I've written about Echigo before, so if you want to know about the brewery you can refer to that post. Tonight we have the Echigo Red Ale "Japanese Premium Import", so what's written on the bottle in English won't be nonsense this time.
The bottle has a nice cherry blossom and crane graphic with a little bit of kanji under the RED ALE, clearly playing up the Japaneseness of the beer. Not quite 12 oz. (it's 11.15), 6% alcohol by volume. The presentations fine, nothing particularly striking.
Nose from the bottle is just a straight molasses, maybe some roasted barley. After pouring, the nose is very fruity, it is akin to cherry cough syrup, but not quite that extreme. Color is like a brandy, a plum red with bright hues. There is a sufficient amount of life within the glass to maintain a small head around the rim. I really cannot stress enough how much this beer smells of cherry. On first sip, as best I can describe, it tastes just like a less intense plum wine. It has a light body and a warming, although acidic, mouthfeel. It is slightly bitter, with a noticeable bitter aftertaste. Watered down cough syrup or carbonated plum wine keeps coming to mind. I cannot give you a more accurate description of the taste.
I saw the new Star Trek, it was all right. The cinematography and special effects were beautiful, but the story was chock full of cliche's. I could have told you the whole story as soon as they got to the space station. A much better movie that unfortunately just left theaters is "The Infiltrator" starring Bryan Cranston. I could certainly watch that one again, and probably will.It's adapted from a true story that took place in 1986 about Miami DEA agents trying to take down some of the heavy hitters in Pablo Escobar's cartel. The movie is an absolute thrill so I won't give anything away, although you probably could look up the whole thing on Wikipedia.I also managed to see "The secret life of pets", which if you have a kid go ahead and take them to it, they'll enjoy it and you won't be totally bored. The hotdog scene it actually pretty great.
Final thoughts. Not terrible, but not really good either. I don't know why I expected more from this brewery, their flagship was just serviceable. Is Japan really that strapped for good indigenous craft beer? Are Coedo and Orion the only good small breweries? I refuse to believe that. I have to say, this beers flavor profile came as a shock to me, when I see "Red Ale" I'm expecting an Irish red, what I got is something like a failed attempt to mimic Delirium Red. If you're looking for a beer with this kind of flavor, just spring for the Delirium Red.
My apologies for not posting in some time, I have had work related concerns. But thanks to these work related concerns I'm in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. I'm currently staying at the Royal Hawaiian hotel, the fourth hotel built in the area (1927) with a long history of hosting military, which explains the substantial discount we are staying here for. In fact, during WW2 it was completely closed to the public and hosted US military guests exclusively, and during the Vietnam war it hosted the Armed Forces Network program "Concert by the Sea". They renovated the place back in 2008 to modernize it's amenities and do some extensive maintenance. Fortunately they were not overzealous in their modernizations so it is still a gigantic, pink stucco, Spanish/Moorish styled, H building designed to catch trade winds and let them pass through its large windows and open common areas and swirl around it's high ceilings (a Godsend in the days before air conditioning).
Tonight's beer is Lemongrass Luau by Kona brewing, out of Kailua-Kona Hawaii. The brewpub was started in 1995 by a father and son team with a focus on the Hawaiian market. The business grew over time with a few flagship beers such as their Longboard Island Lager and their Firerock Pail Ale, and they are now selling in the continental US. The Lemongrass Luau we will be reviewing is a blonde ale with added lemongrass and ginger from their Aloha series. It has embossed on it's bottle in cursive "Liquid Aloha" along with the Hawaiian island chain. Also on the bottle is a classic hula girl scene complete with tiki torches and sunset and the breweries gecko label. It is 5% alcohol by volume and in a 12 oz bottle. Fortunately this is a classy hotel, no no plastic cup this time, on to the brew.
It has a slight sort of sweet and sour nose from the bottle, this continues in the glass. It is certainly a golden color, extremely clear, no head to speak of. If you just showed me the poured glass and asked me what the liquid inside was, I would not instinctively say beer. But aesthetics are secondary to taste, and on inital sip the taste is sweet. Not a barley sweet though, I can only imagine this is from the lemongrass. Other than that it is a light hay like barley taste and a little bit of ginger. It has a light body, creamy mouthfeel, low acidity. Not allot of life within the glass, there's a little bit, it's not flat, but this is on that definitely expires before too long.
