The beers of Iwakuni: Lanikai brewing company Pillbox Porter

I got this beer a couple months back, last time I stopped in Hawaii I think. It is the Pillbox Porter from Lanikai brewing company. They are out of the town of Kailua on Oahu. I can't find a great deal of information on them outside of their Facebook page. If I had to guess, it looks like they are running a 15 barrel system (It may be more than that, I'm really guessing here) with 4 fermentors. It looks like they occasionally do stuff with Home of the Brave brewing out of Honolulu, which I have visited, good brewery. From what I can tell they brew three beers. A Saisson, a Porter, and an IPA. Shame I wasn't able to visit while I was there. Oh well, at least I can have one of their beers now. I happen to have two of these bottles, so Hilgar, expect one in the mail.

The beer comes in a 1 1/2 pint bomber with a plain silver crimpcap and raw paper label. The label art features a scene of the moonlight shining threw the clouds onto a concrete pillbox overlooking the ocean. A scene that reminds me a great deal of my short time on Wake Island. Except it is not covered in trash from every country in the Pacific and dotted with dilapidated buildings. I miss Wake. It also has a little lithograph of a little ship under a moonlit sky. The bottle describes the beer as "PILLBOX ROBUST PORTER" "This brew uses a special blend of Hawaiian and Tahitian vanilla, offset by notes of chocolate, caramel & roasted barley malt. A thinner body complements the island climate and we add just enough hops to cut through the vanilla". I hope it's as they described, because that sounds awesome. The bottle also implores you to keep it cold, avoid sunlight, inform you that it ages well, and to recycle when you are finished. There is a space for the batch number, but there is nothing written there. "Drink Fresh" 6.5% ABV. Doesn't that contradict the part of the bottle that suggests it's ideal for aging? It does not have a production date, how would I know when to stop aging it? Well, whatever. I'm having it ever so slightly aged assuming it was at least a month old when I bought it about three months ago. Off with the cap!

The cap spews forth foam, but the bottle does not erupt, a good sign. Nose from the bottle is a deep molasses and roasted dark malt with chocolate and a little vanilla. The beer exploded into head when I poured it, I don't know what to make of it. I kind of wish I had a video of it to show everyone, it was pretty impressive. This head that rises like time-lapse bread dough is a deep cream color that slowly turns into a deep black beer. I have to pour in increments or I'm afraid the tulip glass will erupt with foam. Nose from the glass is much the same as the bottle, but with the main character being vanilla, instead of being an undertone. I can't wait to drink this beer after the head reduces to a point where I can. I'm going to take the first sip from the bottle like a caveman because I'm sick of waiting. OH LORD SAVE ME IT EXPLODED INTO FOAM IN MY MOUTH! It started pretty acidic, then went to a bitter chocolate malt, then vanilla, and then a big CO2 finish and after taste. It would seem to me that someone got a little overzealous with the CO2 gun while bottling. I gave it a while to settle down, swirled it around a little to get rid of the excess carbon dioxide. It seems to be acting normal now. Nose from the glass is sweet vanilla with chocolate undertones and a hint of dark malt. On first sip (from the glass, like a civilized person), It is smooth chocolate malt with vanilla and a caramel sweetness. I taste a little pear in it, oddly enough. I would call it a lower full body with almost no acidity and little alcohol bite. I'm picking up an ever so slightly dry finish with hoppy bitterness. Surprising, other than virtually exploding when poured, this beer is exactly as advertised. Bravo Lanikai brewing.

