First up was a nice little Oktoberfest in my kitchen. Spaaten Oktoberfest. Approx 6% alcohol. This baby is not quite as smooth as my favourite Spaaten, the Helles, but also not quite the punch of the premium bock. Somwhere in between and so I give it a 6.5/10. Nice beer.
Next was a Hitachino Nest Classic Ale &*!!*#$% beer. (I couldn't quite read the Japanese). Seemed to be some sort of English ale, with Kent golding and Challenger hops. Cask conditioned, I think this is one of a selection of premium beers brought out by Hitachino Nest, in Japan. Nice! forgot about it in my freezer but as it warmed, it got better. I give it a 7/10. not bad for Hitachino, whom I don't really rate that much.
Next is a British beer..Samuel Smith's Organic Ale. Although not exactly orgasmic, it certainly is organic (says so, on the bottle). Not bad, but tastes bland and nothing special. Almost Eastern European lager/ale taste. Weird. Low carbonation. 6/10
I ventured to a new(ish) bar, M bar K, in Motosumiyoshi, in the Yokohama/Kawasaki area. A guy I knew before, Australian Mike runs the place with a nice Japanese lady. I popped by to see the Wales rugby game.
This place is down a small street, a few 100m from the station. Not so easy to find. Here's a map [Shibuya direction (top) to Yokohama direction (down)]: The place itself is quite nice. Here's another pic of the front. This is what you'll see from the street. It has a nice seating area outside. This should be good in the sunnier weather. An L shaped bar has seating for around 20 or so. Here's a pic of the front, just inside the entrance: And here's one of the other half: Thsi is taken from the same position as I took the previous photo. Unfortunately, I didn't take one of the bar.
At least 3 Tvs (normal size, wall mounted - no big screen) shows most of the matches/games/sports events. If you ask and if they have it, I'm sure Mike will put on whichever game you want to watch.
Beer is good. They pour a nice guiness. I recommend trying the Coopers Australian beer. It's not a bad drink. Most people prefer Cooper's Sparkling Ale. I tried it and it was pretty good. They also serve a few other Australian beers (Fosters, Tooeys, etc) and have a nice selection of Australian wine. Food - well, I didn't order any so can't talk about that really. Nice enough selection in the menu.
MbarK 5.5/10
Not a bad little place. Atmospherewise not party central but they do have live music playing and I haven't been to experience that. Points for the Ozzie theme and coopers beers. Nice enough little local.
Overall a nice enough little pub. I think they play live music in there, too. Not sure of the schedules. You can check their website for info, but it's not developed very well yet. Hope they fix that soon.
During one of my previous jaunts up into the wilds of Fukushima, I managed to get to Aizu beer brewpub in Aizu Wakamatsu... ...in Wakamatsu... ...in Aizu.
I was up there visiting some newish friends I made. They were all ALTs in Fukushima and one of them (Padraic) was having a bit of a birthday bash. After a nice gentle night of 10 or so beers and terrible karaoke, we were to head to Aizu beer for about 3 hours of all you can drink. Not bad. Before that, we had a nice barbecue near a river somehwere in the middle of nowhere and no, I really don't think anyone heard me scream. Keeping one eye open for my beer and one eye for any amouruos bears and one eye on the hurly wurly thing that was flying around (Irish game - very dangerous hence very popular), I managed to survive and eventually found my way at Aizu beer restaurant (the more perceptive of you may have realised that I mentioned three eyes. The still more perceptive would know not to enquire further and could easily guess which 'eye' was watching out for the bears - if the 'twitchometer' was pointing due North, then I would know temptation was close at hand - grr).
So, despite being slightly plastered from the BBQ, I managed to follow everyone and found myself here: This is the Aizu Beer place. It's in Wakamatsu. For the map, click here (in Japanese).
The inside of this place is quite nice. The actual bar/restaurant area is on the 2nd floor. However, I don't understand the need for the huge central stairway. Seems to take up half the area of the whole 2nd floor. But there is still plenty of space of 40 or so revellers (including a piano onstage).
Right. Frist up, I decided to try the amber ale. This was poured for me by the owner, Mr.Johnny Lager. You can see Mr.Lager in this shot. He just poured an AkaBeko amber ale and a stout. Nice guy. Happy to talk to you and also sat down and drank with us (didn't buy us a drink though).