Listening to Nikki Lane, she's a county music singer/guitarist/songwriter from Greenville, South Carolina. She Performs out of Nashville, Tennessee now and plays outlaw and Americana styles. That being said, her music tends to have a real late 1970's through early 1990's feel, which would make her also neotraditionalist country. It's not that there is anything particularly special about her music, it's just really refreshing to hear generally good country that you can put on in the background and just leave playing. Just the beat of pop country in the background has started to put me in a bad mood. I went ahead and got two of her albums on vinyl.
Final thoughts. It's a serviceable beer, made for sitting on the beach and having a few, nothing special. I have some Anchor steam beers in the fridge I think I'll get into.
I got this at the Sinclair gas station down the road, which I was surprised by until I realized it was brewed 45 minutes down the road. It was a $10.30 four pack, quite the price, but we'll see if it was worth it. I've written about Boulevard brewing before (and their high price point), so I'll save you the history. The four pack cardstock carrier states "Throughout the ages, man has been fascinated by the quest for hidden knowledge, the search for the secret to transforming the elemental into the extraordinary, the simple into the sublime. We present for you're consideration this exotic, inky concoction, the almost magical creation of out alchemist/brewers, who have turned humble grains-barley, wheat, rye, and oats- into pure, black liquid gold. Layers of complex flavors slowly emerge from the glass: espresso, roasted fig, creme brulee. Belgian yeast provides a plum-like fruitiness, noble German hops reveal spicy, herbal notes, while the rich, velvety mouthfeel mellows to a dry, smoky finish". Well Boulevard brewing, as it says in Mathew 12:36 "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment". Today is the day of judgment, we'll see if you're flowery words stack up to you're product and its high price point.
The bottle is more of a European long neck, like you find on an Aschel, Wesmalle, or Rochefort and has a raised "Boulevard Brewing Co." embossed around the neck. The label declares it the "Boulevard Smokestack series" with "Dark Truth Stout" in the background of a tulip glass with the beer in question. It also states that it is 12 fluid Oz. and 9.7% ABV. The reverse gives a summary of the statement given on the carrier " Roasted English malts provide a deep, rich texture, Belgian yeast bestows plum-like fruitiness, and German hops add spicy aromas as Dark Truth Stout mellows to a smooth, dry, smoky finish". I did not bring a glass with me, so I will be using the plastic cups provided by the hotel.
This is what I've been reduced to
Nose from the bottle is wheat sour with dark malt and molasses. Pouring it into our classy plastic cup the beer forms a thick beige head and has deep opaque black coloring. holding the beer up to the light I can see a great deal of bubbles crawling up the side of the glass towards the head (excuse me, sanitary disposable plastic cup). It certainly maintains it's head, most beers I review show the top of the liquid by now, but this one is going strong. Nose from the SDPC is the same as from the bottle. While the wheat sour is the dominant characteristic in the nose, the dark malt takes charge of the flavor, leaving only traces of the wheat sour. The aftertaste has a fruity quality to it, but that is to be expected from Belgian yeast. This is a decidedly full bodied beer with a slightly acidic mouthfeel, it's smooth in a somewhat syrupy kind of way. Sipping on it, the other flavors start to come out, such as dark chocolate and coffee (and toffee for that mater, which is to say the molasses flavor has evolved to a smoother state). I suppose it does have a spiciness to it, as the brewer would suggest, but I did not notice it on my own so it is as good as non existent as far as this review is concerned. The coffee flavor really overtakes the fore and after taste after a while, the fruitiness taking charge of the middle. I wouldn't really call the finish particularly dry or smokey. I suppose you could say that it has those characteristics, and obviously the brewer would to add more to the description, but I wouldn't.
