Category: Beer Tasting & Pairing
-
Orion Brewery, Orion The Draft Chiba Cherry Blossom
As most of the northern hemisphere is still in the grips of winter, here in Okinawa spring has sprung. This past week my family and I traveled to the northern end of the island to see the cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms, also called sakura, are the flowers of any number of species of Prunus trees…
-
Mid-term Break from Learning About Beer to Enjoy Some Beers
This is mid-term week for Auburn Brewing Science Masters Program. I am up to my eyeballs in yeast cell biology, contamination test, and calculations for mass and energy. After a few days of studying I needed a break. I decided to try a Comparison Tasting for the Certified Cicerone Exam that I am also studying…
-
Star Wars Day; Kirishima Beer, Stout, Kirishima Shuzo Co.
This week is Golden Week in Japan. This is a series of holidays that all fall within a weeks time. They are Showa Day, Constitutional Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day. Because of the close proximity of these holidays this is the big travel and holiday time for many in the country. Today, May…
-
Helios Brewery, Santa Beer, Christmas Beer, 7% ABV
As spring approaches here in Japan cleaning our house has taken center stage as we say goodbye to winter. As I was cleaning the refrigerator I found a beer hiding in the back behind the well expired left overs that were starting to take on the features of a misguided science experiment. During Christmas I…
-
Chapter 5: Palate Trips from Beer Pairing; The Essential Guide from the Pairing Pros, Julia Herz and Gwen Conley
Since the beginning of the year I have read and written reviews for about a dozen beer books. In many of these books are recipes and exercises the reader can utilize to reinforce lessons taught in the book. Last week I wrote a review of Beer Parings by Julia Herz and Gwen Conley, now I…
-
Asahi Super “Dry” Recipe Change
Asahi has been the best selling beer in Japan for years up until 2020 when another Japanese Brewery, Kirin, overtook them. Historically the preponderance of sales of Asahi come from draft form in bars. This has obviously been greatly impacted by the recent public health restrictions imposed by Japan for COVID-19. In an effort to…
-
Super Beer Bowl: Okinawa Edition, Okinawa Sango Brewery, IPA & Kölsch
This Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. For those not living in the United States it is a time when the country comes together in-front of televisions for one of two reasons. Either they are there to watch the final football game of the season or they are there to watch the commercials between the plays.…
-
Beer & Book Review: Ancient Brews, Patrick E. McGovern, 2017
I have read many descriptions of Patrick McGovern. The one that I enjoy the most is of a beer version of Indiana Jones. While the theatrical imagery is great to have, I understand that Patrick McGovern is less leather jacket, fedora, and bullwhip and more scientific procedures to determine what is in the ancient vase.…
-
Hefe-Weizen, Ginga Kogen Beer
With a name that translates into “The Plateau of the Galaxy”, Ginga Kogen started in 1996 with a goal to brew authentic weizen beers. Weizen are beers brewed with at least 50% wheat grain as part of their list of grains used and can also be called wit or white beers. The brewery is located…
Luke Pernotto 