Will write a full entry when I have time (accidentally deleted the last entry after spending about 30 minutes on it!) about my wonderful day under the Cherry Blossoms and in Popeyes...
Aoki San and I (He is Popeye of Popeyes fame)
Down it in one my son (Drowning a pint of Divine Vamp 3, Popeyes house beer)
Had a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale under the Cherry Blossoms in Ueno (Look at the head!)
In Japan the local dragstore is just a hop, skip and girly laugh away...
Words escape me
St.Swear is the patron saint of Japan. This chapel was named in honor of him.
Sumos patrol Train platforms in Japan in order to curb the growing trend of athletic salarymen training for the 100m dashNice little link...Most of us know these beers but I've only tried one of them! Haha. Don't necessarily agree with the list but in the interest of fairness....
http//www.holytaco.com/10-beers-you-need-try-you-die
whadaya think?
Had a bastard of a weekend so I decided o get in to my bottle of Pliny the Elder sooner rather than later. It was good. Damn good.
Yes the best double IPA I’ve had along with the ruination. Pours a gorgeous dark yellow with a creamy froathy head. The nose is an unbelievable hop extravaganza. The mouthfeel is smooth and medium to full bodied. Taste of grapefruit, citrus and pine. Lingers in the mouth for a while, but not in an overpowering way. I stumbled across this in Tanakaya and it was 1260 yen well spent. Who knows when I’ll be able to try this amazing brew again, if ever!
Good ol Double IPAs. They certainly know how to show you a good time. On a slight note they are also one of the most dangerous beers to drink in a bar. At 7 to 10% and gooing down so easily, they can really sneak up on you quickly. I really enjoy the Stone Ruination, Speakeasy Double Daddy and Shiga Kogen's House IPA. mmmMMmmm its beer time (copyright McDonalds corp).
I was in Tokyo yesterday to pick up a passport (long story!!) and decided to stop by Tanakaya in Mejiro. The place is the sh@t!! Always great, even if the prices are not always. Yesterday they had World Wide Stout (18%) and 120 IPA (21%), Avery Metistophiles (?!), Dark Horizon by Nogne and Black Flag Imperial Stout, which I got a recommendation about, not to mention hundreds more.
I was there to pick up some Takashi Imperial Stout by my favourite Japanese brewer. Tamamura Honten, who make Shiga Kogen Beer. Takashi is the head brewer and If you read way back I visited these guys way back in December. They only brew this once a year so I picked up a four pack. Already drunk one, which was sensational (9/10). Here's the review.
Tamamura honten done good here. A reasonably full bodied stout with a strong dark nose. A pitch black pour with a taste of chocolate oils and berries, that just gets better as it warms. Lingers in the mouth. Quite hoppy for the style. Too bad its only brewed once a year...p.s its up to 10% this year.
The find of the day however, as you can see in the photo, was a bottle of Piny the Elder by Russian River! I have never seen Russian River in Japan, so before you could say "Holy cow Batman how did you fit that in there?", I grabbed this little beauty. If you don't know it's a Double IPA (or WIPA as they say over here - geddit?!). It has some majorly good press on ratebeer, so I'll defo do a review when I pop it. Sorry to those in Japan who want a bottle, I think I snapped the last one up...it didn't even have one of those little postings most beers have, just a price tag. But don't feel bummed - Tanakaya still has a kick ass bunch of beers for all tastes! Prost!
Well last weekend I went to the Thrash Zone to try Koichi san's creation...CROSSOVER. He made the beer at Yokohama brewery and apparently used 5kg of hops to create this monster. Heres my ratebeer review.
This is a brew by Koichi from Thash Zone. It’s a cross between a cream ale and an IPA. Unfiltered. Poured with a half inch of head. A dense, cloudy light orange hue. Big nose of grapefruit and citrus. The hops are Amarillo and Centennial. Big, solid mouthful with a strong grapefruit taste on the palate. Sits in the mouth for a while after. Definately more of an west coast style IPA, they only thing letting it down was that it was a bit one dimensional. Otherwise a more than competent brew. Well done Koichi!
Truly it was a tongue scraping hop monster. Koichi said the dry hopped version was too extreme, so I'm glad I got the original. Always nice to try new brews. If you tried it let me know what you thought!
Time to get back in to this blogging lark. So here's a treat for all those who like their Japan weird and wonderful - Chocolate covered Prawn crackers!! mmmmmmm. Sounds delicious huh? I can't tell for sure cos I wasn't willing to fork over the 250 yen at the local convienience store for this mad scientific creation....I may have to investigate this week.
