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