Sake in Kobe, Japan

It's the afternoon.  You're in Kobe, Japan, home to Nada - Japan's top sake producing district.  The challenge: get your sake history on, with a side of sake tastings.  It's a challenge because in the district, most of the distillery + museums close around 17:00 (Japan loves the military time), and you've got some exploring to do.

So, hop a train to the Nada district.  We got off at Sumiyoshi station and started with the Hakutsuru Brewery Museum.

Hakutsuru Brewery Museum

Hakutsuru was the largest of the breweries we made it to.  We arrived right as they were closing the museum, but we were able to make it through.  A good tasting and a decent amount of money spent at the gift shop later, we were off to a good start!

(Speaking of the gift shop, this was the first place I'd noticed Japanese packaging efficiency.  When you make a purchase, everywhere will wrap and package items for you as if you were taking them in ruck sack on a camel through the desert.  This includes 7-11.)

In the hedgerow outside the lovely property, the tiniest of signs told us we were in the right place.

The museum was large and informative.

The sake was delicious.  My favorite was the Junmai Ginjo.

Several rooms like this with scenes in the museum.

Sakura Masamune

The next stop was the Sakura Masamune Brewery and Museum.  From visiting such a new and admittedly foreign place, I found myself particularly attuned to the differences and similarities.  Sakura Masamune had a different feel than Hakutsuru, enough that I was happy that we'd made the trip.  But the one thing that struck me about all the sake breweries we visited (including one in Kyoto) was that while these are obviously places of business and profit, they also have a tone of simplicity and approachability.  I didn't feel out of place visiting them; nor did I feel marketed to.  A smaller shop but a richer tasting experience (granted, this one was not free) was enjoyable to me.

Tasting the good stuff.

Start with the sake tasting (300 yen), stay for the museum!

Historic sake labels.

Old bottles of sake, most of them still full (or partially).

Pretty logo.

I'm not sure what this was for, but I think I get it.

Dinner at Shu-Shin-Kan Restaurant

With daylight running scarce (the sun sets early in Japan's summer) we made our way to a brewery that had a restaurant.  We arrived after the museum closed, but had easily one of our most interesting dinners there.  A multi-course meal of tofu and fish dishes, accompanied by some Fukuju sake, it was a genuine experience.

Our palette was in the right hands.

Serious sake.

The first couple courses of the tofu set menu.

San Diego Side Trip - Karl Strauss Brewing Co.

One day when Tabitha was in meetings, I took a drive to downtown San Diego to check out Karl Strauss Brewing Co. for lunch, and the trend of great food and great beer continued.

Here's my summary.

• The beer: excellent quality, lots of high-gravs.  Only downside: many of them are only available in bombers.
• The food: I had the best burger I've ever eaten.  A turkey burger with Danish blue cheese, roasted beets, pickled onions, curly endive, tomato, and horseradish-Ale mayo, with a side of homestyle chips covered with a balsamic reduction.
• The atmosphere: nice, upscale bar.  Plenty of brick and clean, shiny wood.  Only complaint was parking; I walked about 6 blocks.
• The service: Highly attentive.  I'm not sure if they thought I was going to run away or what (I was sitting alone on the patio out front), but I was asked how every beer tasted, my food, etc. several times.  I even got to taste a beer or two that I didn't order.  Couldn't complain.

Best burger ever. 

Now, if we could only find an excuse to go back...

San Diego is Amazing, Part 1: Because, Stone

"Why don't more people live here?"  That's what I was thinking the entire visit.  I had heard about west-coast weather in general, but I didn't realize there was a major city with perfect weather that wasn't on an island in the middle of the Pacific. 

I joined Tabitha on a work trip and had the opportunity to spend four days exploring just a few of the parts of San Diego that we like to share on this site: food and beer!  We managed to hit the top points on our list, and one place in particular was so overwhelmingly awesome that we found ourselves there repeatedly.

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Liberty Station

The most unassuming entrance.

Stone Brewing has a few locations throughout the San Diego area.  Liberty Station is a really neat place near the water that used to be owned by the U.S. Navy.  Now, it's a beautiful complex of restaurants, shops and businesses.  The Liberty Station Stone location is quite large, with a huge outdoor garden in addition to a really nice, large interior.

You'd better recognize the logo.

I love good beer.  And I love the outdoors.  I also love good food.  And most importantly, I love other people bringing me good food and beer while I'm outdoors.  The idea of a beer garden then, is  particularly compelling to me.

Paradise awaits - a view from outside the beer garden.

