Minoh Beer

Opps, sorry, I must have dozed off. But it's time for another post.

As reported in Brews News, there is an Osaka Exhibition in the Tokyu Department store above Shibuya Station (8th floor of the west section). In among the chaff of okonomi-yaki and taco-yaki vendors there is a wee gem in the form of a booth from Minoh Beer of Osaka. I had occasion to pop in last night and try a couple of their wares.

The verdict is that their 9% DIPA (or WIPA as they were calling it, since in Japan W=double, get it?) is damned good. Damned good! As good or better than any of the rich, caramelly, highly hopped American micro-brew inspired ales you might have tried in your beery adventures. I talked to the brewer and she told me that the hops are all Perle and Cascade, which is interesting. It was certainly a very smooth bitterness and perfectly balanced. Reminded me of a Baird Red Rose Amber Ale on steroids or Dogfish head 90 minute IPA, which I once had the good fortune to try.

I tried the real-ale stout after that and it was insipid by comparison. I should have had them in the reverse order. It was a fine beer, smooth and dry with with subtle roast. But being much lower in body, flavour and overall bang-for-buck, I had to have another WIPA after that to send me on my way. They also had a pilsener and a weizen on tap, but it was simply not the right time or place.

I also snaffled a sip from a fellow-drinker of the Cabernet Ale. It was certainly very grapey, somewhat tart and sweet at the same time. I won't pretend that I would actually enjoy drinking this, but it is an interesting hybrid in the true sense of the word. My own feelings are that if you want beer, drink beer, if you want wine, drink wine. Old fashioned and fuddy-duddy you could call me. I am also a fruit beer sceptic with the exception of well-made lambics. But fruit infusions in regular pale ale's and the like invariably leave me underwhelmed. The fruit is usually a distraction more than anything else. Still, each to their own.

Ushi Tora & Baird Four Sisters Spring Bock

Tokyo has only a handful of bars devoted to showcasing Japanese craft beer. Two of them are located within spitting distance of one another in Shimokitazawa, a cool and trendy little neighbourhood about 5 minutes from Shibuya on an Inokashira express train.

On Friday evening I visited one of these bars, Ushi Tora. I was pleasantly surprised at the relatively small size and cosy atmosphere. But it was impressive that they had some 23 beers on tap, plus three on hand pump. It seemed to be very quiet considering it was Friday night -- an undiscovered gem? The master was knowledgeable and available, but gave us plenty of time and space to make our selections.

I am always eager to try any of the seasonal offerings from Baird Beer (Shizuoka), and was intrigued to see both a Scottish 60 shilling and "spring" bock on the menu. My friend ordered the 60 shilling only for the keg to blow. I ordered a pint of the spring bock and had more luck.

I hadn't twigged to the fact that "spring" bock meant it would be a helles or maibock and was expecting a dark coloured beer. So I was initially surprised when this palish beer arrived. But my synapses re-connected and I thought, hmm OK, this could be interesting. In the end, it turned out to be a superb beer. I'd maybe even go so far as to say it was the best beer I have ever had from Mr. Baird, and that is saying a lot!

Tasting notes
Appearance
Deep gold, brilliantly clear, thin white persistent head 4.5/5
Aroma
Malt, faint suggestions of tropical fruit or honey 8/10
Flavour
Rich malt, honey, balanced by slightly more spicy hop bitterness than you'd expect, but it worked to add complexity, alcohol warmth, all in superb balance 18/20
Mouthfeel
Full bodied without being cloying, aftertaste that goes on and on and on 5/5
Overall impression
A knockout. 9/10
Total: 44.5/50

I also had a pint of Iwate IPA. The Spring Bock stayed with me though the glass, but the IPA held its own. I should also note that both beers were served at perfect temperature and with only just enough carbonation to keep the beer fresh and pushed out of the keg. In other words, perfect. Overall, a very enjoyable couple of beers in a setting to which I can see myself returning.

Real Ale at BEERS

Last night's monthly BEERS meeting presented members with a "real" treat in the form of two familiar craft beers served as real ale by gravity pour. The beers were accompanied by the brewer, Toshi Ishii from Ya-ho brewing in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. Toshi used to work at Stone Brewing in California. He gave us a talk about real ale and talked a little about the two beers. As an added "treat", the casks in which the beers were presented were oak pins (4.5 UK gallons) without any inner liner (more on this later).

