The beers of Iwakuni: Sinebrychoff Porter

I apologize for the recent lull in posts. My computer had a meltdown and I had to get my old one up and running, on top of that last week I had duty and could not drink. Anyhow, Hilgar sent me tonight's beer. It is the Porter by Sinebrychoff brewery out of Kerava, Finland. I can't say I have ever had a beer from Finland, but seeing at the country has a population just a little bit larger than South Carolina It's not all that surprising. So, Sinebrychoff was started in 1819 by Russian businessman Nikolai Sinebrychoff and is the oldest brewery in northern Europe. It used to be located in Helsinki, but now it's in Kerava where it not only produces beer, but also licenced Coca-Cola products (as well as Dr.Pepper). The brewery is now part of the Carlsberg Group, but I have no idea as to when that happened, probably before 2006. For beer they produce their self named Porter and the Karhu line of pale lagers. Their porter gets a world class rating on both Beer Advocate and Rate Beer, but I won't let that sway my review. The brewery's website isn't in English and I really just don't want to have to translate all of that.

I received this beer in a stubby crimpcap 33cl (11.2 fl.oz) bottle. The crimpcap says IV B Portteri Porter, I am not sure what that means, it is stated again on the front label art. The neck label features the brewery seal flanked by two barley spikes. The main label states "Sinebrychoff Porter" "Brewers sinch 1819". It is flanked by barley as well as hops. The reverse is just import and nutritional information. 7.2 ABV, I'll be using an English pint glass for this one.

Nose from the bottle has a strong molasses character, with dark malt and rye bread. Pours black, with a creamy mocha head that stays. Nose from the glass is kind of fruity, but that may be the head getting in the way. On first sip, it is heavy on coffee with dark malt, a little boozy as well. It has a fruity character at the back end, but finishes with the same coffee and roasted malt, which continues into the aftertaste. Body is slightly over medium, heading towards full, with mild acidity and a little chewiness.

Listening to Arthur Lyman. Getting this old computer up and running has been a nightmare. I don't think I've turned it on since November of last year (the pictures folder is full of 2016 election memes) and I totally forgot had it had a bunch of software problems. I more or less solved that by deleting most of the programs I had on here and updating the ones I wanted to keep. I really only need the thing for the blog, and it is clearly serving it's purpose now. As for my nice gaming computer, I think I fried the CPU. Usually that is not such a big deal, easy swap really, but they soldered it in which makes replacing it a nightmare. I'm not saying it can't be replaced, but it would probably be impractical to do so. At the very least, it would have some performance issues unless I did a near perfect job. I think this one will have to do until I get back, then I'm building a tower so I won't have to deal with this laptop nonsense anymore. I may keep a laptop around for work purposes, but I don't think I will do anything intensive on one. Once I get that up and running, I need to get some good book keeping software for business purposes. Efficient and well managed finances and administration are important to a small business and I very much want to start off on the right foot. I'm still doing research for my multi pronged attack, which as of Shutter installation, Vending machines, antique militaria speculation, and a small marijuana farm (research shows that is still illegal in SC).

Final thoughts, It's a pretty good beer. I wouldn't say it's the best porter I've ever had, but it's pretty good. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinebrychoff

The beers of Iwakuni: G. Schneider & Sohn's Aventinus Eisbock

I recently received this beer from my friend Hilgar. It is the Aventinus Eisbock from G. Schneider and Sohn out of Kelheim Germany. The brewery was started in 1872 by a father and son team, both named George Schneider, after they purchased the Weissus Brauhause in Munich. In 1890 GS3 (George Schneider III) took over the business at the age of 20. He would register the trade mark the company uses to this day as well as expand the Munich brewery. Dying unfortunately in 1905 at the age of 35, leaving the business to be run by his wife Mathilde Schneider. She would successfully run the business through the first world war and into post war economic depression. During that time the brewery created the Aventinus beer, who's decedent is currently under review. In 1924 GS3's young son GS4 came of age and took over the family business. He used the economic depression to his advantage, as other brewers were closing their doors and his mother had handed him a financially stable company. He purchased shuttered breweries in Straubing, Augsburg, and Kelheim, expanding his brewing capacity significantly. Unfortunately, a political movement combining socialism with extreme nationalist fervor swepped the country, and the politically liberal (in the classical sense of the word, not necessarily the modern one) GS4 wanted nothing to do with it. His refusal to join the NAZI party caused him and the business a great deal of trouble through out the course of their rule. After the Munich brewery was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944, all production was moved to Kelheim. After the war the American Third Army allowed the brewer to deliver it's beer to Munich (not being a former NAZI had it's perks), but only for sale to military personnel and only if it was low ABV. This would change (I assume with the creation of the East German government in 1948) and the company began to sell to the general public again. Starting in the late 1950's with George Schneider V taking over from his father George Schneider IV, they would seek to export their beer to Austria, Switzerland, and the US. GS5 would also modernize the breweries to increase production, but not change the manner in which the beer was created. In 1983 he rebuilt the Munich fermentation cellar with open vats in order to maintain traditional brewing methods, and then moved on to the brewhouse in 1989. The total renovation of the "Weisses Brauhaus im Tal" to it's pre-war 1905 status would be completed in 1993. In 2000, GS6 took over and runs the business today, maintaining the breweries focus on traditional brewing without eschewing the modern world. He recently formed a relationship with craft brewer Brooklyn Brewing Co. to create specialty wheat beers outside of traditional brewing.
The Aventinus Eisbock is, as the name would suggest, based on G.Schneider and Sohn's original  Aventinus Weizendoppelbock (wheat double buck). It is made through a freezing process that condenses the beer by removing the excess water, not unlike making applejack from hard cider. The resulting beer is much stronger and more flavorful than it's original. As a big fan of Doppelbock, I'm exited to have a more extreme version. The fact that it's a wheat beer does concern me though, not usually a fan of those.

