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.