. Get your Walk on - Xzibit

6. I'm Broken - Pantera

7.Perfect Day - Lou Reed

8. Slow Show - The National

9. Maybe I'll Catch Fire - Alkaline Trio

10. That techno song I used to listen to whose name escapes me right now

How about you?

what's not to like?

Friday night involved hoping on a bullet train to Tokyo to meet Tim and his mates for a special beer tasting. After having a Whiskey barrel Iwate Kura IPA at Bulldog, we went and found a very urban, chic environment (ie under the train tracks) to try Mikkeller Beer Geek Weasel (made with civet coffee - most expensive in the World) and Deschutes the Abyss (aged in French Oak and Bourbon Barrels).

Two huge, black 11% Imperial Stouts they were both sublime, as we watched (and cajouled) the nightlife walking by. The winner for me was the Abyss (9/10), just because of the huge complexity, though the weasel (8.5/10) was no slouch. Anyone that knows me knows I love a big, black imperial - so I was very happy. Company was good too. Cheers for sharing Tim! Back on the train for last trains to Yokohama, then home. PHEW safe!

                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Which brings us to Saturday. I decided to head to Motomachi to buy some shoes (a steal at 6000 yen down from 16000 yen), before walking through Chinatown and along Yasmashita pier to the Red Brick Warehouses for the Y150 celabrations. If you don't already know, it is 150 years since the Black Ships of Commodore Perry shimmied their way in to Yokohama, opening up trade with the outside world for the first time in centuries (except for with the dutch I believe). Here is a replica of said ships.

 

Anyway, enough with the history lesson. They have an exposition type event at the port, which I wanted to see. First problem was the entrance fee - 2400 yen! Over thirty Australian dollars. Next it was all in Japanese and finally it was a waste of time. The exhibits were bland and lifeless. There was an Anime especially made for the event, though it was all in Japanese and the quality of the anmation wasn't that great. The big robot spider thingy from Paris was interesting, but only a few hundred yen interesting. Get where I'm going with this?? 

Anyway Toyota had a pavillion which amounted to the World's biggest TV showing a ten minute movie on Japan and lots of advertising for it's green awareness cars. Woo hoo. Finally there was a big 20m in Diameter balloon that displayed images at night, which wasn't as fascinating as it sounded. All in all I felt done. Royally. Well the best I can offer is to warn others not to waste their money, particularly as the Spider can be seen from a nearby pedestrian overpass anyway. Oh for shame Yokohama. It wasn't crowded and you could see why. The number one rule of business is to get repeat custom, but there is no chance with the shite on display. Ahem, moving on.

In fairness, my day did get a lot better. I decided to head to Yokohama Brewery (which I had never visited!) where I met up with Chris 'chief running mouth talkalota' Chuwy. We had a really good pint (600mls actually) of Green Fresh, their big unfiltered IPA. Then it was a quick, gassy dash (I drunk my beer too quickly) to craft beer bar to meet up with Homebrewjapan and his missus. A real affable chap, he bought some of the brews he had been perfecting recently, as witnessed on his blog. But not before I got a pint of Shiga Kogen IPA in, from my favourite brewer. 

We made our way down the pier, which was lovely and cool in the evening, with a lovely sea breeze. Very romantic if I weren't with a welsh talking machine and a couple. Homebrewjapan then whipped out the big guns (oh my!). We tried his great homebrew and I must say he shows great potential. For a full run down see here, for HBJ's write up, and here for Chris' two pints worth. I thought his pilsner and hitachino nest IPA were the pick of the bunch, but there were no bad beers. I think they might have suffered from carbonation issues, but that was explained by homebrew. Apparently forced carbonation was used over traditional methods (that's what I was going to say, but he explainrd before I had the chance ;P).

Chuwy then whipped out his big gun...luckily it was a bottle of HaandBryggeriet dark force (8/10) and not his long suffering willy. It was delicious. A big, black wheat (?!) imperial stout. Boozy and long. Cheers Chris, it was a nice surprise. We then made a run to Yokohama for a Thrash, but for some reason it was closed (We would find out later Koichi had a cold). So we made our way to cheers. Haven't been there for ages, as this focus is on Belgian beers, which I haven't been a fan of recently and it is a little costly, compared to Thrash.

