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