the beers of Waikiki (and kind of Iwakuni): Maui brewing Big swell IPA

I've sent the big swell IPA to a number of people and I've never heard anything but praise from it. It owns two brewpubs on Oahu and It's Big Swell IPA has been my go to beer out here. Tonight, before I go, I'm having that one. I bought a six pack specifically to have it for this review. You can get them at about every convenience store in Oahu, and I suggest you do. I typically only want do do brews I've never had or have only had once, but this one could not go unmentioned. This was a beer so good it deserved a special edition.

They redesigned the can while I was out here, it used to be a blue can with white labeling, but now it is the opposite. Fortunately, canning is easily accessible to the small brewer and allows them to keep their beer hidden from the dangers of the sun without the cost of dark bottles. It's in a more modern mid century modern minimalist style with the wave in a Polynesian tribal style. Devin Kingsley would love it. The can states "Big Swell IPA, tropical citrus hops burst from this dry-hopped India Pale Ale". It is 6.8% abv and 12 oz per can. The can also says "Crafted with passion from the heart of paradise. We are an innovative and independent brewery. Welcome to the 'Ohana". Yes indeed.

(due to operational concerns, I was not able to finish the review in Hawaii so it will be finished in Iwakuni)

Nose from the can is floral and citrusy, pungent really. Color is a deep orange brown, head is frothy and white. There is considerable life within the glass, a couple of floaters, whether they are yeast cultures or bits of hopp flower I cannot say. Leaning towards the hopp flower bits. Nose from the glass exemplifies more of the floral characteristics. On first sip, it is grassy and citrusy with a slightly dry finish. It has a little bit of a pine quality as well. It has a lower medium body and low acidity. Has a little bit of an alcohol bite, but it's not immediately noticeable.

I finally got the 3D printer and put it together last week end. I didn't have the necessary tools to calibrate it so I had to wait until this weekend to get everything ready. Finally got everything physically set up perfect so I plugged the Arduino Mega 2560 that runs it into my computer and that's when the nightmare began. I've been trying for two days to get this thing to work with my computer, but to no avail. No matter what I do, I cannot get Windows to recognize that the microcontroller is even there. Lights come on on the board, it's getting power, but windows is like "yea dude (lights bud at the end of roach clip, Windows looks and sounds like comedian TJ Miller on an old dirty couch, by the way), I have no Idea what you're talking about". And I'm like "but Windows, you're supplying power to it. How can you not know it's there?" and Windows is all "Geezum sparky. Slow you're roll. I don't report the munitions manuals and conspiracy theory [exploitative deleted] you've been looking at, why you gotta be tracking my power like that? You got some programs or device drivers for this thing?". I give Windows the files, it takes a large hit from it's roach clip, the cherry imoliates the end of the bud and spreads throughout it's bird nest structure, Windows 8.1 holds it for a second and then smoothly lets out a ball of thin, wispy smoke. Windows looks through the files, "you want me to download these? they don't even have authorization signatures." I restart windows and make it install the program and drivers. Windows wakes back up, looks at me, takes another hit and says as it releases the smoke "Error code 10 buddy, device not found". I look at Windows with contempt and say "I swear I'm going to Linux". "yea, like that nerd can help you" Windows says, taking another hit.

Final thoughts, I wish I could find this beer outside of Hawaii, it is a truly good IPA. It's flavorfull, but not overpowering. It's easy to drink, but not watery. It's one of the better general purpose IPA's I've ever had. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

