The beers of Iwakuni: Eggenberg Castle brewery's Samichlaus classic, and the Space Force!

This is from one of Hilgar's poarchbomb. It is Samichlaus classic by the Eggenberg Castle brewery of Vorchdorf, Austria. I'm going to break down this timeline Barney style because we have some of the longest history and the most aggressively Austrian names that have been on this blog (though I feel like we've been through this before). Sometime in pre-recorded history a settlement began in what is now upper Austria and would eventually become the town of Vorchdorf (which today has a population of about 7k). Fast forward about 3000 years to the year 971 where Schloss Eggenberg (not to be confused with the Schloss Eggenberg of Graz) was built to protect it. Two hundred years later brewing operations began at the castle (likely by local monks), and about 380 years later in 1681 Micheal Weizmann purchased the brewing operation from the monastery at Kremsmünster and went commercial with it. The town would change hands several times over the centuries, particularly during the Napoleonic wars which started around the time the family Forstinger-Stöhr purchased the brewery in 1803. While Napoleon ceased to own anything after his imprisonment on the island of St.Helena off the coast of Africa in 1815 and eventual death in 1821, the family Forstinger-Stöhr owns and operates the Schloss Eggenberg Brauerei to this day. While they make a number of beers, their most famous is tonight's Sanichlaus (Santa clause). Named so because it is only produced on December 6th (the feast of Saint Nicholas), it is Lagered for a full ten months before bottling. Needles to say being brewed only one day a year and being nearly a year old by the time it hits shelves makes this a very difficult beer to get a hold of and I cannot thank Chris enough for having sent it to the other side of the Earth for me. Anyways, this beer has it's own story and it all starts with Hürlmann brauerie. Albert Hürlmann started his brewery in 1836 and had a keen interest in yeast, which lead to him becoming a world renowned expert in the subject and his business being at the forefront of yeast technology. The brewery became know for making beer with extremely high alcohol content and on December 6th 1979 they made an unprecedented strong brew that would be ready for sale the next Christmas season. When it was finished in October of 1980 it came in at a whopping 14% Alcohol by volume, making it the strongest beer in the world. Samichlaus would maintain that title until 1992 when the Boston Beer Company (Sam Addams) would usurp it with their Tripple Bock which came in at 17.1%. Hürlmann brauerie would continue to brew Samichlaus until they merged with Feldschlösschen brauerie in 1996. In 2000 after Feldschlösschen was acquired by Carlsburg group, the production of the beer was licensed to Scloss Eggenberg Brauerei and is currently brewed with the original recipe in collaboration with the original Hürlmann brewers. While it's worlds strongest beer crown was taken long ago, it is still considered a world class beer. In fact, the 2004 vintage won the gold for aged beer in the 2012 world beer cup. At about 8 years, this beer peaks at about the end of most similar beers shelf lives (most strong beer peaks at about 5). Tonight's is a 2014, which means it would hit it's peak in 2022. As much as I would love to let it sit for another five years, my time here in Japan is rapidly coming to an end and I would not want to subject it to the stress of unrefrigerated international shipping again. At 3 years, 6 months, and 19 days old this should be just fine though. Man do I love exact production dates.

This beer came to me in a 11.2 FL.OZ longneck bottle with crimpcap. The silver trimmed black neck label is collared to cover part of the cap and features the name of the brewery "Schloss Eggenberg". The front label art is a similar silver on black and features a small picture of Saint Nicholas with the vintage year and declares it's self "Samichlaus classic" "The world's most extraordinary beverage" "Product of Austria" "Malt Liquor". You don't usually associate quality beer with the term "malt liquor", but legally that is what this is. In the United States malt liquor is any Lager beer with an ABV above 5.5-6%, so long as it is made with ingredients that legally make it beer and the alcohol is derived by brewing and isn't added separately, which would make it fortified beer. On the shoulder is the name of the brewery "Schloß Eggenberg" (yes with an eszett) embossed. On the rear of the label the brewery describes their beer "Brewed only once a year on December 6. Samiclaus is aged for 10 months before bottling. This speciallty is perhaps the rarest in the world. Samiclaus may be aged for many years to come. Older vintages become more complex with a creamy warming finish. Brewed and bottled by Castle Brewery Eggenberg, Vorchdorf - Austria". I will be using one of my Delerium tulip glasses for this beer.

