SLOWBEER IS TURNING JAPANESE!
Very much back into the swing of things this week with new releases aplenty! As previously mentioned there will be somewhat of a Japanese invasion this week with Baird & Hitachino gracing our shelves for the first time. There will also be news of next weeks Holgate tasting & as usual a number of brewery & beer reviews.
FEATURE BREWERIES
HITACHINO NEST (JAP)
An offshoot of the 180 year old Kiuchi sake brewery. The Hitachino nest range of beers have been in production since 1996 & still utilize some traditional methods of kiuchi sake brewing. Since entering the US market in 2000 & gaining wider exposure, Hitachino beers have won many awards worldwide.
White Ale 330ml $6.50 - A belgian style white ale (think Hoegaarden) brewed with wheat & barley malt as well as being spiced with orange peel, coriander & nutmeg.
Red Rice Ale 330ml $8.00 - Quite an interesting brew. The use of red rice (in conjunction with barley) gives it a distinctive pink colour. Being hopped with US chinook hops, means this brew is complimented by citrus fruit notes as well as some subtle sweet strawberry sake characters.
Japanese Classic Ale 330ml $8.00 – Not too sure what makes this a japanese classic ale...seems very much like an english ipa to me. Regardless, a great beer. The use of US chinook in conjunction with tradtional english hops makes for a very well rounded brew.
Celebration Ale 330ml $8.00 – Essentially a Belgian style strong dark ale. A selection of malts give a rounded & slightly sweet palate, while the use of coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla beans add layers of spice & complexity.
XH 330ml $8.00 – A belgian style strong ale that has been aged in shochu (distilled sake) casks for 3 months.
Espresso Stout 330ml $8.00 – A russian imperial stout base with the addition of espresso beans to the boil.
BAIRD BREWING (JAP)
Baird Brewing is a joint partnership company founded in 2000 in Numazu, Japan by the husband & wife team of Bryan and Sayuri Baird. They are a family company born of a deep passion for beer and a great reverence for brewing history, tradition and culture. Their motto is Celebrating Beer & to them means the comprehensive enjoyment of beer in a way that enhances the overall experience of life.
Rising Sun Pale Ale – American West Coast style pale ale, robustly hopped with citrus & peppery hop notes.
Red Rose Amber Ale – Essentially a reverse California Common or Steam Beer. This is fermented with an ale yeast at cooler lager temperatures, resulting in fruity complexity but a crisper, cleaner finish.
Teikoku IPA – A cross between an English & US style IPAs. Big citrus & pine hop characters supported by substantial crystal malt base. Finish is long, bitter & quite peppery.
Suruga Bay Imperial IPA – Perhaps more a Japanese style IPA, in that it has much less crystal malt sweetness than many US examples but very aggressive citrus & pine hop bitterness with a long, long finish. Reminds me a lot of the Nogne O & Yoho Collab DIPA.
Shimaguni Stout – Perhaps more an Irish style dry stout than anything else, though that certainly doesn’t detract from its appeal. Low in abv but quite full of flavour with masses of dry, dark & bitter roasted malt.
*NOTE THAT BOTH OF THESE WILL MOST LIKELY BE ONE OFF SHIPMENTS, SO SNAP THEM UP WHILE YOU CAN!
*IF YOU WISH TO ORDER ANY HITACHINO (ARRIVED TODAY) OR PRE-ORDER ANY BAIRD BEERS (DUE NEXT WEEK) PLEASE EMAIL : sales@slowbeer.com.au
FEATURE BEER
MAD BREWERS ORCHARD ALE 660ML $7.00
Another release from this offshoot of the Malt Shovel Brewery (James Squire) & brainchild of legendary brewer Chuck Hahn. Over the years the Mad Brewer releases have varied greatly in style & while they have strived for left of centre, highly experimental brews some have been hits (Ten20 Commemorative Ale) & some have been big misses (think Raspberry Wheat). This falls somewhere in between & to me seems to be keeping the ever growing cider drinking market in mind.
Stylistically this is a belgian style saison made with the addition of apples. In what form I’m not too sure but seems to add quite a degree of sweetness, which leads me to think it is post fermentation. While this beer is extremely drinkable the sweetness does seem to drown out the delicate nature of a saison. Perhaps use of apples during fermentation would have complimented the beer a bit more & added some tartness as apposed to sweetness. Regardless, a nice beer & one that can be enjoyed by both beer & cider drinkers alike.
HOLGATE TASTING
Next Friday 19th March we will be hosting an in store tasting of the excellent range of Holgate beers. Much like all slowbeer tastings this will be a rather informal, so swing by between 5-7pm for a taste & a chat about the range.