Had to move rooms again, just getting settled into the new one now. It's going to be a pretty nice set up, if I do say so myself. Listening to ElectroSwing tonight. It's an interesting mix of past and present. Reminds me of the stuff Fatboy Slim was doing in in the late 1990's or TACO in the early 80's, except ElectroSwing is more swing then techno. Speaking of techno, what happened to the band Maldroid? I guess they were actually ElectroPop, but still. According to Wikipedia, they effectively disbanded in 2009. How time flies. I remember Olivia and I were getting ready to go to school when the YouTube homepage had their song "HECK NO! (I'll never listen to techno)" with the light bright animation came on. I was obsessed with that song for at least a week.
I don't really feel any older or any different than that 17 year old kid who saw this video. I certainly have more experiences under my belt then he did. Allot more knowledge and confidence. Although fewer prospects on getting a girlfriend. I just could not wrap my head around how many girls actually liked me back then, just going around completely oblivious to their interest. I once didn't realize a girl was hitting on me until a year later. A YEAR! What the hell!? Although when I did notice, we often had irreconcilable religious differences. Kind of wish I had gone for it sometimes. It's always been one thing or another stopping me, any number of things really. But even if it didn't work out, I would still have liked the experience. Outside of military I find it hard to find a girl out here because I'm not particularly attracted to Japanese chicks, and being a well versed in the culture of the cold war as a child (although I kind of did that to myself), I have massive trust issues with anyone who does not have Injin blood. Canada, United States, Mexico, Belize, Panama, Honduras, Cuba (Fled only), Dominican republic, Jamaica, Bahamas, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia. If you don't come from one of those places, I am going to have trust issues with you. Look, I am what I am, and it is what it is. But  deep down that's how I feel. After that, I would like to add every country on the continent of Africa, the country of India, Taiwan, Korea, and western Europe. after that I suppose eastern Europe. I have a bizarre fascination with eastern Europe, but I'm also incredibly cautious with it, former communists you know. Maybe that's why I don't have a girlfriend, who want's to be with a guy paranoid about a war that ended a couple months after he was born. Well I'm sorry, the Chinese Communist Party is still in power and Putin is being a real ass. I really can't shut the paranoid side of me off. It's always there, sometimes holding me back, sometimes protecting me. It's like, "things are pretty good right now, but you know how it really is right? And you know how they can use that against you.".

Final thoughts, Great beer. Could not recommend it enough, provided it is not as thoroughly carbonated as the one I just had. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

The beers of Iwakuni: Island Kings Distributing/Solon Brewing, Guam1 beer

I got this beer in Guam. You can only get this beer in Guam. However, it is now brewed in Guam, it is brewed in Wisconsin. The brewery that actually creates it is a bit of an enigma. It says on the bottle that it is brewed for Island Kings Distributing by Solon Brewing of Monroe Wisconsin, but all I can find about this brewery is that they brew Guam1. It would seem to me that they are a single customer contract brewer and that the company Island Kings Distributing actually owns the rights to the product.

 The label design is based off of the flag of Guam am features a number of tropical island themes. It says a number of things all over the bottle, such as "Sen Paire" "Made in USA" "Guam beer number one" "Guahn beer numero uno" "Guam 1 Premium Quality Beer" "The Island King" "EST. 2007". It has a sea turtle design on the crimp cap with MMVII, or 2007 in Roman numerals. The bottle itself has a bulged out shoulder and is made of pretty clear brown glass. I just noticed when looking at the cap that it's a twist off, if that tells you anything. It is 5% ABV in a 12 oz bottle. I will be using my large beer mug as I was unsuccessful in acquiring a replacement super traditional Orion mug during my recent trip to Okinawa. Let's twist the top off and see the head.

Nose from the bottle is sweet and malty. Pours golden, plenty of large bubbles but they have no staying power, so there is no head to speak of. Nose from the mug is sweet apple and light malt, with just a hint of boozyness. On first sip, it tastes of light malt and is not nearly as sweet as the nose would suggest. It starts malty, then goes to a little apple, then has a malty finish. It has a light body and low acidity, easy to drink. Now that I think about it, it has an overriding bread flavor. It's getting more sweet and has a stronger apple flavor as I drink it.

I've been researching near space technology in hopes that in the future I may be able to invest in some of the companies involved in the space industry. Rocketry has been a lifelong fascination of mine. It started with fireworks then moved to the Estes kits my Dad got me and then military rockets. When I get right down to it, I have not interest in space itself. I don't see the point of sending a manned mission to Mars right now, I don't really care about deep space exploration, I think we should probably explore the moon a little more for Hydrogen 3. I suppose I have a practical outlook when it comes to space and is probably why I feel so much excitement for it's privatization. But I digress, so space stocks. I'm still weighing my options right now, but there is a lot of money to be had in associated businesses. I might try to make a quick buck off Teledyne as they have been shooting up. but remember, what goes rocketing up usually comes crashing down. On the other hand, Orbital technologies pays dividends, has had a pretty stable stock price, and a massive market cap. On top of all of that they probably made about a quarter of the crew served ammunition I've loaded for a quarter of my life. But they also have a lot of debt, which makes me think twice about investing.