Nose from the bottle is a pungent molasses cookie, banana bread, figgy, pickled cherry nose with alcohol esters. Head is creamy but quickly dissipating, agitation is low, color is a stained cherry wood. Nose from the glass is similar to the bottle but more fruity, the alcohol very much makes it's presence known now that it's been released from it's three and a half year prison. On first sip, It starts as fruity molasses bread, then goes to a thick applejack and then ends with a boozy sweet fruit cake finish and boozy cherry and date aftertaste. It's flavor is very much sherry like. It has a medium body with medium acidity and one hell of a warming feeling. Happy feast of St. Nicolas indeed!

Listening to the Rocky IV soundtrack in honor of the decade where this beer reigned supreme. So anyway, congress wants a space force. I'm not going to comment on the politics of it (this is an officially apolitical blog), but the militarization of space is something that has fascinated me since I was a child. A space force could be not only focused on outer space, but cyberspace as well, which would certainly ease the burden for both of those things for the other services. The creation of a new specific force for those things would also allow you to have a different rank structure and recruitment process that would stomp out this notion of having civilians enter services like the Marine Corps or the Navy as E-6's without going through the same boot camp as everyone else. I know it's hard to understand from the outside, but it would be extremely problematic for good order and discipline to have someone in charge of you that did not go through the indoctrination of boot camp, whether officer or enlisted. Now, the reason I say the Space Force should take care of both is because cyber security and near space are tethered together like twins on the same umbilical cord, compromising one would horribly compromise the other. If we lost communication satellites or if they were destroyed or the facilities that made contact with them were compromised we would have one hell of a problem, so having a military command that defends that infrastructure specifically would be fantastic. Hell, depending on how it goes we could get rid of the NSA and maybe good chunk of the Air force, Army, and Navy. And on top of all that we could put them to work solving some of our near space problems, like the growing problem with space junk or how to defend a satellite from attack. You could have them operate attack satellites and other near space defensive infrastructure that could also generate part of their budget by repairing private satellites or destroying outdated ones (hopefully by pushing them into the earth). The space junk problem is really big right now and we need to do something about it sooner rather than later, it's becoming a tragedy of the commons situation.

Final thoughts. What an exultant beer! Seek this one out, let it sit for a couple of years, and then have it on a special occasion! I'm not saying get shmamered in front of your family at a holiday gathering, but that's exactly what I'm saying. You should get swifty in front of your siblings kids and rant about the militarization of space and killer robots like me! I very much give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggenberg_Castle,_Vorchdorf
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorchdorf
 http://www.realbeer.com/library/beerbreak/archives/beerbreak20020214.php
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%BCrlimann_Brewery

The beers of Iwakuni: Unlabeled bottle of booze I recieved illicitly in the mail.

I received this beer in a porch bomb from my lifelong friend Chris Hilgar. It is an unlabeled bottle of booze by Chris Hilgar, out of Waynesville NC. Hilgar started in September of 1988 after a merger between Keith and Donna, but was not able to legally brew for a staggering 21 years due to a bloated and overbearing nanny state bureaucracy restricting him from doing so. Despite this, Hilgar survived and is currently operating on a 5 gallon system if memory serves. The brews produced tend to be traditional European, but also have an experimental flair to them. Hilgar recently moved to a new, larger facility near the old one and has resumed operations including a two year barleywine project which partially involved yours truly. I would say most craft breweries have animals on staff, but the animal to human ratio for this one tends to lean heavily animal and is one of the major characteristics of the place. I have reason to believe tonight's beer is a stout, although that is purely speculation. There are some murmurings that it needs more hops, but that is up for interpretation.

This beer came to me in a stubby brown bottle with a Highland brewing crimpcap. Do not be fooled though, this is not from Highland brewing. There is not label, but there is a bunch on residue left on the bottle from when it was filled with a manual rod bottle filler. There is animal hair and cardboard stuck to the bottom of the bottle, as well as sediment inside the bottle. How much is in it? probably 12oz. What's the ABV? I have no Idea. I'll be having this beer in a delirium tulip glass and opening it with the bottom of a REEF sandal. Let's pop the top and pray it isn't poison!

