Category: Uncategorized
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Third Beer of Christmas, Père Noël, Xceptional Xmas Beer, Brouwerij de Ranke, Dottignies, Belgium
The holidays are continuing with both the 12 days of Christmas and these beers. Coming to the third one we can feel one of two ways. Our family is either starting to annoy us or we are dreading tomorrow when they have to leave and we are unsure when we will see them again. What…
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Second Beer of Christmas, Winter Welcome Ale, Strong Beer, Samuel Smith’s Brewery, Tadcaster, UK
The main excitement of the holidays is over with the opening of gifts and the large gathering for Christmas meals. Many of our flights are not until this weekend and now we have to find ourselves in a second day of activities until then. What better way to pass the time with a well established…
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First Beer of Christmas, Santa’s Little Helper, Imperial Stout, Pizza Port Brewing Company, Carlsbad, California
The beginning of the 2026, 12 Beers of Christmas starts in Southern California with a seasonal delight by a small but popular local brewery.
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2025 Twelve Beers of Christmas
I’m not going to lie. This time of year is my least favorite of the year. As days get shorter, temperatures drop, and the sun seems to be a long lost memory by 5 o’clock. I am forced out of the comfort of my shorts and sandals. These conditions drive people indoors and to isolate…
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Thanksgiving in a thankless land
The greatest Thanksgiving celebrated in the worst land. Reminiscence of past Thanksgiving celebrations and realizing my favorite one was in a most unlikely place.
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New Year, New Sake
To start off the new year I tasted a Sake that was picked up when I hiked Mt. Fuji. There is a local superstition that says if you do not hike to the top of Mt. Fuji at least once during your time in Japan you will return. Seeing that this is my third time…
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Baird Brewing Company, Wasabi Japan Pale Ale, Shuzenji, Japan
As my final term paper for school continues along I am getting to the point where I am looking at areas where Japanese craft beer’s exposure can expand. One of the areas I think will help with exposing Japanese Craft Beer is using traditional Japanese ingredients in beer brewing. Japan has a wide variety of…
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Spring Valley Brewery, Kyoto
In 1869 William Copeland, a Norwegian-American living in Japan, started what is believed to be the first beer brewery in Japan. Some 154 years later while vacationing in Kyoto, Japan I visited the Spring Valley Brew Pub. While Spring Valley started as a small brewery through a series of acquisitions and mergers the business is…
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Local Beer Day
Established by Japan Craft Beer Association’s “Jibeer Day Selection Committee” marked by the date of the Beer Purity Law (reinheitsgebot)
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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…
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Eleventh Beer of Christmas, Chatan Harbor Brewery, Lager
The Eleventh Beer of Christmas brings us back to Okinawa where we started. Chatan Harbor Brewery started in 2016 and is part of the Terrace Hotel Group in Okinawa. The brewery is located just north of American Village on the west side of the island of Okinawa. American Village is a shopping area just outside…
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Tenth Beer of Christmas, Kizakura Brewery, Kyoto Beer, Golden Ale
As we come to the end of the twelve beers of Christmas we return to the Kizakura Brewery. Like many beer breweries in Japan Kizakura has its foundation as a sake brewery. This beer is even more unique as it has been brewed with koji mold spores that are usually used to brew sake. Koji…
Luke Pernotto 