We ordered four glasses of St. Bernardus 12, which is a great beer, though just a bit too sweet for me on the night. Great as it was, it was time to down it quickly and dash for the station for the last train again. Whew thanks Chris and Homebrewjapan for a pleasant evening, after a lackluster day. Let's do it again before I leave!

(Above two photos: My second hometown. Always in my heart.)

Where the hell is Numazu you say?

Met up with the Japanese beer blog fashionista for several pints down the original baird taproom in Numazu. Chuwy, Capa, Nate and DH and of course TimE downed a few as well as made quite a mess shelling peanuts. Bloggers, Ratebeerians and Tweeters alike drank their ambrosia and immersed themselves in increasing hazy and innuendo centered conversation. Head brewer Chris came down later and joined us for a few too. Top guy. Things started to get a bit hazy, but not before Nate poped out some of his IPA and Imperial Stout homebrew (great job on both!) and Tim pulled out a bottle of Barrel aged Imperial Porter from Full Sail. Like Wow! Cheers gents. 

More drinking and fun and games in to the night, last trains home and through a series of fortunate events caught the last train on my local line (don't ask me how - I couldn't tell you). Special thanks to Chuwy for making sure I got the right train! 

Now Numazu wouldn't be my first choice for a trip again (Much more commercial than I expected) but it was good to get all these beer heads together at a decent brewery. I'm not going to lie and say Baird is my favourite brewer, but they make some decent beer. Now if only they turned decent into great. Maybe Chris is the guy to do it...A good weekend trip, even if it taxed the old wallet a bit!

From memory I had the Numazu Lager, Shimuguni Stout (surprise of the day!), Rainy Season black ale (disappointment of the day), Red Rose Amber, DIPA, Morning Coffee Stout (Fantastic - highly recommended) and Tekioku(?) IPA. Not too bad....

Aussie Beers

Yeti

It's commmiinnnggggggg....

Sunday Arvo

Sunday evening beers - Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (8/10), followed by a 2001 Samichlaus (8/10)! Both big fruity beers. Obviously the Sami had mellowed and matured. It was good, but I think the 2008 is good too - just different! Had a wedding on Saturday (see the pics below), before going to craft beer bar and finishing off at home with a Nogne Imperial Stout (8.5/10), which I found hiding in Tanakaya. I thought they were all sold out, but I found one hiding at the back hooray! Nice big example of my favourite style...

Chizuko's Wedding

Went to my former student's wedding on the weekend - and what a wedding it was! We cruised around on a ship for a few hours round okohama Bay, whilst enjoying some of the best food I have had in a long while. It was a Chinese Japanese fusion and the quality was unbelievable! Beef that melted in your mouth, smooth filling soup and even lobster! Made the Asahi Super dry I drank with it seem palatable. The service was on top of the ship, before we left harbour and it was very interesting. Lots of western imagery (Rings etc) but totally Japanese in presentation. We even let off balloons at the conclusion of the event. 

I was honoured to be invited to such an event and share my deepest respect for Chizuko and Shugo for the future. Good luck for the honeymoon!

Westy v. Berny 12 rounds (geddit?)

I had a review of the holy grail of beers - the Westvleteren 12 up the other day til blogger decided to f@#$ me around and delete the post. I haven't had the time or energy to put it up again...til now (cue eeire music). So take two - here's my ratebeer.com review...

Yes it’s a great beer. The best in the world? Debatable. It serves as the holy grail and does its job well. Poured a magnificent auburn unfiltered ruby red. A sight to behold. Nose of raisins, alcohol, toffee etc. Taste was expressive. Lots of alcohol, port, sweet dark fruit and a little coffee. mouth feel was medium to full. Left a lasting impression of alcohol and cinnamon in the mouth. Lots of yeasty sediment to this one. Glad to try it, now I can move on try a few more on my wishlist!

I have a few more so I will crack them open later for a better review. I also had a St. Bernardus ABT 12 the same night. The Berny was also very good and a little similar to the Westy. The story goes that The St.Bernard Brewery brewed Westvleteren beers for the monks up till recently. Here is the full story from 52brews.com.

"In 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of “Trappist” under contract from 1946 until 1992…

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year. Today it brews beers with no monastic influence…but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven’t changed since 1946.

Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew. "

So obviously both are great beers. There were discernible differences, such as the Westy having a more auburn colour, where as the Berny was a browny colour with better head retention. The tastes where not dissimilar, with big roasty, fruit flavours, but more like cousins than siblings. Similar profiles with notable distinctions. If I were to pick a winner it would be the Berny, just because it's 1/3 the price of the Westy and a hellava lot easier to get your hands on...just saying.