The beers of Iwakuni: Samuel Smith Old Brewery Taddy Porter

I am going to reiterate that this blog is officially apolitical. But when the whole "Brexit" vote was happening I thought "I should shamelessly capitalize on all of this England buzz for the blog" and so on a short stop in Palo Alto California I stopped in Whole Foods and picked this up. I then had to leave again, so this beer has sat in my fridge for a month and a half. This is the Taddy Porter from the fantastically named Samuel Smith Old Brewery of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. The brewery says it was started in 1758, but in true European fashion that only means there has been a brewery there since 1758. The current brewery was started in 1886 when John Smith (of John Smith's brewery) moved his brewing operation to a larger building and left the old one to his nephew Samuel who in turn started his own brewery and named it Samuel Smith's brewery. The operation uses a brewing method called Yorkshire Square, the description of which I'm going to shamelessly rip off  from Wikipedia because it's long and I'm lazy: "A Yorkshire Square vessel is a two-storey system consisting of a shallow chamber approximately two metres high, above which is a walled deck. Cooled wort, the liquid extracted from malted barley, is fermented in the lower chamber, while the yeasty head settles on the deck above. During the first stage of fermentation, the fermenting wort is periodically pumped from the bottom of the chamber over the yeasty head, to keep the yeast mixed in with the wort. Later, the mixing is stopped and the wort in the chamber allowed to settle and cool gently. Most of the yeast rises onto the deck, and is left behind when the beer is drained from the chamber.^[17] The whole process takes at least six days. However, beer straight from a Yorkshire Square vessel will still have a harsh flavour, so the residual yeast is allowed to ferment any remaining sugar, producing a little extra alcohol and carbon dioxide, which mellows the beer. This conditioning begins in tanks at the brewery and continues after the beer is filled into casks, hence the phrase 'Cask Conditioned'". The description fails to mention that the chamber is a square cut piece of stone, hence the name "Yorkshire Square". The brewery also draws from the original 85 foot well created for the original brewery and uses the same strain of yeast they have been using since the early 1900's. It also employs one of the last active teams of non-show Shire draught (draft) horses who still make weekly beer delivery's around Tadcaster.

Nice looking horses

The porter is described on the bottle as "A very dark, full bodied ale with a rich, creamy head and an intense dry, tangy character. Brewed with well water (the original well sunk in 1758 is still in use), malted barley, roasted malt, yeast and hops. Fermented in 'stone Yorkshire squares'. The type of beer first brewed in the early 18th century; gained it's name from being drunk by porters in the fish, meat and other produce markets". They certainly want to give you a sense of the history, It seems to even be the major selling point. This isn't some over-engineered German beer, or fancy-pants Belgian beer, or eccentric American beer. This is the traditional, stalwart, British Empire building beer. The bottle is Samuel Smith's own design and has a very "before the war" feel to it. It has gold foil around the slender neck and over the crimp cap and a Samuel Smith embossed on what the internet says is actually a clear glass bottle (it only appears brown because of the contents, we'll see if that's true). I love the almost art deco styling of the front label of this bottle. If you had told me this bottle had been produced in the mid 1930's and only showed me the front, I would not immediately doubt you. This isn't the first beer I've said that about as it seems to be a trend among smaller European brewers with a history. They try to recapture a still tangible era when the countries of Europe were still very distinct from one another, and so were the beers that they made. It is 1 pint, 2.7 oz and 5% abv. Let's pour it into my British styled pub glass and see how it heads.

Nose from the bottle is one of roasted malt, but it's not heavy. It has a thick, creamy, beige head. Nose from the glass is fruity, maybe a little sweet malt. Color is pitch black, I don't think I could even see bubbles on the side of the glass (the bottle thing turns out to be untrue though, it is indeed brown glass). On first sip, it is light roasted malt with a dry fruity finish. Interesting thing though, it also tastes of hard water. Similar to how the sediment heavy water of Dublin gives Guinness it's flat but flavorful characteristic, the heavy waters of Yorkshire lend a similar quality to this one. You would expect a dark beer like this to be a heavy body, almost syrupy even, but it is not. The body is actually a straight medium, making this beer very easy to drink. Quite acidic though, but still smooth, silky mouthfeel. That finish keeps getting dryer and dryer as I drink this.

I went on a vinyl dig at the base thrift shop. I imagine a great deal of the LP's in there have been on this base for decades. One of them is actually marked for the base high school (square dancing record, with calls) and another turned out to be lateighty's catalog record for marching band music and routines (I can also only assume that this came from the high school). For a record entirely geared towards high school teachers, it is just as sexual as you would expect it to be.

 Which is to say very sexual

 I did find Kirby Buchanan's 1959 album "songs of faith and inspiration" which is in the odd category of western gospel, not to be confused with country gospel or regular gospel. I really enjoyed the music on that one, shame it's got a few scratches in it, most of those should buff out once my cleaning kit arrives.

 I also picked up a copy of "Jim Roberts sings you're tv favorites", which I picked up not because of a burning desire to hear late 1970's-early 1980's tv themes, but because it's actually signed by Jim Roberts himself and addressed to two of the previous owners, Sylvia and Herbert.

 Speaking of people who were on the Lawrence Welk show. I got all exited because I found a two disk copy of the Lawrence Welk musical family (find me another straight 27 year old man who would ever say that), and when I get it back to the room not only does it only contain one disk, but it's Dolly Parton! And just to add insult to injury, that is also a two part. Well, maybe I'll give Dolly's singing mammorys a chance.