The amber ale was not an amber ale for me. But I was 79%paraletic by that time, so I could've been wrong. Tasted like a normal-ish lager. All their beers had the similar (weird water/distinct strange hopping) flavor to them. Hard to describe. Almost like with eyes closed you can taste a Baird beer or a Tama no Megumi. These are like that. Also, like those beers, only a few are best suited to that particular 'taste'. These are similar in background taste to Tama no Megumi in that a pe ale or stout best fits the style. The amber ale was ok but I wouldn't order another, unless there was nothing else to drink.
Aka Beko Amber Ale: 5/10 __________________
Next up was the stout. Mmm... very nice. Suits the background taste and consistency just right. Not a bad pint at all. I could drink more of this and indeed I did. Slight creaminess both in taste and body texture. A reasonable pint.
Stout: 6.5/10
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After that I decided to chance their experimental beer which was the kurogome, brewed using rice. Im not a fan of rice in beer, but I decided to give it a shot:
Creamy head. Looked very smooth. The smell was a little strange.
Taste - semolina? Weird.
Very, very weird. Wouldn't describe it as beer, as we know it, Jim. I tried but I just couldn't get used to it. Think only certain peple will take to this. As for me, I had trouble finishing it.
As for me, nasty stuff. Sorry, Mr.Lager. Your stout was much better.
Not for me, sorry.
KuroGome: 1.5/10
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Next I decided that I would try the other beers using smaller glassses, just in case I had a repeat of the kurogome to contend with. The guys at the bar were very kind and allowed me to try a taste selection:
Here's a shot of the bar and some of the taps. They had two hand pumps for the amber ale and the stout at the end, just past the register and to the left.
I had the amber ale, the beethoven, the kurogome(whoops) and the stout.
The amber ale was drinkable. The beethoven was suprisingly drinkable (especially when compared to the other lagers - almost like the ugliest man or woman in the room actually seems quite attractive when on a trekking holiday with them in the mountains of Thailand, with only a bunch of retarded mongoloid (but still very nice in their own way) kids or some really 'big smack in the face with the whole ugly tree, not just the stick' ugly people - but when you come back to normality, you wonder what the f**k you were thinking at the time) . When surrounded by morons, even the village idiot would win the nobel prize (it's all relative). Well, this beer, whilst not being a vilage idiot by any case, was still more or less surrounded by members of a disfunctional family. There was younger brother kurogome, who after incessant bouts of self masturbation has gone half blind, lost functioning of his genitalia and can't be quite sure of who or what he is, only to semi resemble a member of his own species. Then there is the older brother akabeko amber ale, who, because he's been to the big city, thinks he can imitate some viennese sophistication, but doesn't quite pull it off. Still, no one else back home knows that and he gains confidence from it, whilst a tthe same time knowing he can never leave home again. Beethoven is the sister who has suprised everyone by blossoming suddenly into quite the 'members' of the family. Both of them. Looking quite plain and unassuming on first glance, once you get under the surface, you discover there are quite a few suprises. Tastes promising and soon you reliase there is more to this lady than you bargained for. Too late, the powerful inner strength of the 5.5% kicks you, right between the testicles of taste. There's no escape. you become the next in a long line of victims.
Then, there is the stout. The intelligent, smooth, charasmatic, well travelled uncle who can calm any situation. Can communicate in any language and any culture. The answer to all the families problems, he can stroll in and save the day, leaving nothing but comfortable satisfaction in his wake.
I'm sidetracking again, aren't I? Sorry.
Here's a quick video of some drunken monkey, trying to sound sober and talk about beer. Not making much sense.
After talking to Mr.Lager, I realised there was yet another beer available for tasting!!! He mentioned the doppelbock and warned me that it was deceptive in that the alcohol was quite high (about 8%).
I decided to give it a whirl and she was a beauty!!! Yes, indeed she was a deceptive lady in a glass. She's the kind of lady you would rush to hold the door open for, as she approched in her evening gown, only to then realise that she was on her way to her advanced kickboxing class, 15 flights of stairs further up. She packs a punch, but you are so distracted by the taste, that you don't quite realise it until it's too late and you have lost control of your vital organs and are laying tits up in a ditch somewhere in Aizu Wakamatsu. p.s. that didn't happen to me. I manged to get myself wedged, in a presumably tits up position, on my friends minature sofa. What little sleep I had was interrupted by 'hmm hmmm!' - other things.