I've enjoyed many a beer, brought to me by someone else, at an outdoor area, some of which were called "gardens."  I visited a beer-lovers amusement park at Ommegang.  But if there is a paradise, I know it looks like the beer garden at Stone Liberty Station.

My lunch.

The food was fantastic: creative, good quality, and affordable. For example, three house-made sausages (pork, lamb, and chicken) on three kinds of pickled cabbage with bread, gershkins, and a side of Cali-Belgique IPA mustard.  That's an appetizer.  Add a side of crazy good fried olives and a bottle of Quadrotricale and I had the best lunch ever.

All tables should have secret beer menu compartments!

One of the comments Tabitha made was how incredibly pleasant and happy everyone in the service industry was in SD.  On our last night there, Tabitha's colleagues gathered at Stone for a goodbye dinner.  Even though it was probably mid-60s, they surrounded our table with large portable heaters.  The server was incredibly good, and even split the ticket about twelve ways without being asked, and without adding a mandatory gratuity. 

I want this in my next house.  On a smaller scale.

Viewing area in the waiting-for-a-table room.

So, the Liberty Station outpost was impressive. But what about the mothership?

Stone Brewing Co. Headquarters

They don't advertise. Not just no ads. How strongly they embrace this concept isn't apparent until you actually try to find their headquarters. There are no signs, anywhere. We followed our GPS an hour or so outside of SD to Escondito. The main brewery and restaurant / beer garden is located in a very nice but nondescript commercial complex that I would have mistaken for an office building. We would have driven right by it (we did once, actually) if an employee in a Stone shirt wasn't walking in the parking lot.

Inside is where it gets impressive.  Like the Liberty Station location, it's big on the inside, with an amazing beer garden.

Above the bar.  I consider it art.

We sat at the inside bar this time (how much perfect weather can you take, really?) and tried a couple smaller pours and some light food while waiting for the tour to start. No pictures, but a quick review: Asian BBQ ribs: awesome.  Mac and beer cheese with sausage: awesome.

Sitting behind the bar, looking out onto the garden.

Stochasticity Project: Master of Disguise.  A 9.7% Golden Stout.  Yes, it's a stout.

One of the most interesting beers I've had in a while was the Imperial Golden Stout called "Master of Disguise."  Looks like a golden ale, with strong initial stout smell and flavor of roasted barley.  Not quite the heavy mouthfeel of a full stout; instead, a little lighter on the tongue.  The barkeep said the trick was to add the specialty grains only briefly at the end of the brew, before they could change the color of the beer.  Great taste and well-balanced, especially for a nearly 10% beer. Wish we could get this back home.

First tour I've been on that was wired for sound.

As for the tour, well, it feels like we've been on a million of these things, but I still like to go.  Not to learn "how beer is made," but really to get a feel for the culture behind the beer. For me, good people make good beer, and it's always neat to see how the people match up with what they create. 

It was no surprise then that the tour was great.  Comfortable and fun, are the two words that come to mind. I felt like I was being entertained, not just informed, which was a little different. 

Also, a word about their operation:  I have never seen a cleaner brewery.  Seriously.  I think you could eat off the hardest-to-reach pipe fitting on the back side of the tallest vessel.  I believe I heard said that they dedicate one day a week solely to cleaning. That may be common practice, but I have never heard it mentioned in any other brewery, and it stood out to me.

The lab.  All the best breweries have them, I'm told.

What's with the gargoyles?  The question was asked on the tour.  Then answer: gargoyles were historically added to buildings to guard against evil spirits and protect what's inside.  The Stone logo's purpose, therefore, is to guard against evil spirits (e.g., bad beer) and protect what's inside (awesomeness!). 

Sometimes, fizzy yellow beer is good! But they have an image to uphold (arrogant, strong, brutal beers) so I'll give this one to them.

At this point, it goes without saying that Stone is a must-visit if you're in San Diego. If you missed it, go back!

Check back soon for Part 2!

Ole Smoky Moonshine

A couple weeks ago while visiting the Smoky Mountains, we stopped in at a local burger and wing bar for some wings. Seeing an advertisement for an Ole Smoky Moonshine sampler, we opted to give it a try.

We were very pleasantly surprised.  I had seen Ole Smoky products around Knoxville, but I had assumed they were, well, to be honest, a liquor version of many of the local wines you find in the area around the Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge area; that is, cheaply made from "good enough" ingredients, probably a little harsh or a little too sweet, and marketed at tourists.  (I mean, come on - it comes in a jar!)