Damn, she had a rockin' bod back in the day

Final thoughts. This is a refreshing beer. I would very much like to make one like it someday. It's not super complex, but it's not mono flavored either. It's just an all around good beer. I've met a number of people who say "I don't like beer, but I do like Guinness". If you meet any of these people, steer them towards this beer, I'm sure they'll like it. And pick one up for yourself while you're at it. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

The beers of Waikiki: Left Coast Brewing Co. VooDoo American Stout

I found this at a gas station, although I don't remember which. It's nice to see gas stations carrying good beer instead of barley water and malt liqueur. This one is VooDoo American Stout, which won a bronze metal for foreign style stout at the 2012 world beer cup (which they proudly proclaim on the bottle) along with a silver medal at the 2015 Australia International Beer Awards, a silver medal at the 2013 LA County Fair,
a silver medal at the 2012 LA County Fair,and a bronze medal at the 2011 San Diego International Beer Competition. It is brewed by Left Coast Brewing Co of San Clemente, California. The proudly self owned and award winning brewery started in 2004 with a 3500 barrel system which has grown to an 11,000 barrel system and has distribution to seven countries but only half of the United States.

The beer comes in a 1 pint 6 oz bomber with a fantastic silver graphic of a skeleton with top hat and cane drooped over a gravestone with Voo Doo American Stout scrawled on it. On the reverse it says " American Stout. At Left Coast Brewing Co we pride ourselves on a unique brew in the style of an American Stout Ale. Voo Doo is a full bodied, dark brew that is rich and malty with plenty of roasted barley character. This hearty stout is layered with flavors of roasted barley, chocolate, and coffee coming from the highest quality imported malts. It's creamy long lasting head completes the brew, tempting you're taste buds to be spellbound". As I'm sure my regular readers know, this is not always true. At least we can be very sure that it is indeed 8% ABV. 7-8% ABV is the perfect alcohol range to me, any less and I don't really feel it unless I have several and any more knocks me out. Let's pour it in my new gimmick mug and see how it heads.

Nose from the bottle is one of raw roasted barley and dark chocolate, kind of like Guennis in a way. You can smell wisps of alcohol coming off of it, but they have no sting. It has a rich dark beige head and a jet black color. Nose from the mug is less intense than from the bottle. It has a much stronger milk chocolate scent with a little less roasted barley and some fruity elements. On initial sip, the flavor starts out as roasted malt but quickly evolves to a bold cold brew black coffee and finishes with dark chocolate and alcohol. Mouthfeel is creamy with little acidity and no alcohol bite despite the flavor and a solid full body. It maybe has some molasses flavor, but the description by the brewery was quite accurate. Not about the long lasting head though, that lasted just long enough to take a picture of it before resigning itself to the edge of the mug.

After more or less satisfying my fascination with teletype machines, I have become fascinated with wire recorders. Although the technology has existed since the 1890's, the devices themselves had their heyday from the mid 1940's to the mid 1950's when magnetic tape recorders became cheap enough for every day people and not just large companies. Before these machines came to market you had to cut a record or gramophone spool to record you're voice which was expensive and required heavy equipment. This was all well and good for recording special messages, but was almost useless for dictation or every day recording needs. From a scientific perspective, they work just like tape recorders (quick note on the beer, it's starting to build it's head back up) where a magnetic charge is given to a metal (in the case of magnetic tape it is a metal coating and in the case of wire recorders it is a four mile hair thin strand of nickel coated steel wire) by way of a piezoelectric microphone sending signals to the machine which then magnetizes the wire. Almost all of the machines can play the recording back through an integrated amplifier and speaker. What ultimately killed the wire recorder was the sound quality being much lower than that of magnetic tape and the tendency of the wire to snap, although that had more to do with the design of the machines than it did with the media. They continued to be used into the 1960's for recording radio transmissions (which it was originally designed for) and aircraft black boxes which needed to record hours of audio in a way that was cost effective and could fit in a small package. As an added bonus, most of the machines have an art deco styling that I love.

Webster Chicago wire recorder I bid on. Sorry Dad, you know why.