Dopple bock : 6/10
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Overall verdict for Aizu beer: 6/10.
I liked the place.
Don't mean to be overly critical of the beers.
I really appreciate the stout and the doppelbock. Lovely. Also the beethoven wasnt bad. But therer's still that similar aftertaste that really nags at me. Baird has it but that's kinda due to the hopping (some people either like it or hate it). Tama no megumi has it and I think it ruins some of thier beers (but a the smae time compliments their ale and stout). Aizu kinda has it too. Brought a couple of beethovens and stouts back and my friends said the same thing. Weird taste to the beethoven, like something was amiss. Stout was liked by all. Nice atmosphere (partly supplied by the great Fukushima ALTs - thanks, guys!). Nice food and reasonably priced. Nice location. Good interior (but why that huge staircase?). Nice owner who is happy to sit down and talk with you over a pint. Good selection. Even though I don't like some of the beers, I still appreciate a selection of more than just an ale, stout and weissen. Not worth a special trip out there from say, Tokyo, but if your in the area, why not pop by?
Im glad I did.
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Note: Unfortunately, Aizu Beer is no more and Jonny Lager has finally quit the business. I think it's a pity. I liked what he was doing and liked some of his beers and respected the ones that I didn't as a brave attempt at making original and interesting booze. His location in the mountains of Fukusnima's Super Dry country wasn't the best place for a thriving business but I think he did a good job with his pub. It will be missed. Aizu Beer is dead. Long live Aizu beer. you can still drink some of that is left at the Aldgate, in Shibuya. Just ask if they still have it (renamed) on tap. Could be the last to have a little bit of beer history.
The other week, I happened across a new bar called The Thrash Zone. Idf you check out their WEBSITE, you will see they have a propensity for slayer and other heavy metal. They also serve some quality Japanese craft beer. Both of these points were good reasons for me to make my way out there! It wasn't so easy to find, but once you located the yakiniku restaurant, it was easy. In case you can't find it on the website, you can open the map in a new window by clicking HERE.
Also, on the webiste, it shows a big, bright, airy room. The first thing I noticed upon entering was that the picture in the website wasn't of The Thrash Zone. Weird.
Here is a photo from inside, on the side opposite the entrance way (seen at the end of the room):
You can see the barman/owner and a few of the regular customers, who come from as far away as Ryogoku! Some of you who know about beer may realise that Ryogoku is actually the station where you can find Popeyes (perhaps the biggest range of craft beer in Japan and of Japanese craft beer in the world). So it says something for this bar that this gentleman journeys all the way down to have a drink or five at this place. These guys were great and welcomed me into their fold, instantly. Everyone was so friendly.
I happened to venture in on Van Halen night. The manager was showing his DVD of Van Halen's greatest hits.
When I saw this, I jumped for joy. I told the barman "Right now, I feel unchained! You really got mewith this great music. This is whatdreams are made of! I mean being here, just us humans being together, drinking, relaxing... ...why can't this be love? Now, I have to go to the toilet, because I've got a fire in the hole and I need to go before there's an eruption. There's a poundcake or two, breaking through the seventh seal. No sir, I won't get fooled again. I can dance the night awaywith beautiful girls later. Dancing in the street. I'll be like a man on a mission and when the dream is over and Jamie's cryin, I'll be up for breakfast. Don't tell meI can't drink more. I say to this beer 'you're the one I want, because without you, I'm black and blue. So, is this love? I know I can't stop loving you. Once is not enough. You're the one I want. Why don't youfinish what you startedand make me totally cabo wabo! Wow, this place is better than smoking in Panama... ...or Amsterdam!' Oh, this beer is gooooood! You can't get this stuff no more. I feel on top of the world!"
Well, I didn't actually say this to the barman, but if I did, it would have been really cool. Another example of how my reality doesn't quite match up to the fantasy. Such is my life.
Okay, so they had loads of heavy metal records on display, high up on the wall and they had about 6 or so craft beers, including one real ale on pump (Minoh Stout), plus a few bottled beers.
Here's the beer list:
Here's another photo of the bar:
It really is a nice, cosy, freindly place. I can see why most of the people I met that night were regular customers. A good, knowledgable barman and a nice, smokefree atmosphere makes a recommended place to stop by, if you're ever in the Yokohama area.