I've been listening to Marlon Williams lately, in fact I'm listening to him right now. I only recently found out about this musician from the Conan O'Brien show, but I saw him play with his backup group the yarra benders and I immediately went and bought the LP. He has a very 1950's-1960's country western, folk, bluegrass, blues (A.K.A Americana) sound and does covers of classic songs as well. It is so refreshing to hear some (more or less) new good country after being saddled with that pop crap for so long. I'm telling you, the eastern Pacific is giving "The Man" in Nashville a run for his money.
Final thoughts. At the end I discovered this beer even had clumps of yeast, hidden in the black murk of their flavorful abode. Boulevard Brewing has given their account and has been found justified. This is a complex and delicious beer if you are willing to sit and sip it. If I purchased it again I would age it a little, certainly not the seven years it takes barlywines to reach their apex as the Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters discovered, but maybe two. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.
Tonights beer is another one I picked up from the YouMe. I could have sworn I've done a review of Asahi "Super Dry" lager, but I guess not. I suppose it makes some sense, It was not quite as common on Okinawa as some of the other major beers. It is quite common in Iwakuni though, which is to be expected as they have 38% market share in Japan. I can't really find any extensive history on the brewery though, most of what I can find is from Wikipedia. Asahi started out as Osaka Beer Company in 1889 and throughout most of it's history (like every major Japanese brewery) mimicked German beer styles. They merged with Sapporo, and Japan Beer Brewery Company (now Kirin) in 1906 to form Dai-Nippon beer company. Interesting note:during the first WW1 the Osaka brewery was partially staffed by German prisoners, which wasn't illegal at the time. Dai-Nippon would maintain almost complete dominance of the Japanese beer market until the end of WW2. In 1949 Dai-Nippon split into Asahi and Nippon brewerys. In 1892 Osaka Beer Company came out with Asahi Draft ( Asahi meaning "morning sun"), and it is likely from this beer (which they still brew) that the newly re-formed company derived it's name. In the late 1980's (or laeightys as I call them) Asahi came out with the " Asahi Super Dry" lager, the name denoting its full attenuation, gave the beer industry the term "Dry beer". Asahi Super Dry is currently their most popular beer, taking over from their previous flagship beer Asahi Gold. It's popularity led other Japanese brewers to introduce their own Dry beers to capitalize on it's popularity leading to a period of time is now referred to as the Dry wars.
It got so intense Suntory actually got Mike Tyson to pimp their beer
Tonight's beer is the Black Lager version of Asahi Super Dry.While most of what is written on the black and gold can is in Japanese characters, there is a little bit of English endorsing the beer as having "DRINKABILITY AND EXCELLENT RICHNESS, SATIN SMOOTHNESS". I noticed that it also says "KARAKUCHI" in dark grey letters against the black background of the can. A quick internet search reveals it just means "dry flavor". This can truly has a multitude of fonts, I've counted at least 11 different fonts they have used to mark this can, which is unusual even for Japanese products. At least it looks cool.
Obviously I didn't write this post to talk about fonts, TO THE BEER! Nose from the can is a little bit of malt with nuttiness, pistachios to be specific, but it's not heavy. This beer looks like Coca-Cola when you pour it, having the exact same red and caramel hue. Nose from the glass is similar to that of the can, but the nuttiness has mostly evolved into a licorice. On first sip, it's roasted malt flavor with licorice, a little dark chocolate, and a dry finish. It has a lower mid body and a little acidity.
As I'm sure you've all heard, Kimbo Slice died. I find it hard to put into words how I feel about this. It's just disturbing knowing he's gone. I've been watching this guys career since I was in high school. He was this giant guy from the streets that just beat the living crap out of people in someones back yard, but even when he towered over his trash talking opponent, he had kind of a home town hero persona about him. Kimbo was the kind of guy you could actually know, and unless you live the most white bread existence imaginable, you know somebody like Kimbo. I remember watching the video where he knocked that guys eye out (for which he was named Kimbo Slice) in Mr. Coggins typing class (obviously without Mr. Coggins knowledge), dude that was just gnarly, that guys eye was popping out like my brothers dying hamster. Those were the real cowboy days of the internet. Security was a joke, Limewire got you any file you wanted through the Gnutella network, Peacefire could get you past any of those primitive blocks, a true pirates paradise. I remember watching those fights recorded on some handycam down in Florida and thinking that this was some true internet underworld stuff and I was in on it. Of course now we have the "deep web" which I've never felt the need to access (I've felt the need to learn how, just never went through with it). Sorry, I have no need of torture porn, drugs, or someone else's "untraceable" crappy homemade firearms. That's not to say I don't check in on the pirate world from time to time to make sure I know my way around our digital Tortuga. You never know when the establishment will really become as draconian as we always feared.