Final thoughts. Good beer, it was exactly what they said it was. Although, it did take on some "meaty" qualities as I went. I don't mean that in a bad way, it has an after taste not unlike having just ate a breakfast sausage, especially when the beer has warmed. It's not the very best stout I've ever had, but it's good. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval. (as a side note, if I don't specify what music I'm listening to while writing this, assume it's ska)

The beers of Waikiki:Koshihikari Echigo Beer

Another Echigo that I can't find in Japan. Got it at an Asian market next to the movie theater. Other than some Hopshu, this is the only legitimate Japanese rice lager I've had. Technically, it's a German styled rice lager with a Japanese twist. But as I've pointed out before, all "traditional" Japanese beers are Nipponized German beers and Koshihikari is no exception. It gets it's name from the short grain rice of Niigata Prefecture called (surprise) Koshikikari that it is made with. This one seems to have mixed reviews online, but I don't believe everything I read. Echigo's burned me before, I hope that is not the case this time. I'll try and keep an open mind. I also have their stout, you have serious problems if you mess up a stout.

The bottle is a 17 oz. (500ml) "almost bomber" with crimpcap claiming "specially brewed, selected malt and hops". The label reads "premium Japanese import Koshihikari Echigo beer" and then (I can only assume) the same thing in Japanese Kanji/Katakana, unfortunately I am far too lazy to translate this. Underneath all of that is a nice watercolor of people farming a flooded rice patty. I can only assume this is the famed Niigata Prefecture. The bottle claims that it's contents are 5% ABV. Let's see how those contents head.

I recently purchased a beer mug with a bottle opener in the bottom from Brookstone. Usually I find that everything in there is overpriced and gimiky, but this was on clearance at $3.99 vs its usual $14.99 and I thought "yea, I'll shell that out for a half decent glass mug". So that's what I'm using today. Back to the beer. Nose from the bottle is just a little bit sour, just a little bit malty, but all barely present. Let's see the head. Not a thick head, I would have expected more from a beer with so much rice. It is certainly lively though. And with it's clear, golden color, it's a pretty beer. But aesthetics are secondary to smell and taste. Nose from the mug is the same as the bottle. It does have that fermented rice flavor, along with a little saltiness and and little malt sweetness as well. It has a lighter medium body and almost no acidity. It tastes like a golden lager, or "American lager" if you're a big brewery shill. It's a simple beer, but done well.

So the homeless problem in Honolulu is pretty bad. Like worse than California bad. Unlike California though, the homeless people can't leave to go where it's cheaper and they can find jobs. The cost of living in Hawaii is so high that people that work full time jobs for minimum wage because that's the only job they can find are living out of vans because they can't afford both an apartment and food. And the prices of every day necessities are higher than in Japan, it's just absurd.But what are you going to do. If it were an easy fix it would have been solved already. Long term, Hawaii needs allot more low end housing, better public transportation, and some way for people to leave if they can't afford it. Short term, I have no Idea.

you see this kind of thing all of the time.

Final thoughts. I liked this beer, it's easy to drink. Not particularly flavorful, but this style typically isn't. It is of good quality though. I wouldn't pay the high price of the import again. But if you see this one while you're out and about on mainland Japan, pick it up, it's worth you're time. I give it my blurry seal of approval.

The beers of Waikiki: Iron Fist brewing Velvet Glove Stout

I picked this one up at the 7 day store on K Bay about a week ago. It is a stout by Iron Fist Brewing out of Vista California, a home brewers turned pro brewers family run operation that started back in 2009. They come highly rated online but as always, we will let the beer do the talking.

The beer comes in a long neck 1 3/4 pint (750 ml) crimpcap European styled bottle with a bold IRON FIST BREWING CO. imposed over a raised fist with Soviet propaganda esque shading and barley growing out of a city skyline in the background. It is an strong 9% abv, so I'm going to need to eat before I drink this or I'm going to be trashed by the end of the review. OOOH, bottle conditioned.

 Nose from the bottle is heavy with roasted malt, maybe a little molasses. Time to pour and see the head. MY GOODNESS that's big and black! (what she said) It has a cappuccino colored head and the beer itself is so dark you almost can't even see the bubbles pressed against the side of the glass. Nose from the glass carries the same roasted malt scent, but now with a fruitiness. That nose in turn carries on to the initial sip, it has a fruity roasted malt flavor with molasses and espresso with a dry coffee finish. It is full bodied with moderate acidity and an alcohol bite at the end. I can see a few streams of bubbles coming up at the top of the glass. There is another flavor there, I would call it dried lawn clippings. Not hay though, it's not quite the same as that but I find myself powerless to explain the difference, you're either going to know what I mean or not. The coffee and espresso flavors start to take over as I go, as well as the alcohol bite in the finish. Well see what happens when the beer warms up, we have plenty of beer here to find out.