Anyone got some thoughts on these two?

Van Halen and Satriani's Love child - one night only

I think this about sums up my guitar playing ability! But I enjoy it and Koichi is always kind enough to let me play at the Thrash Zone. This pic courtesy of Chuwy's highly readable, always quotable blog.

Drank a bit too much last night. Greenflash DIPA (7/10 - their West Coast IPA kills this), Stone RIS (9/10), Minoh DIPA (6.5/10 - Don't get me started on Minoh) and West Coast IPA (9/10). Then went home and drank a Samichlaus (14%!) and whisky...but I was still able to perform my duty at the end of the night;)...As you can guess I'm a bit under the weather today...

paid in full

Pumping on the stereo - 

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (Crazy cool song). Even if it is a bit soft, the melodies are keepers. Check it out like...

P.S. remember ANYONE can leave comments so please do so (I'm looking at you anonymous reader!).

Time for a body shot

Where do you want your body shot? Cold coffee in a can...mmmmmm

If your going to drink...do it properly

Courtesy of Chuwy's blog... I present the aristocacy of street drinking...A tale of two pompous pricks and their hopped up DIPAs and belgium beers in goblets...seriously though, lynch these guys if you see them drinking on the street again...

westy

woot woot I have westvleteren!

Just had the Westy 8... here's the review ratebeer.com style:-

Wow. fruit. do you like fruit? If not, then this might not be the brew for you. I managed to get my hands on a few bottles of these (thanks TimE!). Expensive as. Actually gushed out of the bottle, even though it had been sitting out of the fridge for a while. Obviously a lot going on here. A huge fruity nose. Blackcurrants, apple, banana etc. The moutfeel was medium bodied and very fruity. As it warmed up it had more toffee and coffee notes, as well as a pronounced alcohol bite. Finish was medium bitterness with spice. An exceptional beer. It is very Belgian. I am not a huge fan of Belgium beers at the moment...but this is class. Can’t wait for the 12.

Maybe my longest ratebeer review ever...Still it was a great beer. Enjoyed after a Weihenstephan HefeWeiss and Lagunitas Imperial Stout, with a Shiga Kogen IPA after that to finish off...oh and watched Running Man with Arnie....beat that for a night in!

Beer hunting

Gonna try something different. I will list my top 10 beers I want to try (that as yet I haven't locked my lips around) and try to wittle them down. Of course more will probably be added over time. Feel free to add your own..I didn't add Dark Lord by Three Floyds cos it's only sold once a year from the brewpub so I will probably not get my hands on it. Same goes for Surly Darkness.

1.Westvleteren 12 (Belgium) Quadrapel

2.Alemsith Speedway Stout (USA) RIS

3.Bell's Expedition Stout (USA) RIS

4.Surly Furious (USA) IPA

5. Bell's Hopslam (USA) DIPA

6.Founder's Breakfast Stout (USA) RIS

7.Oskar Blues Ten Fidy (USA) RIS

8.Murray's 2IPA (Australia) DIPA

9.Dieu De Ciel Peche Mortel (Canada) RIS

10.Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock (Germany) Doppelbock

Obviously a lot of American brews here, but they are doing it better than anyone else at the moment. Also lots of Imperial Stouts (my favourite!)...No Japanese beers because I believe I have tried all the best ones...or have I?

wavves and watches

This my friends is the coolest bit o' bling I've seen for a while...Saw it in a magazine while I was waiting for a haircut (yeah 1000 yen cuts are the new punk rock...).

Not to mention this video clip by Wavves (who seem to be getting much love recently). Love the overtly Japanese clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF9Tu35-pBo

Comments

I changed some settings...ANYONE can now leave a comment! Please feel free to..

Popeye's Redux

Beers -

Shiga Kogen IPA

Preston Babakan DIPA

Isekadoya Amber

Hakuseikikan Brown Ale

Rogue Yellow Snow IPA

Tokyo Black (Nitrogen)

Isekadoya Brown Ale

Rogue Shakesphere Stout

Hakusekikan Super Vintage

Nasu Kogen Nine Tailed Fox

Ozenoyukidoke IPA (Through the Hop Heart - like a Randall)

Atsugi Tripel

I shared a few of these - but yes I was pretty hammered!