Nose from the bottle is dark chocolate malt with black coffee and a peaty smoakyness. The nose is so strong I can taste it. It's frothing up from the neck, may be over carbonated. Oh good lord! It looks like mud or chocolate milk or coffee you started to put creamer in and realized it had curdled after getting about a drop in! There is so much sediment in this beer I'll need a river dredge to get to the bottom of it! There is no head on top and nose is the same as the bottle. On first sip, I don't even know how to describe the flavor. It's much lighter than I expected, I'd give it a lower medium body with almost no acidity. It's malty and a little chocolaty at first but that subsides to a peaty smokyness and then black coffee. Finish is dry and tart with a dark chocolate aftertaste. The sediment is present in every sip, giving it a sort of grainy mouthfeel. It's not as off-putting as it sounds though, it's really more chewy than anything. It has a slight sulpherous quality, but only slight.

Listening to the official band of Hilgar, Queen.
I really can't wait to go home. Japan is great and all, but I'm tired of being away and would like my freedom back. I joined the Marine Corps because I didn't feel like I was doing anything significant with my life and needed an extreme change to get the ball rolling, now I need to leave for the same reason. I appreciate everything the Corps has given me, I am a significantly more confident and assertive man then I was when I entered, but I never intended to stay longer than eight years and feel like I've over stayed already. I've wanted to operate a small business and be self employed since I was a kid, and it's time I did so. I have a number of potential businesses I would like to get into, like maybe a house call media blasting service, or a roofing company, a food truck, or property management. Thanks to the Marine Corps, I have the willingness, the know how, and the saved capital to make an attempt. I may fail, but I've failed many times and have gotten back up after. For this I am grateful to the Corps, but it's time for me to go.
In other news, I'm waiting until I get back to America to install the intercooler and radiator on my 180SX. There are a few parts I have to manufacture myself and it will be easier for me to do back home where I already have everything I need on hand. I'm still going to finish the brace work and the exhaust out here though, It's all bolt on and doesn't require extensive modification to do.

Final thoughts. Further iterations need a little settlement filtration and more hops, but other than that it's a pretty good beer. I look forward to drinking more of Hilgar's creations when I get back in a couple of months. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

The beers of Iwakuni: Kirin Ichi alcohol free

It's my alcohol free week, so I'm going to be reviewing a few alcohol free beers (technically beer like bebverages). Tonights "beer" is Kirin Ichi 0.00% by Kirin brewing out of Yokohama, Japan. I've written on Kirin before, so refer to previous posts for information on the brewery. Japan has very strict impaired driving laws (you can get a DUI on a bicycle here). You are officially over the BAC limit if you blow a .03%. This, and an appreciation for malt flavor, has led to a relative wide variety of non alcoholic beers and beer like beverages. You might ask, what is the difference between non alcoholic beer and a beer like beverage? Non alcoholic beer starts life as regular beer and then has the alcohol cooked out of it, but it still technically has about half a percent in it. Beer like beverages are made from the same ingredients as beer, but they are brewed more like a tea and have the sugars yeast would usually remove separated from them either before or after brewing, depending on the process, and then they are carbonated. Because they are never fermented they cannot technically be called beer, so in Japan they are called Beer like beverages. I suppose you could call them beer soda, but that would not be good for marketing as these products are supposed to be purely non alcoholic stand ins for beer. Every major beer brewery in Japan has it's own line (if not several) of beer like beverages that sell at a similar or slightly higher price point as hopshu. This is mostly from still containing the same taxed malt content as beer, but is easier to create.

I have this on in a 100ml cream colored, gold top, tall boy can.The label art features the Kirin unicorn, a couple of symbols I don't know, the word Ichi (meaning 1) in English, and ALC. 0.00%. It has a neat minimalist gold colored barley design in the background. I will be using my Japanese heady bear glass for this one.