In the above photo, you can see a 'gaijin' - a foreigner. It's my friend, David. He also popped by to check out the bar.
Okay, time to talk about the beers. I think they change them every month or so, but they have one or two constants, such as the Minoh Stout (not bad) and the Nagahama ale (very, very bitter and yeasty - and popular with the locals, suprisingly).
I didn't want to mix this flavor up with the ales and the stout, so I ordered it first.
It was not quite what I hoped for.
Taste had a hint of grapefruit (but not as strong as the Hidatakayama weissen, which I do not really care for). Tasted a little off and not so flavorsome.
Aroma was not bad. Tasted a little watery. But had a reasonable creamy head. Retained the head for a while. Carbonation was okay.
In the 2nd photo you can see the yeast at the bottom of the glass.
Verdict: 5/10.
Next up was the regular beer, the Nagahama ale:
Boy, did this baby taste bitter!!! Also very yeasty. If I had poured it from a bottle at home, I would have thought it had gone bad and thrown it away, such was the 'distinctive' taste. However, I stuck with it and about 3/4 of the way through it, it began to be drinkable.
Still, I can't say I like it that much.
Definite like it or hate it beer.
For me, I'd have to pass on this one.
Verdict: 4/10. (Note: I've since had a few more Nagahama ales and I'm getting ot like it/appreciate it, so the new score is 5.5-6/10)
My next and final beer was the Minoh Stout:
This baby was hand pumped by the barman.
This guy can pour a good pint (as could the guy who used to pour at Cheers - but sadly, I haven't seen him aorund for a while and I must say, the standard has fallen there because of that. Note: since writing this, there are new barstaff at Cheers and the standard of the pint has gone back up again. Cheers!).
Still, I was happy to wait for what I hoped would be a nice, creamy stout.
I wasn't dissappopinted.
A nice pint. The best of the night, for me. Creamy and smooth and nicely rich so it needed slow drinking. Just the thing to end the evenig with.
Verdict: 7/10.
All in all, a nice evening.
Here are a few more pics of the evening and some drunken rantings from yours truly (what, more?):
After getting lost many times in Kawasaki, I came home at about 11pm. Had a shower and got changed and I headed back out to check out an Irish bar called The Grafton, in Gotanda.
I got to the bar at about 11:40pm. I went to the basement bar and discovered it to be completely full. No problem, as I don't have any friends. I found a small area standing around an upturned barrel near the centre of the bar and joined three Sony engineers for a drink. They were nice guys and didn't mind me taking a shot of my pint: They even took one themselves (but the guy is using a Canon camera! - I used my Sony!). The beer selection here is not bad. I had a Swan Lake porter. It was nicely poured, but, as with most bars in Japan, it was just too damn cold. I had to drink slowly and try to warm the beer with my hands. It got better eventually. They had the standard Guinness and Kilkenny plus Tokoy black and the other Yonayona pale ale, lowenbrau and leffe on tap. They also had a nice selection of bottles. Not a bad place. Cosy. Here's another shot of the inside:
Seeing as I was in the area, I thought I would revisit the Kirin Beer Villlage at Nama Mugi. Here's a shot of the seasonal beer at the Beer Villlage at Kirin's Nama mugi beer plant: Looks good. Great head. Nice smell, but metallic taste. The service was terrible. They had at least 4 people working there. I ordered my beer within 2 seconds of seeing the choice and waited more than 5 minutes for the waiter to bring me my beer.The barman was not busy. Ridiculous. Plus, I'm pretty sure he started pouring my drink then stopped and maybe changed a barrel then a long time later just topped the glass up. That's not the way to pour a beer. I had to order a second beer to take away the nasty tinny taste from the first one. I watched the barman. He did the same again! WTF? I tried to tell the waiter but he had no idea what I was on about. I thought I used Japanese and English simple enough for a 2 year old but I forget that 2 year olds have open minds whereas adults do not. I gave up and sent him back to the smiling barman and manager. Idiots. I couldn't finish my weissen, because it was so metallic. They are lucky my Japanese is atrocious, o rI would have given them a piece of my mind and explained to them how to pour a beer. Idiots. Plus its always too damn cold. Rant,rant, rant. It took me an hour to eventually find the place so I expected nice beer. Phooey! So there.