I received this beer in a 11.2oz long neck bottle with slender shoulders and silver crimpcap. The royal purple, silver trimmed neck label features the company seal and product name as well as proclaiming that it is a product of Bavaria. The front label is more or less a larger version of the neck label. On the reverse it states "Aventinus has been known to be the most intense and complex Wheat-Doppelbock in the world. This was the case in the past, but not anymore...  Recently, Hans-Peter Drexler, Brewmaster at G.Schneider & Sohn, heard stories about some extra special Aventinus resulting from partial freezing during a cold winter transport in the 1930's. He decided to recreate this classic "mistake" to further concentrate Aventinus in a modern controlled facility. Thus, the Aventinus Eisbock was reborn. Prost!" and then it is signed by GS6 at the bottom. 12% ABV. I will be using a tulip glass for this one as I don't own anything close to the Aventinus glass.

I can't tell you why, but I just skipped getting the nose from the bottle. Oh well, moving on. Color is a deep mahogany, I would say a 34 on the SRM. Allot of sediment at the bottom, may be yeast, may just be a side affect of not being filtered. Nose from the glass is fruity with an undertone of wheat sour and wisps of alcohol. While the scent of the alcohol is overpowered by the other prevailing scents, simply taking in the nose made me a little heady. On first sip, it is a strange mix of sour wheat and candied fig, finishing with a cherry candy fruitiness and a lingering alcohol aftertaste. It is a full bodied, rather acidic beer with heavy alcoholic warming, little bit chewy. Certainly made for sipping, for which it is sublime. As I drink, it gains a pronounced licorice flavor in the middle. It is a very sweet beer, with no hops to speak of.

Listening to Kansas Bible Company, which is neither from Kansas nor a purveyor of the Holy Scriptures. I have their album Domezone vol.1 on vinyl and I highly enjoy it. So anyway, the marijuana company American Green purchased the town of Nipton California for about $5 million. They plan to turn the old west mining town with a population of 12 into a pot friendly tourist destination, selling edibles and marijuana infused water on top of keeping the current hotel and campgrounds open. Nipton currently derives most of it's revenue from selling California lottery tickets to Nevada citizens who can't buy them in their state, so quasi legal things are nothing new for them. (switched to The Upsetters "Return of the super ape) I'm sure the purchase will revitalize the former ghost town, the Mojave desert is the ideal place for this kind of thing and the lotto isn't that much of a money maker. It's funny, the town was founded the same year GS3 died, how serendipitous. In other news, I need to buy a truck when I get back. Something In working condition, but I can fix if I have to. I'll probably get a Dodge, as that's what I'm used to working on, but I'm not married to the idea. I'm looking at spending about $2500 if I can, hopefully on something newer. I need it for business purposes, so it needs to look good. Nobody want's to do high end business with a guy driving a truck from the 80's that desperately needs a paint job. Speaking of paint, the 180sx is going to need a full paint job whenever that becomes a financial possibility. It's all scratched up and now chips are coming off when I spray it off. Just an unfortunate reality of having a 25 year old car.

Final thoughts. Highly enjoyable, very flavorful. Go find this one. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Schneider_%26_Sohn
 https://schneider-weisse.de/en/node/16
 http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-cannabis-company-plans-to-turn-desert-town-into-pot-paradise-2017-8-2

The beers of Iwakuni: Hitachino Nest Lager

I have written on Hitachino Nest before, so refer to my 20170416 (4/16/17) post for brewery information. I purchased tonight's lager and a white ale (which I will be reviewing later) from World Liquor in Hiroshima. According to Hitachino Nest's website tonight's beer is brewed with Chinook,Cascade,Saaz, and Nelson Sauvi Hops as well as Kaneko Golden Malt.

I received this beer in a 350ml silver topped can. The art features the Hitachino owl, sitting in a tree hole over the word "LAGER" and a lithograph of the Kiuchi brewery, surrounded by golden leaves. On the side they have a description in English, "Hitachino nest lager is bottom fermented beer with light color. Please enjoy the well-balanced taste of malt and light flavor of hops". 5.5% ABV. I'll be having this in my Japanese lager glass.

Nose from the can is surprisingly hopy, like almost IPA hopy. Allot of pine character, little citrussy. Color is bright golden with a massive amount of small bubble agitation, light but stable head. Nose from the glass is not quite as hopy, but has a little of a bready character. On first sip, allot of hops, a little bit of bready malt. It starts with a piney, resiny hopyness and then moves to a bready fruitiness and finishes with a semi-dry piney flavor that lingers as an aftertaste. Acidity is lower medium with a straight medium body. This is hopy to the point of almost being a mild IPL, and a delicious one at that. As you drink it develops a bit more of a malt characteristic, but it's still a little overwhelmed by the hops.

Listening to Frank Sinatra. As part of leaving the Marine Corps, I am required to fill out paperwork that features exhaustive details of my plans for the next year after I'm gone. I have been dragging my feat on doing it because I hate people probing into the details of my business. I'm having trouble writing about it because it makes me angry. Just sign off that I have some sort of a plan so I can move on and start signing out, because I only have a couple of weeks to do that and it's allot to do. Years of being in the Marines has taught me to have objectives, but amorphous plans to reach them. Once you have a rigid, concrete plan it will be destroyed by reality. But if you have a plan that is flexible to the point of almost not seeming to be a plan at all, it can just evolve to become anything it needs to be.

Final thought's, it's a great beer. I wouldn't call it just a lager, but it's a great beer altogether. Very sessionable and tasty. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.