I was in the mood to hear "It's still Rock and Roll to me" so I put on the Billy Joel playlist on Youtube. While listening to this I realized that a great deal of the music I personally enjoyed as a small child was written by Billy Joel. Now, I'm talking '93-'95, so really young, but "Uptown girl", "You may be right", "We didn't start the fire", "In the middle of the night", and "The longest time" were much better than most of the crap my parents were listening to. Man, I was really into doo wap and 60's music as a child. It's funny the kind of things you remember from those times, I don't remember my cousin Stacy who was killed in a car wreck when I was a small child. It pains me to say that Stacy is as immaterial to me as George Washington or Hannibal. You can show me a picture of any of them and I'll know they existed, but I have no memories to confirm it.

 It reminds me of my older sister Megan who died just before I existed. In fact, I would not exist if Megan had not been miscarried. It's a funny thing, you're very existence being reliant on someone else death. I suppose it is the case for everyone ultimately, but how many have it so direct? If Megan had come to term I simply would not exist. I almost cannot even contemplate it. I suppose it's rather convenient sometimes, my belief in predestination, Megan was always going to die and I was always going to live. Although I would like to thank God for modern medical science and the people who develop it, for if I had been born so much as two years prior, I could not possibly exist. It's kind of funny, we're all the products of  certain things happening at certain times. Somebody survived a little too long, someone else not long enough. Some technology was developed just in the nick of time, some murderous social ideal was created too late. Some conflict between people history has forgotten. Godwulf takes his tribe from the steppes of Russia to the Scandinavian isthmus. The clan Fraser decides to move from county Anjou, France to the Scottish lowlands. Thousands of years ago, people from northwest Asia cross from modern day Russia to Modern day Canada and settle North and South America. Some of them move to north east America. Religious persecution forces the puritans to cross the Atlantic ocean to North America. An Irishman decides he's had enough of the damn Catholics but doesn't want to move to North Ireland, so he moves to Nova Scotia.Scott Ruben Keen Fights against the confederate Army at the battle of five forks right down the street from where his descendants will live in a hundred and twenty years for a paycheck while Abraham Lincoln suspends habeas corpus. A 40 year old French Canadian asshat knocks up a sixteen year old runaway and his wife and child move back to France after finding out about her and the fact that he proposed to marry her but her Irish immigrant grandfather, who left his homeland because he didn't like how the Catholics had taken it over but thought the northern part of the Island sucked, threatened to kill him with a firearm that those crazy Libertarian Revolutionaries in the United States said 151years ago said he could own.  Allot of crazy, bizarre, unfortunate, and unlikely things had to happen to make you happen. Don't worry about that stupid pedigree, you are the result of a bizarre and sordid story, no matter who you are. You couldn't reproduce this in a lab.

I remember the song "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" by Manfred Mann, my mother and myself were walking past the Greenville Army Navy store when I told her that I really liked that song. It was the first time I remember expressing true appreciation for a song. Not just liking a song, truly appreciating it. Many of my earliest memories are associated with Military equipment and the aftermath of he 1950's-1970's. Whether it pertains to a place that deals in it like a pawn shop or one of the increasingly disappearing Army Navy stores, or when I stood in the Maine snow in my Grandfather Clement's 1970's insulated Navy deck boots which I bet he probably bought at one of the disappearing Army Navy stores. I guess I can thank my Mom's brother Mark for that. Allot of who you start out as comes from you're parents, but allot of who you become has to do with who you're surrounded by as a child. My Uncle Mark, my cousin Mike, Patric Earle, Chris Hilgar, the former Tommy Pazack. You know, I was looking for people in my old church, the Thomas's, at Woodruff road Presbyterian, in the church history it doesn't even list them in church history. I cannot even think of it as anything other than serendipitous that "Downeastern Alexa" by Billie Joel plays in the background as I search for this.
I remember Jamie Thomas. One of those girls you were in love with that nothing came about because of circumstance. Just like a few others. For some, they have found happiness by the grace of God and you wish them the best. Some have children, and they're beautiful, and all you can think is that the guys that have them don't even know what they've got. And they never do. But I suppose some of us aren't meant for this. Some of us are meant for a mission nobody will remember. Some people were made for a Goodnight in Saigon.
Anyways, Good beer. If you're ever on the West Coast, or Hawaii for that matter. check out IRON FIST. IT'S A GOOD DAMN STOUT. I give it my blurry seal of approval.

Dammit Billy Joel. why does "she's always a woman to me" have to match up with all of the women who have been in my life all so perfectly.

Officially dedicated to all of the women I've loved but was never meant to be.