Beer number one was Yona Yona, familiar to most if not all beer fans in Japan. An American pale ale style, it was dry hopped in the cask. With the absence of carbonation, the beer was beautifully smooth and the floral Cascade hop character was a delight as it danced upon a slightly sweet, malt stage.

Beer number two was Ya-ho's Tokyo Black Ale, a classic example of the porter style that was popular among London's working classes in the 19th century and from which stout evolved. The Tokyo Black had a slightly higher amount of carbonation than the Yona Yona, providing a slight carbonic tickle on the tongue, but it was still very much a real ale. Tokyo Black is a superb beer to drink as real ale. It is rich and smooth and roasty, but with very rounded corners and none of the burnt, dry flavor typical of stout. (A tip when buying Tokyo Black Ale in the can is to pour it a few minutes before drinking. Carefully stir with a spoon or swirl the glass to release excess CO2 and allow it to warm to around 12 degrees C. The resulting taste experience will be vastly superior to an over-chilled, fully-carbonated version). Bryan Harrel in Brews News #75 described it as: "Near black, opaque, dark tan short-lived head. Faint subdued aromas of dried fruit, sweet coffee and chocolate cake. Smooth mouthfeel with rich, dark malt flavors, but very little deep roast bitterness. A session ale for dark-beer lovers." He gave it four stars out of five. As real ale it gets an easy five, if not six!

Some questions during the presentation led to a lot of discussion about packaging craft beer in bottles versus cans, and whether there is any difference. The discussion seemed to lurch away from real ale and led me to ask Toshi what the benefit is of conditioning real ales in wood compared to the more common stainless steel casks that are common in the UK. And would any differences become more evident over time? The answer seemed to be that it was, er, too difficult to answer. So perhaps the benefit is mainly aesthetic and spiritual rather than for any tangible taste difference. Certainly oak casks are much more expensive and the beer in them is more difficult to maintain in good condition in the cellar, so if tangible taste benefits are so difficult to identify, then it is no wonder that Yona Yona is the only brewery in Japan with wooden casks, and that even in the UK there are only eight breweries with wooden casks. In short, it is for the purists, and even then, as Toshi intimated, reserved for special occasions like beer shows (and BEERS meetings!)

Rob Barrow, a craft beer expert from the UK, was also in attendance and shared some insights into the real ale scene (did somebody mention CAMRA) in the old dart. We heard about how CAMRA are very particular about what is and isn't considered kosher in the world of real ale. They frown upon cask breathers, a device that allows CO2 or a cellar mix (CO2 + N2) to replace drawn off beer in the cask and thus protect the remaining beer from oxidation. They are also agin sparklers, a little plastic device that is inserted into the pouring spout to inrease head formation by knocking CO2 out of solution (and flavour with it). The session was rounded out by some informal social mingling until the casks were all-too-soon emptied.

After the meeting, Tod, Jim and I popped into Towers near Tokyo station, a "hole-in-the-wall" bar that, in its own small way, champions craft beer. An ambition we should all hold. We tried a regular hand pumped "real ale" Yona Yona and found it quite insipid compared to its dry-hopped sibling we had just been drinking. After some lively banter with the other patrons (well, one in particular), we sauntered off into the night, satisfied with our evening of drinking good beer.

Red Miso Lager Beer

Miso paste in a beer? Red miso paste? Apparently the Morita Kinshachi Beer Co. Ltd of Nagoya thinks it is a fair and proper thing to foist upon the public. I saw it in the Foodshow (basement level) liquor section of the Tokyu Department Store at Shibuya Station yesterday, first thought phht, and finally decided, oh what the hell, I've just run a marathon, I might as well give this a try. I was not expecting much though, as other attempts by Japanese craft brewers to incorporate indiginous ingredients with their brews have left me a little less than whelmed.

Tasting notes
Appearance was a very dark brown transluscent colour with ruby hints. Off-white head and subdued carbonation.
Aroma was a rich prune-like vinous aroma. Nothing really punched me in the nose and shouted "aka miso" at me. No hop aroma.
Fairly clean lightish body at first, very malty and assertively rich and meaty in the back palate. But still no standout flavour that would make you say, "hey, red miso!" At 6% abv, I basically would put this down as a pretty standard, actually quite good, Bock beer. I wasn't knocked out at the first sip, but by the last I could have easily opened another bottle.
Overall score 7.5/10. (maybe another 0.5 for the label).