Nose from the can is a little malty with a marinara sauce scent underneath, maybe a little sweet corn. Pours clear and golden with a white fluffy head and plenty of small bubble agitation. Nose from the glass is like pasta. On first sip, It is light and malty with apple and a strange acid flavor. Body is very light, verging on malted mineral water (which, is kind of what it is) and medium acidity. As you drink it, the acid flavor starts to go away and it tastes more and more like the light pale lager it is made to imitate.

I put the power brace and front strut tower bar on my 180sx. I finally got around to driving it today and certainly noticed a difference in handling. The car felt more solid, but also heavier. There wasn't as much roll to my turns, and that felt very weird after having driven this car for a few months. I wonder what it will be like when I get all of the other braces on? It already feels like I'm driving a different vehicle. I don't know If I like it, but I know it's better for the car, so the braces are staying on.

Final thoughts. As a non alcoholic beer imitation, this is the most accurate I have found. As a beverage, there are better tasting "beer like" drinks. I wouldn't go out of my way to find it, it's adequate at best. If you want a beer but have to drive, go ahead and give it a shot, it's harmless.

The beers of Iwakuni: Ochacovo Original

I got this at World Liquor in Hiroshima. It is Ochacovo (written ОЧАКОВО) Original, by Ochacovo out of Moscow. I've never had Russian beer as most of the time I've been writing this blog the United States and Russia have not been on the best of terms. Fortunately for me Japan is on better terms with them so I was able to acquire this beverage. It's difficult to find information about the brewery but from what I can gather they started in 1993 making non-alcoholic beer using a no-alcohol brewing method (sort of like making tea with beer ingredients instead of making regular beer and then boiling the alcohol out of it) and then branched out into traditional beer and other drinks. They have several breweries throughout Russia with a capacity of  260 million liters (that's 68,684,733.61 gallons, ) and they are quite proud to say that they made all of their equipment themselves. Tonight's beer was their first alcoholic product and they go to great lengths to state that it is traditionally brewed and not non-alcoholic beer with liquor put in it (such as the Japanese near beer Hoppy, which I will review at a later date).

I received this beer in a half liter blue and rose gold can featuring a burly bearded man in front of a map of Russia and flanked on both sides by wheat and hops. On the map of Russia it shows the various resources the country has, such as oil, diamonds,grains, wildlife, grapes, and high quality gold. I'm afraid I can't read much of the can as it's all in Cyrillic, but I have google translate so we will give it a shot. It says Ochacovo Original, cooked on the classical technology. Unfortunately the epitaph is covered up by a Japanese market sticker so I can't read it. It is .5 liters and 4.6% ABV. I will be using my large beer mug for this one. Let's crack this cold one open with the boys.

Nose from the can is malty with a sweet apple quality to it. Pours golden with a quickly dissipating small bubble white head. Agitation is decent, but not enough to maintain any sort of head. Nose from the mug is the same as the can. On first sip, it is sweet and malty with a major apple juice characteristic, maybe a little bready. I cannot understate how much this tastes like apple juice with malt added to it. It has a wet finish but a dry aftertaste. body is light with light acidity. It's bready character develops more as you drink it and overtakes the apple. It's very easy drinking, session-able as they say.

Listening to Dead Indian's album "Resist". I didn't like them at first, but their Nirvana-esque' grunge rock and great lyrics won me over. Their lyrics are like a punch to the face and their music is like the adrenaline high you get when your fight or flight mechanism flips to fight and you have that hyper-aware and aggressive/calm moment of clarity. Great band, glad to have them on vinyl.

In other news, I finally received the bass guitar kit I ordered back in February. I put it together on Saturday and I think it turned out OK. Didn't bother painting it, I think I'm going to draw all over it and then spray clear coat over that, really give it that homemade feel. I think I'm going to like playing this more than the guitar. It's easier to get my long fat fingers around and it's super easy to pick. I kind of got used to playing a hollow body electric so I was a little dismayed when I plucked the strings and they did not create a great deal of noise, granted they are inherently low pitched. I still need to plug it up to my amp, so we can really see what my handiwork sounds like.

Final thoughts. It's a cheap lager, it has all of the qualities you expect in cheap lagers. I suppose the most glowing review I can give of it is that it's not pissy, which makes it inherently better than bud light.