Final thoughts. It's a good beer. It has good flavor, and it's easy to drink. I was actually surprised that it was good. I thought at first that it was just some tourist crap, and it's certainly marketed that way, but I think it has it's own legs to stand on. I wouldn't go out of my way to get it, but if your ever on Americas unsinkable aircraft carrier and pop into an ABC store, pick up a six pack. It's certainly better than all the Inbev products that litter that Island. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval

The beers of Iwakuni: Fortnight brewing company English Session Ale

This is another one Hilgar sent me. It's English Session Ale by Fortnight brewing company out of Carey North Carolina. The brewery has a focus on "English inspired Ales". Although they have a Porter in their lineup so "English inspired" yes, "Ales" not necessarily. Started by English expats who couldn't find quality English session ales in the States, the local brews were heavily Americanized and the imported English beer tasted off due to it's travels. The CEO (Stuart Arnold) started home brewing to alleviate this and that eventually turned into a business in February of 2014. Tonight's beer is meant to be an "Ordinary Bitter" Ale commonly found in the United Kingdom. I've never been to the British Isles, so I have no Idea weather they "got it right" or not. What I can tell you is weather or not it's any good, which is what ultimately matters with any beer.

I received this beer in a 12 oz. can with a large Union Jack on it and a Lion Rampant crest. The label is one of those plastic shrink fit labels popular among smaller breweries that contract out their canning (Holy city brewing does it as well. Maybe their using the same company?). The rim of the can proudly proclaims that it is "Hand crafted in North Carolina". I've never understood what was meant by "hand crafted" when it came to beer. What exactly are you doing by hand in a commercial brewery that would constitute "hand crafting"? Anyway, the side description reads "Known as an Ordinary Bitter in the UK. This iconic beer is far from bitter in taste. The name originated in the 19th century to distinguish it from the sweet ales available at the time. Using some of the finest imported English malts we brewed this ale to have a light malty profile. The sweetness is countered by East Kent Golding hops to give a perfectly balanced, traditional UK ale.". It's 4% ABV according to the can. The breweries web site claims it is a 32 on the IBU (international bitterness units) scale and 18 on the SRM (standard reference method), so not particularly bitter and a light brown color. I'll be using a British pub glass, as is appropriate. Let's pop the top and see how it heads.

Nose from the can is sweet and malty with just a hint of sour and a little apple as well the sent of freshly crushed green wine grapes. Unfortunately I can't just say grape because that does not really convey the exact scent and when I think just grape children's cough syrup comes to mind. The beer explodes into white foam as soon as I pour it, be careful with this one. Color is indeed a light brown. The beer forms extremely small bubbles, hardly visible, but there is an absolute torrent of them rising up from the bottom. Nose from the glass is sour malt with fruitiness. On fist sip, It's not sweet, but it's not really bitter either. It has a slight maltyness to it and a little metallic aftertaste. It's a medium body with slightly above moderate acidity. Think slightly malty tonic water and you pretty much have this beer.

 It like, exploded or something

I need to get out more. This whole weekend I haven't left base since returning from Okinawa. In an attempt to get out of my barracks room and go some place other than the gym or the PX I've picked up bowling. I'm still a pretty inconsistent bowler, but I have gotten to the place where I am usually breaking a hundred points. Not good enough to join a team, but good enough to play with other amateurs. I ordered a pair of bowling shoes on Amazon so I don't have to wear the herpes laden clown shoes most bowling alleys rent to you, those should be here in a couple weeks. If I bowl once a week for over a year I'll get my moneys worth out of them by avoiding the rental fee, but I'll likely loose them before that happens. Anyway, thank you Amazon. Man, haven't they become the modern day Sears Roebuck catalog. A world of fantastic products not available in your local area shipped to your home. A modern take on an old idea, but isn't everything when you get right down to it. When was the last time you saw something that was a truly original idea and not just a re-hashed or refined version of something else? There's nothing new under the sun, but there are some unfamiliar concoctions. I suppose that's kind of what this blog is all about.

Final thoughts. It's not designed to be flavorful and mulled over, it's made to have several of them with friends whilst giving you a little buzz without getting you trashed so you can have fun socializing with said friends. It is a purpose made working mans beer and it is pretty forgettable, but that's the Idea isn't it? Good depending on the occasion, not for me though. I like my beer like I like my women; aggressive, eccentric, and intoxicating.