I remember when Kimbo got into the UFC. He was the local boy from our internet underworld making good, it was unbelievable. Sure he didn't do so great, but what home town hero ever does?
Rest in peace you beautiful disaster.
Final thoughts, it's an OK beer. It doesn't really offer anything that regular Asahi Extra Dry doesn't offer. If you ever find you're self in a Japanese convenience store or supermarket, I assure you there will be better beers for the same price right next to this one.
I went to the Westa car show in Hiroshima a couple of days ago with an MCCS but trip. Good time, walked around with an open Asahi extra dry and basked in the glory of Japanese Western mod culture. Which oddly enough is not just Western cars (There were a surprising number of low riders), but also includes older model Japanese cars (all Showa era). This show is where I knew I wanted an early 70's Nissan "pigs but" Laurel .
And it's not just cars, the music as well. There was a mix of Hip Hop, Girl band Pop, 1950's American Rockabilly (surprisingly popular in Japanese counterculture), and alternative Punk. On the way back we stopped at the You Me mall, where I hit up the super market and got a number of Japanese beers I cannot find on base. This is one of those beers.
It took a little bit of research as the label is almost entirely in Japanese characters aside from the deceleration that it's from Japans first microbrewery and that it is a premium beer. The brewer in question is Echigo, which started as a brewpub in 1995 thanks to Japanese licensing and capacity laws changing two years prior. They are currently the largest craft brewer in Japan and they have won a number of international awards, that number I have yet to determine as there is not allot of info about this brewery in English, but it's at least six or more. Promising, but I prefer to let the beer do the talking. And the beer that will do that talking is their pilsner, who (according to the Google translate version of the companies web page) is brewed with Zatsu hopps, the original hop of pilsner (also barley malt). I think they mean Zatec hops, as in the city of Zatec in the Czech Republic, which would mean the variety is actually Saaz. Other than that it is 5% ABV and has an IBU of 26, oddly enough making it one of there most bitter brews. The can is a golden color as it seems to be a theme with this brewery to color code their cans. For instance there stout is a completely black can and their red ale is a red can. Time to open.
It smells more like a wheat beer from the can, kind of like a fresh ear of corn with a little sourness. Color is golden, slightly amber with a frothy, but quickly dissipating head. Nose from the glass is faint but it actually smells like a pilsner. It has a touch of sourness to it but not enough to drive me away. It has a malty sweetness that I would say is the beers main character. It is kind of a light mid body with low acidity. It's not notably carbonated, but there's some life inside of the glass. Finish is rather dry.
So, I'm rather dismayed by the utter lack of information there seems to be with a simple internet search on defeating robots. There is article after article about how we're designing killer robots and how soon we could have disposable killer robots made to kamikaze their way to any target that meets specific criteria.
I had no idea as a teenager that this would actually be a reality of the world I lived in.
I saw an interview with Adam Savage and Jamie Hineman (of Mythbusters fame) where they were asked the question and their answer was to install kill switches and fail safes. That's all well and good if it's you're own robot, but what about someone else's swarms of small, cheap, flying drones that are essentially flying smart grenades coming for you? Have we entered a realm where skeet shooting with an automatic shotgun is a necessary military survival skill?
I've finished this beer, but I really want to keep talking about the real robot problem that nobody wants to talk about, so final thoughts on this beer and then I'm switching to a Westmalle tripel. It's a decent pilsner, not the best, not even the best Japanese one, but worth trying. I'll give it my blurry seal of approval.
