In 1849, some 90,000 people rushed to California in hopes of finding gold. While profits from gold were substantial for some, the sudden explosion in California’s population created business opportunities for others. Shrewd businessmen profited in such areas as shipping, entertainment, lodging, and transportation. Some, such as Gottlieb Brekle, who landed in San Francisco with […]
Up in Hokkaido sits Otaru Beer, a Japanese brewery dedicated to brewing strict German styles. Luckily, you don’t have to visit the little town of Otaru to sample their beers as they are available in central Tokyo. The Beer Horn bar, in Akasaka, serves up Otaru beers in actual animal horns. This was something my […]
Our beer this week is Paulaner Salvator, the original doppelbock. Samichlaus Classic from a few months ago was also a doppelbock, but it is brewed to an extraordinarily high strength. Schneider Meine Hopfenweisse is made with wheat and an inordinate amount of hops. Schlenkerla Eiche is made with smoked malt. So, I’d like to go […]
While craft breweries are certainly catching on in a big way with drinkers, small batch craft whiskey distilleries are right behind them. One of the leaders in the new wave of whiskey manufacturers is right down the street, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. Luckily for me, they offer free tours seven days a week, so I thought […]
This week’s brewery is a major player in the Japanese craft beer scene. Originally established in 1823, Kiuchi Brewery got started as a brewer of sake (Japanese rice wine). As collectors of rice as tax for the ruling family at the time, founder Kiuchi Gihei used surplus rice to begin brewing. After World War II […]
Any Japanese supermarket or convenience store has a dizzying array of beer options. However, a closer look at the labels will reveal that most of these beers are in fact “happoshu” (発泡酒 ) a low malt beer variant that could be compared to warm dishwater. Why would this sort of product have more shelf space […]
This week, we have another beer from Japan, Kirin Ichiban Shibori Stout. Kirin had its beginnings in 1885, when it took over the assets of another company, Spring Valley Brewery, which had been established by a Norwegian-American in Yokohama, Japan in 1869. The brewery was originally known as Japan Brewery Company, but three years after […]
The hardest part about homebrewing is the waiting. Once your brew day is over you have to wait through the fermentation, dry hopping, and then carbonating and aging in the bottle before it is ready to drink. Even though I have been back in the US for a while now, the two beers we have […]