Instead, we found the flavors delightful.  The lower alcohol, flavored varieties that we tried (apple pie, peach, blackberry, and some kind of cherry concoction - they were out of lemon so we had two apple pies) were delicately flavored, not thick or syrupy like I expected.  Our waitress said they were about 40 proof.  The 100 proof "white lightnin'" was also very mellow for such a strong unflavored liquor. 

Clearly these were carefully crafted, well-balanced spirits, and I'm keeping them in mind next time I need an adult gift for someone outside of Tennessee.

Cigar City Brewery

Come in here, dear boy, have a Cigar City beer.

Christmas time usually finds us in Florida, where we escape the cold and visit family.  The day after Christmas last year we made our first trip to Cigar City Brewing with some brew friends.  We liked it; lots of great beer, and seems like it's being run by good people.  This year, on December 26th, we made a trip back. I snapped a few pictures on both trips.

Yeah, it's a tank (MLT?) on a forklift, in the parking lot.

The Brewery

For those who don't know, the name Cigar City comes from an old nickname for Tampa.  In 2012, we took the tour of the brewery.  Now, it's been a year since then, but here's what I can remember.  

Whichever you believe, they certainly go great together.

First, I was surprised to learn that this facility (the one you're at if you drive to the main Cigar City Brewing address online),  is no longer the primary brewing facility.   

The main brew room.

They continue to make a small amount of beer here, but as of last Christmas they had recently expanded into a larger commercial facility up the road.

Cigar City was the first place I ever saw a plastic keg.  Becoming more common with the price of steel, I wager.

That works out for us customers, because they continue to provide tours and serve great beer in their taproom(s).

Honey, will this fit in my trunk?

The tour was standard fare, I think it was about $5-7, but you got a beer and a Cigar City shaker glass to take home with you.  I do remember the guide was really nice and answered all my dumb questions.

Variety.

One of my dumb questions was about Cigar City's predominant use of cans.  Cigar City is a huge proponent of cans, for several reasons that were mentioned on the tour, including their portability, cost, environmental considerations, and the fact that they don't let light in to break down the beer.  I've noticed other craft breweries have similarly embraced the aluminum in greater numbers.  But since he was listing all of the benefits of cans, I figured that was a good time to ask how, given the recent (this was 2012, remember)  revelations about BPAs in can liners, they reassure their customers on that number.  Our guide was a little stumped, but handled it graciously as I recall.

Quantity.

Since then, I've done my own research, and I'm currently falling on the "generally avoid all food and drink in cans" side of the fence.  That said, I didn't let that stop me from taking a pack of my favorite Jai Alai IPA home with me to TN.

Jai Alai at home.  Beer somehow always tastes better 100s of miles from where you can get it.

The Taproom(s)

There are two sets of taps and two bars at the brewery.  The smaller one (perhaps the original one?) is on the left, and it seems to have more of the standard, year-round Cigar City beers on tap. The larger room, on the right, has more taps with a greater variety and a cool monitor with info about what's being served.

Smaller taproom (2012).

When we went a year ago, we got there early, did the tour, and had a few beers, and the place really started to fill up.  This Christmas, the place was already hopping when we arrived, and quickly filled. 

Taps in 2012.

There's plenty of seating, and they needed it, as everyone who wanted a break from their families (or a drink with them!) the day after Christmas made an early start of it, like us.

The big taproom

The beer, as we expected, was excellent.  One of the most interesting brews I had was a 7% IPA called Hopped on the High Seas.  It had a different malt character than I expected, and may the first Simcoe IPA that I actually like.

Flight paddle from 2012. Write down what you want and give it to the bartender.

A little blurry, but the new flight tray.  Progress!

They do flights of small pours, so between the 5 of us, we made it through almost everything we hadn't tried before. Everyone was happy.

The colorful, live tap feed makes ordering beer in the busy taproom much easier.

Now let's eat, down the street, at a Brick House

Although the taproom at the brewery now does have a limited food selection (sandwiches and chips - Tabitha loved the malanga chips), we opted to hop down the street to the Brick House Tavern & Tap, which is apparently a national chain but which we don't have around home.
 

One of the neat things about this place is that they do have a decent beer selection, including some local brews.  Sitting outside to enjoy the warm winter sun, we enjoyed a beer "bong" of the Cigar City Jai Alai, which none of us had gotten to drink at Cigar City, what with all of the limited selections to choose from.  FYI, a beer bong here is basically a cylinder of beer with a tap at the bottom, resting on a heavy base so it can't tip over.

Celebrate the beer!

All in all, a great afternoon.  Florida in the winter and Cigar City, both the brewery and their beer, we highly recommend.