So anyways, killer robots and how we're all doomed. I suppose it will be necessary to replace the focus the infantry has on anti-personnel to anti-material, as our enemy's increasingly become automations. The obvious route is to counter automated combatants with automated combatants and make them the center of a rifle squad. What this will look like is anyone's guess at this point, but in the near future you'll be seeing things like this:
yea right, always accompanied by a soldier, we'll see how long that lasts. I think using the M240 machine gun was a little naive though, kind of like the idea of magazine cutoffs in bolt action rifles at the turn of the 20th century. These machines would absolutely function better with a main gun designed around them and not a human. Maybe the army really believes that robots will never replace human soldiers on the field. Maybe in the near future, but you know that's not going to last. It's kind of like this socket set I got from my Grandfather, it ways made in the late 50's-early 60's and it says "made in Japan under American supervision". How long until everybody realized that the Japanese were probably better at making those sockets than their supervisors? How much longer until until the Japanese took everything we taught them about manufacturing and American businessed harder than American business. (I've run out of the Westmalle and have switched over to a LaTrappe Dubbel). The Human operators are just to give people a warm and fuzzy, just like the American supervising the Japanese that would eventually employ them. Everybody from the Engineers to the operators know these machines could make perfectly good decisions on their own, probably better than their human operators. It reminds me of a story I read from a couple of years ago about the automated turrets that guard the De-militarized zone between the DPRK and the ROK. They were armed with .50 caliber machine guns and made to take down trucks (or people, but the article strategically neglects to mention that). It scanned its area perfectly, issued warnings to potential targets, and could automatically execute almost perfectly accurate direct fire on its target, but would only fire if a human overseer pressed a button and approved the action. Do you think that kind of restraint would really be used if the DPRK decided to charge across that three mile strip and assault the ROK's position? Absolutely not, after a single wave they would set that machine to confirm its targets and then terminate with extreme prejudice. Before WW2 people were uncomfortable with the idea of mass bombing. Now, if you follow our mission against ISIS, we prefer it to sending actual people to combat. I figure we have one good conflict until people almost completely accept robots making the decision to kill a person.The problem is that, for some people, I'm that person.
So what do we do? I, for one, say we should not shy away from automated combatants, because God knows our enemy's won't. Ultimately war is about imposing you're will over someone else, they teach you about that in Corporals course and I wish they would hammer it in a little bit throughout the Marine Corps a little more. It's not exactly a Libertarian ideal, but what are you to do when you are ultimately defending the idea of personal liberty? We should not go running to them as fools, as they are very dangerous, but as an undeniable reality of our world. Just like when we created the bomb, a reasonable and educated person knows that the Genie has been let out of the bottle and we cannot take it back. We have stumbled upon a way to cheat the previously known system with an incredible tool and we cannot forget it. I remember when I changed my Facebook profile picture to a nuclear blast from back in the 50's my great aunt Frieda Hatfield Tong commented that most Adults when she what a child did not like the bomb, but saw it as a necessity. I don't see why automated combatants should be any different.
So I think it is clear, we have our cold, emotionless, logic driven killing machines and they have theirs. There isn't anything anybody can do about it without reverting to feudalism. We tread the edge of oblivion and have since the day you were born (presuming you were born after 1945). We could all say that we should all get along, but I think we all know that's not possible. We must act with full knowledge of the position we are in. If it comes to oblivion, than that's a risk we must take, for what do you're beliefs really mean if you are not willing to risk all in their defense. Life will persist somewhere in a twisted perversion of what we knew. We have a creed in Ordnance: "In God and Ordance we adore, in times of trouble, not before. The schedule met, all troubles righted. God is forgotten, Ordnance slighted.". God is forgotten as we do truly do not know a single day without him, unless we are put in a situation where we have only ourselves and our evil hearts. I think we will not forget the automatic combatants and the ordnance they bring because we do not know a single day without them.You will tell you're children of the days unmanned Arial vehicles roamed the sky with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and how that was a big deal, and they will think "how pedestrian".
Wow,that got really, really dark. So, long story short, I'm looking for a mid 1970's Nissan laurel (Or 1980's Nissan sunny truck) in southern Honshu if anybody knows of anything.