FEATURE BREWERIES
HITACHINO NEST (JAP)
An offshoot of the 180 year old Kiuchi sake brewery. The Hitachino nest range of beers have been in production since 1996 & still utilize some traditional methods of kiuchi sake brewing. Since entering the US market in 2000 & gaining wider exposure, Hitachino beers have won many awards worldwide.
White Ale 330ml $6.50 - A belgian style white ale (think Hoegaarden) brewed with wheat & barley malt as well as being spiced with orange peel, coriander & nutmeg.
Red Rice Ale 330ml $8.00 - Quite an interesting brew. The use of red rice (in conjunction with barley) gives it a distinctive pink colour. Being hopped with US chinook hops, means this brew is complimented by citrus fruit notes as well as some subtle sweet strawberry sake characters.
Japanese Classic Ale 330ml $8.00 – Not too sure what makes this a japanese classic ale...seems very much like an english ipa to me. Regardless, a great beer. The use of US chinook in conjunction with tradtional english hops makes for a very well rounded brew.
Celebration Ale 330ml $8.00 – Essentially a Belgian style strong dark ale. A selection of malts give a rounded & slightly sweet palate, while the use of coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla beans add layers of spice & complexity.
XH 330ml $8.00 – A belgian style strong ale that has been aged in shochu (distilled sake) casks for 3 months.
Espresso Stout 330ml $8.00 – A russian imperial stout base with the addition of espresso beans to the boil.
BAIRD BREWING (JAP)
Baird Brewing is a joint partnership company founded in 2000 in Numazu, Japan by the husband & wife team of Bryan and Sayuri Baird. They are a family company born of a deep passion for beer and a great reverence for brewing history, tradition and culture. Their motto is Celebrating Beer & to them means the comprehensive enjoyment of beer in a way that enhances the overall experience of life.
Rising Sun Pale Ale – American West Coast style pale ale, robustly hopped with citrus & peppery hop notes.
Red Rose Amber Ale – Essentially a reverse California Common or Steam Beer. This is fermented with an ale yeast at cooler lager temperatures, resulting in fruity complexity but a crisper, cleaner finish.
Teikoku IPA – A cross between an English & US style IPAs. Big citrus & pine hop characters supported by substantial crystal malt base. Finish is long, bitter & quite peppery.
Suruga Bay Imperial IPA – Perhaps more a Japanese style IPA, in that it has much less crystal malt sweetness than many US examples but very aggressive citrus & pine hop bitterness with a long, long finish. Reminds me a lot of the Nogne O & Yoho Collab DIPA.
Shimaguni Stout – Perhaps more an Irish style dry stout than anything else, though that certainly doesn’t detract from its appeal. Low in abv but quite full of flavour with masses of dry, dark & bitter roasted malt.
*NOTE THAT BOTH OF THESE WILL MOST LIKELY BE ONE OFF SHIPMENTS, SO SNAP THEM UP WHILE YOU CAN!
*IF YOU WISH TO ORDER ANY HITACHINO (ARRIVED TODAY) OR PRE-ORDER ANY BAIRD BEERS (DUE NEXT WEEK) PLEASE EMAIL : sales@slowbeer.com.au
FEATURE BEER
MAD BREWERS ORCHARD ALE 660ML $7.00
Another release from this offshoot of the Malt Shovel Brewery (James Squire) & brainchild of legendary brewer Chuck Hahn. Over the years the Mad Brewer releases have varied greatly in style & while they have strived for left of centre, highly experimental brews some have been hits (Ten20 Commemorative Ale) & some have been big misses (think Raspberry Wheat). This falls somewhere in between & to me seems to be keeping the ever growing cider drinking market in mind.
Stylistically this is a belgian style saison made with the addition of apples. In what form I’m not too sure but seems to add quite a degree of sweetness, which leads me to think it is post fermentation. While this beer is extremely drinkable the sweetness does seem to drown out the delicate nature of a saison. Perhaps use of apples during fermentation would have complimented the beer a bit more & added some tartness as apposed to sweetness. Regardless, a nice beer & one that can be enjoyed by both beer & cider drinkers alike.
HOLGATE TASTING
Next Friday 19th March we will be hosting an in store tasting of the excellent range of Holgate beers. Much like all slowbeer tastings this will be a rather informal, so swing by between 5-7pm for a taste & a chat about the range.
Labels: Beer News, New Releases, Recent Tasting Notes
posted by Chris Menichelli at
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