West Coast on tap

If you've been in any nice bottle store lately you've seen the shelves become heavy with West Coast U.S. brews. Marin, Green Flash, Alaskan, Hair of the Dog, Great Divide (though technically not west coast), Speakeasy, Avery, among others. To say I'm pleased would be an understatement. So you can only imagine my excitement when I learned that come early March Green Flash will be available on tap. Tap! I've only heard of Thrash Zone getting the beers, but I'm sure many others will be serving it, as well. Please patronize these beers as it will only show that there really is a market for quality beers from all over the globe (especially hoppy IPAs) in Japan. I know I'll be having a few pints.

Liefmans Goudenbond, tasty

I was abused

I had this past friday off and decided to spend it doing some photography in and around Yokohama. What an amazing day it turned out to be though it had nothing to do with any of that photo junk. Mid-day rolled around and my thirst was starting to pick up, but knowing that most Yokohama bars don't open till 5 p.m. I went searching for a good bottle. What sucks about Yokohama is that there isn't a decent bottle shop, uh, closer than Tanakaya - in Tokyo. There is a Queens Isetan in the Yokohama train station and they have more than anybody else; so I headed over. Found a couple things that looked nice but I wasn't in the mood for a pilsner or pale lager so I skipped out on those and decided I'd burn a couple hours waiting for the pubs to open up. I don't see a problem with that. I hadn't been to Craft Beer Bar in a while so I decided I'd check them out again. It's a real nice bar, but I always feel underdressed when I go in there, which makes me pretty uncomfortable. I quickly got over that upon seeing they had the Baird Double IPA on tap! I wanted to try a couple different things while I was there but after that first glorious sip of the Baird I knew where I was staying till my cash ran out. Nice copper orange in color with an aroma of citrus, grapefruit, orange, and a caramel malt background. I love that caramel malt. I dig big time hops in my DIPAs, but not enough breweries give them the malty backbone that IPAs desperately need. The Baird DIPA had a near perfect body making the flavors really stand out. Big grapefruit, citrus hop bite followed by some pine and herbal notes. That malty backbone keeps the hops grounded. Bitter and delicious, I wish they'd bottle this.

I resolve to be a better drinker

Things I'll do to make this a blog to be reckoned with:

1. Drink more Japanese brews.
-Included with this one is writing more useful reviews; finding more seasonal and difficult to find Japanese brews.
2. Do more beer research/reading
-I'd like to actually add something to the world of beer blogs and not be just another reviewer of beer.
3. Continually improve my beer photography
-Not only improve my equipment but increase the creativity of my photographs

I think three is achievable, any more would be asking for a letdown. I resolve to start working on all of these right after I recover from my New Years celebrations...whew.

'Last' beer of the year

That's a complete lie. Soon I'll be heading up to Tokyo and celebrating the end of 2007 with my fair share of draft Asahi.
Baird's Jubilation Ale 2007 is my last new beer of 2007, though. I'd heard good things from this beer, but it still beat my expectations. As you begin to pour the beer the color strikes of melted caramel with a creamy, firm head standing proudly on top. besides having heard it was a "good" beer I had nothing else to go on. Reports of similarities to Anchor's Our Special Ale were rampant, but so was "yea, but it's different." The wonderfully inviting aroma was full of malty goodness, caramel apples, chcolate, milk, and spicy nutmeg and cinnamon. The caramel apples were something that took me off-guard, but had me yearning for that first sip. The caramel apple takes a back-seat in the flavor of this beer, leaving the sweet malts, milk chocolate, nutmeg and cinnamon with all the glory. The finish arrives with the spices showing themselves to be a powerful player, as well as some saltiness that requires you to go back for more. The smooth and creamy body only enhances the enjoyment of the Jubilation as it is very easily drinkable. At 6.5% alcohol, trying to make a session of this may be a rough (yet tasty) test. I can't think of a better way to send out 2007. I'm looking forward to what 2008 brings me.

No crawling, great anyway

That crawl I was looking forward to ended almost before it began. Got to the first bar, Sal's Cafe in Kawasaki, only to find out the rest of the group didn't want to go to Yokohama because it's too far. Now, I understand where they are coming from, but it would have been nice to do some beer drinking a little closer to my home instead of always trekking up to Tokyo. Majority wins time and time again. Sal's was amazing though, I'll have a full recap after the New Year. The rest of the group went to Tokyo while my buddy and I kept with the original plan and headed back to Yokohama. Ended the night at Yokohama Beer Bar (also a review is coming). I can't complain too much about the night, good friends and good beer is always a winning combination.

Crawl before you walk, and sometimes after

Pub crawl tonight. Haven't done a proper crawl in a long time. I owe that to the fact the best pubs in Tokyo are pretty well spread out and Yokohama only recently became a player on the scene. It does seem a bit odd to me that we will be taking the train during the crawl part of the trip; walking seems more crawl-like. That's Japan though, you adjust and then drink. A recap, hopefully a few photos, and a review or two scheduled for tomorrow (depending on the level of hangover). Scheduled to hit are Sugaya and Sal's in Kawasaki, then on to Cheers and Yokohama Beer Bar in Yokohama. I may snag a buddy or two and finish at Thrash Zone; I love that place.