I've had a bit of a hiatus from writing the blog as I've been moving to Iwakuni Japan. However I'm mostly settled in and can now resume my never ending quest to keep fewer than twelve beers in my room while also buying any beer that catches my eye and then writing about it. Iwakuni's 7 day doesn't keep quite the variety that inspired me to start this blog. Okinawa was quite the gem, now that I look back. It's no Ashville, or even Greenville for that matter, but if you wanted to know what the major breweries were cooking up around the world, Oki was a good place to find out. But anyways, this Hop Stoopid IPA is the first beer from Lagunitas of Petaluma California (originally from Lagunitas Cal.) that I have had on the blog and as usual I want to talk about the brewery that brewed the brew.
Lagunitas Brewing company was founded in 1993 by Tony Magee, who's book I'm reading right now. I won't give you the entire run down because it's 211 pages long, so I'll sum it up. He started off as a home brewer who decided he liked brewing enough to become a contract brewer making private label beers for local restaurants while also working his day job as a commercial printer. A little while latter he hired a guy to help him, and then it became several guys, and after a few years he completely left printing to brew full time. The brewery grew "tyrannically" in Magee's own words, making large quantities of money, but always being cash strapped as employees, suppliers, the landlord, and the bank always needed to be paid off before any of the profits showed up (such is the life of a brewer). Lagunitas currently operates 2 breweries, the "original" (Its been moved and upgraded several times), and a Chicago location that opened in 2012. They are opening a third brewery in Azusa CA, chosen for it's water quality and the fact that MillerCoors has a brewery there as well. While they were (and still are) one of the biggest craft brewers in the game, they cannot technically be called craft as they sold a 50% stake to Heineken last year. I don't know whether to call this a sell out or not, they didn't sell a controlling stake (although I don't know the exact details of the arrangement) and this seems like a smart business move as it will give them international distribution. At least they didn't sell out to the beer devil.
I bought a set of beer glasses recently, I had to leave all of my glassware back home so you may not be seeing the super traditional Orion mug for a while as having it mailed out to me is going to take a couple of weeks at least. It's a pretty basic set made for you're garden variety craft beers. I'm not really a fan of the tulip glass that came with it, it's almost a less extreme Scottish thistle glass than the Belgian "snifter with a lip" tulip glass I've become accustomed to. I'll probably have one of my tulips mailed to me from the States as well.Anyways, TO THE BEER!
The label claims to be 104 International Bitterness Units and is 8% Alcohol By Volume. It also has a little paragraph on the label that reads as such:
Don't judge me,I'm a busy man.
And, like all of their beers, has the Lagunitas dog.
Started life as a label graphic on a discontinued beer, but everybody liked it so much they made it the company logo.
The graphic on the green label is an old farmhouse which I remember reading about where it was, but I've completely forgotten and now cannot find the reference.
Nose from the bottle is piney resin with some maltyness. Pouring it, the head is thick and has quite a bit of staying power which I think can be attributed to how lively this beer is. It's like an orange-amber Jacuzzi in there. Nose from the glass is much the same as the bottle. On first sip, it is strikingly bitter and dry. Very grassy aftertaste, like eating a dandelion. On second sip that pine resin nose comes out in the flavor and the beer mellows out a bit with the same touch of maltyness. Mouthfeel is slightly acidic with no alcohol bite to speak of from the beers slightly over medium body. I'm surprised by how used to this beer I've quickly become. Admittedly I've been drinking a great deal of German and Japanese Pilsners and light lagers, quite different from my IPA and stout/porter heavy diet in the States, which may account for the initial shock I had at first sip. I may have only been here a short time already, but this is a much missed taste of home. I suppose its all for the best, if I had never left home I would have never embarked on this venture and would probably be one one of those sorry SOBs that only "likes" beer.