Another place I found by accident was the GGC in Tsurumi. The Great German Cook was the Tsurumi German Beer bar. Great! A good selection of beer and at least one weissen on tap (Erdinger - standard). Also a nice selection of bottled beer at normal high prices. I would like to go there. The menu is quite extensive. They had a nice crowd in there when I was there. Didn't drink, just stopped to check it out. Apprently they've been there 20years. News to me.
I found this Belgian bar which was relatively new, in the centre of Kawasaki, near the station. It's called Patrasche.
It's on the 4th floor (see it?). It's not cheap (hey, it's a Belgian bar, in Japan). Here's the entrance, a little closer: And inside: Example of beer prices: Leffe, Orval 1,100yen. Duvel 1,300yen. Stella 900yen. Ouch.
It was an interesting experience. Not as creamy as I would have expected. My image of Indians, being expensive and extravagant in Japan has now been changed. This Indian I have never seen before opened up, near my home. This little Indian seemed cute, colorful and rather inviting, so I went inside this Indian and tried the Indian out. This Indian I was just inside was not at all large but rather cosy and nice and warm inside. I was half expecting my eyes to water or the intense flavors to go to my head. I had to blow my nose, near the end. I was left feeling satisfied after about 30minutes. I was told to 'come again', and indeed I may. But not tonight.
The Indian I'm talking about is a new restaurant, opened up near my home. It's name is the Raj Laxmi.
It's a tiny place, with seating for about 14 (at a squeeze). 3 people seem to work there. An Indian cook, waiter and a Japanese looking lady with a nice Sari.
Nice staff. Friendly and polite. Service is prompt, friendly and not too pushy.
The second thing you notice (after the size of the place) are the prices. Not expensive. Very reasonable, especially for Japan. A dinner set of a curry with rice or naan , with a salad and drink (oolong tea) for 1000yen. Not bad. Draft beer is 300yen a glass or 500yen for a big glass. They have Maharaja and Kingfisher (both very good Indian pilsners) for 500yen. Not bad at all.
Here is a photo of the menu. It's in Japanese and English. There are, of crouse, the obligatory mistakes. You can see the famiLLy set choice. You can choose two curry (curries) from bellow(does the chef scream out the choices?). What I liked the best is that with this meal, you get a glass of bear! I've never had a bear in a glass before. Come to think of it, I've never had a bear. Great stuff. This was the most expensive thing on the menu. a family set, 2500yen, for at least 2 people.
The meal I choose was the 2nd most expensive thing, set B.
For 1500yen, I got:
A drink of oolong tea and a salad. The salad was very basic. Just cabbage, a slice of cucumber and some corn and dressing. Not even a tomato. But it tasted okay.
Next came the chicken tandoori. Very nice it was. too. Plenty of meat on it. Very good. Not too spicy but still it had plenty of flavor.
Then it was... something else. I can't remember what this was called. I was too scared to ask, in case it was a bear's appendage or something. But it tasted good. It came with a little of the strange salad, too (I got another slice of cucumber).
Then the main course arrived. But what? Where's my curry? Have the naan and rice been served, without the curry? What's going on?
A quick inspection under the naan revealed my curries! Hello, boys!!! The green one was the special curry. It was a saag chicken curry (with spinach). A little different to most saags I've had before. Not very think and creamy. Slightly 'soup'ish. But it grew on me. No pun intended. Not very spicy. A hint of garlic, perhaps? The chicken was good and soft.
The curry to the left was the mutton curry. This was my favourite of the two. Slighlty more flavor and spicier. Went well with the naan. The naan was an ample size (as they always are) but a little plain tasting. Not the most flavoursome naan I've ever had.
Flavour was a little lacking. Not as thick or creamy as I would have liked. Simple salad but it tasted fine. Plain naan was just that. Service was good and friendly. Price is very reasonable. Nice selections. Maybe next time I will try their mango lassie for 450yen or perhaps a few beers.
All in all a nice meal for only 1500yen. Not bad for Japan. I will come again, but not tonight. I need to recover.
Verdict: 7/10.
Can't argue with value for money: 8/10 Food: Not great, not bad. 6/10
Approx 6% alcohol.
Nice!
Although not exactly orgasmic, it certainly is organic (says so, on the bottle).