The beers of Iwakuni: Olde Hickory brewery, Death by hops

I apologize for the lack of reviews as of late, I've been at Sgt Course at the SNCO Academy in Okinawa. Although it certainly curtailed my beer drinking, I thoroughly enjoyed the course and would suggest it to anyone who wants to improve their leadership skills and network with people from around the Marine Corps. But on to today's beer. It's the Death by Hops from Olde Hickory Brewery out of Hickory North Carolina. I would like to thank Chris Hilgar for sending me this beverage and apologize that it took this long to get to it. The Olde Hickory Website claims "71lbs of high alpha hops were used to make this beer. That’s just over 20 grams of hops used for each pint! DBH was brewed with 2 row barley, Carapils and Crisp Crystal 45 malts and fermented to 7% alc/vol. DBH was hopped with 5 different West Coast hops: Chinook, Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial and Cascade. Additionally, DBH was twice dry hopped with different combinations of these hops. The net result is an amazing aroma of ripe juicy fruit mixed in with a bouquet of spring flowers. DBH was brewed to a level of bitterness of 108 IBU’s, and leaves a lingering bitterness; it is, after all, a double IPA!". This double IPA came to Olde Hickory by way of their first Pro-Am competition where it was brewed by Alex Buerckholtz of Ashville. Olde Hickory brewery started in 1994 with a 7 bbl system converted from dairy production (not an uncommon practice in those days). They would outgrow that system and convert over to a 25 bbl in 1997 when they moved to a new location, new for them at least. The building they moved to and are still operating out of was built in 1880 and is a registered landmark in Hickory. They are currently do both filtered beer that is sent to conditioning tanks and unfiltered cask conditioned beer.

The bottle is a standard 12 oz. and on the side claims "Death by Hops" "A west coast classic brewed in the Southeast. DBH is brewed with over 7.5 grams of Hops per pint leaving this IPA with a whopping 108 IBUs. Select west coast hops give this beer a punching floral aroma and a bite of citrus flavor. The bitterness is only tamed by a mildly sweet copper body. It's candy for the hop heads.". It even has a little section entitled "Vitals" which claims the beer is 7% ABV, 108 IBU (international bitterness units), 7 SRM (Standard reference method, it's a numerical value for the color of beer. Although this is contradictory information as 7 SRM would mean the color is golden where as the brewery described it as copper, which starts at 9 SRM), and 16° Plato O.G. (Referring to the beers Original Gravity on the Plato scale, which is the density of the wort [compared to water] which became this beer. Why they would put the Original Gravity and not the Final Gravity on the bottle I do not know.). The cap advertises the "Pints for prostates" charity, which seeks to raise awareness about prostate cancer and the need for men to be periodically screened for it by engaging them with a common pastime, beer. A noble cause if there ever was one. And now to enjoy this beer that was bottled six months ago. I'll be using my American pint glass. Time to see that head.

Nose from the bottle is citrus with a piney hop oil scent, its rather intense. Color is a golden amber (you know, a 7 SRM). There isn't really a head to speak of, but there are bubbles coming up, so it's not flat. Nose from the glass is more piney than the bottle, and maybe a little fruity as well. It has an almost apple juice quality to it. On first sip, piney bitterness that lingers long after you have swallowed. It starts out with pine and then moves to orange/grapefruit peel and then finishes with a blend of pine and peel. It has low acidity and is a lower medium body, which is to say it drinks easy and goes down smooth. I'm just now getting a sweet flavor from it, but only as a aftertaste. It's very pleasant for a beer this bitter. Reminds me of a more tame Hop Stoopid.

I got a new haul of vinyl today, it's all been waiting on me for a month but I think it was worth the wait. I bought a second copy of "The Specials" as my original copy is back in the States, as well as a copy of  The Selctor's "Too much pressure", my other favorite two-tone Ska band. Other than that I got a two disk set of Leadbelly's album "Black Betty" as well as the Reservoir dogs soundtrack. My new Joyo Actone pedal for my guitar came in as well. It didn't come with a power supply so I had to use the one out of my Tube Monster overdrive, but it sounds awesome. In other news, once I submit my paperwork I can finally buy a car out here, but now I'm debating whether or not I should. I would probably wind up picking up somebody's clunker as I just put 5k into my stock account. As much as personally I don't like Michal Bloomberg, his convertible securities ETF is awesome and should do quite well in the future. In a couple months I think I'll sell some of my shares of it and get into an unrelated ETF as right now this thing accounts for 30% of my portfolio, and I know from past experience that having more than 20% of your money in anything is bad juju.

Final thought. It's a nice beer. Not totally unlike anything else I've had, but of sufficient quality. Certainly a session beer, I think I could polish two or three of these things off no problem, a pleasant drink for the bitter lover. That being said, I suggest getting a six pack of this and I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.