I recently purchased a decent turn table which is something I've never really had. I've either had those crappy Crosley ones I've gotten on sale (don't ever buy a Crosley, not even for the casual listener, their quality is terrible) or players that are well over fifty years old and are almost impossible to find replacement parts for. Although calling my new (at least, new to me) Audio-technica AP LP-60 decent is totally based on product reviews and I have no idea whether or not it's any good from a functional sense. It didn't come with speakers, but I swung by the base thrift shop and bought a second hand (or third, it's not like it came with a historical ledger) set of Logitech speakers which should suffice for now, we'll see when I actually get an LP in. Speaking of LPs, the one thing I want to come back from Japan with (other than exotic beers and a Showa era truck car) is an original Japanese copy of Cheap Trick at the Budokan. In my opinion, its one of the best rock concerts of all time.In fact, I'm switching my music over to that right now (at the moment I'm listening to 1000 mods, a excellent stoner rock band band, check 'em out.). ALL RIGHT TOKYO, (Japanese girls scream) ARE YOU READY!? (Japanese girls scream harder) WILL YOU WELCOME EPIC RECORDING ARTIST CHEAP TRICK! (the crowd looses it). I've had this concert memorized from the time I was a kid and I can sing every word. I went ahead and plugged in the new speakers, they work just fine.
After this beer warms up, the pine resin overpowers the malt flavor a little bit, as IPAs are want to do. overall I'm saddened by the fact that I'm out of this one (large bottle though it was). I am especially saddened by the fact that the PX is out of them. I can only assume that this was the last one on MCAS Iwakuni and thus it means that I must be traveling on now, there are too many beers that I've got to see. I realize that's taken from Lynyrd Skynyrd lyrics and not Cheap Trick, but that's how I feel about this beer. I give it my blurry seal of approval.
I'm down in Hilton Head with my family at the Marriott Port Royal timeshare they've had since '96-'97. Nice place to hang out and lay low. Therese never anything going on, and the island hasn't been hit by a hurricane in recorded history, leading to an island heavily populated by live oaks which I think are gorgeous. But in other news, BEER! So on our way here we stopped in total wine to pick up the essentials and I picked up a couple I thought I would write reviews on, this oyster stout being on of them. It's brewed by Holy City brewing out of Charleston, SC. A brewery started by four men, two of whom were rickshaw pullers, another the owner of a defunct biodiesel business, and the fourth a brewing school graduate. This is one of their seasonal brews (their website simply says "Oyster season"), It is an Irish dry stout brewed with 2 bushels of Bowen's Island oysters per every 15 gallons of beer.
The can is a simple 12.oz polished aluminum with a glued on plastic label instead of the usual can-printed. This allows them to have an almost three dimensional image on their black and gold graphic of a man harvesting oysters and won't ruin the label if you stick it in a cooler (opposed to paper labels). Time to pop this sucker open.
Froth expands from the can, they seem to have filled this all the way to the brim. It has a heavy, roasted malt nose from the mouth, we'll see if it's the same in the glass.
I acquired a new short tulip glass I'll be using for this review. It's labeled with Bell's Hop slam ale, one of the better hop grenades in my opinion. But not my favorite, as my regular readers may remember.
There is practically no head, bu I must say that this beer is so dark that the glass is now a bulbous mirror. You can barely see bubbles coming up against you're own reflection. It has a lighter, almost fruity scent from the glass, but still clearly roasted malts. On first sip, salty, dry, kind of tart with kind of a fruity finish. I don't think I've had a beer that was salty like this. It tastes like you took you're dry to the beach and accidentally got a touch of salt water splashed into it. Which is sort of what they did, I suppose, but intentionally, with copious amounts of molluscs. Mouth feel is just a little acidic, but otherwise smooth, sort of a medium body. There it is, you have to get used to the saltiness first, but then the oysters come out. It reminds me of the soda Moxie, if y'all have had that. I miss that stuff, it's so hard to get in the south.
My dad just drank my founders breakfast stout. He grabbed it thinking it was one of the six pack of dirty bastard, also by founders so they bottles shape and cap were the same. I've lost quite a few beers this way. I need some kind of secret hiding place for beer. someplace I can keep them cool for an extended period of time. Maybe I should bury them in a taped up cooler in the back yard, mark it like a grave and come back a few years later. Other than that, my brother got me hooked on settlers of CATAN. I love the fact that the way you set the board up will completely change how you need to play the game, it's addictive.
Final thoughts. It's a good beer, I wouldn't want to drink it all the time, but its worth one a season. I give it my blurry seal of approval.
