First up was Yaho's Aooni, or Blue Demon. Modelled on the old India Pale Ale (the ones that went to India, not the modern hop head American inventions). I think this is a solid Japanese beer that I can drink at any time in any weather.
A bit stronger than most, as about 7%. Nice beer. Hoppy, bitter, malty. Smooth and just a little astringent. 6.5/10Next up was Baeren alt. Baeren hail from Morioka, up in Iwate.
I'm no big fan of the alt style, but this baby was nicely made.Easy to drink. 5.5-6/10
Next was another northern Japan brew, Akita and Lake Tazawako beer's Tazawako Kolsch:
I'm gonna say this is my favourite Japanese kolsch. I first had it in a frosted glass, on the forzen shores of lake Tazawa in winter. Wow! It sure hit the spot. Clean, crisp, refreshing.Very nice. 7/10
My final beer for that evening was the gloriously hopped thru the f*ckin roof, The Great Divide's Titan IPA.
Needless to say, this hop monster is American and by golly is she a glorious beast in a little bottle. One of my favourite IPAs, this baby came out top when I compared several highly hopped IPAs and DIPAs from Tanakaya together one evening..Damn fine beer to finish with. 8/10
Tonight, whilst typing up these latest 2 entries, I indulged myself in a little Sayuri.
A Baird saison Sayuri.
Very nice, but a tad to thin bodied and sour for my tastes. 6.5/10
Chuwy...nice lineup of brews. Wish we could get that kind of stuff down here in lowly Aichi!
ReplyDeleteQuestion...would you and the Tokyo folks be up for a trip down to Aichi for a summer beer meetup? OR what about a summer beer meetup in Numazu or one of breweries around Fuji???
The answer is yes, yes and f*ck yeah. Or you guys come up to the city and the parks and or beaches.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Numazu Taproom anniversary willbe not far away. It's a big one. Last time I spent 3 days and over 30 pints there. Good times. sleeping in internet cafes (free ice cream!), morning swims in the ocean, lunchtime-evening drinking...
ReplyDelete