A Bottle of "Dancing with Flowers"...Please!

Hana No Mai or Dancing with Flowers....Dude, the name of this sake sounds so sissy!This is what great sake should taste like....The taste is bold and clean! Hana no mai is indeed the water of life from the Shizuoka perfecture of Japan. Where the heck is Shizuoka perfecture??? Just think of Mt. Fuji. That area is known for fine green tea and clean tasting sake. The Onigoroshi-"Demon Killer" is also from this area. By the way, Bozu charged me $8 for a box of this good to the last drop Dancing with Flowers!!!!


The Water of Life

This brew is absolutely flawless.

Kaori and Oden Station

The flu bug finally left the building just in time for some sake "tasting". Decibel has became my usual place for sake. My friend "E" who is on his path reaching sake enlightenment, visited that place 2 nights in a row. The kawaii (cute) Japanese waitress finally sat me down without telling me the usual "$8 mininum per person" greeting. All of the sudden, the place got so much friendlier once they found out that you are a long term customer. They even sat us at the oden station and threw us a few extra edamame. By the way, it is a ultimate privilege to be seated by the oden station. It symbolizes the honor and recognition!

Kaori is definitely not my favorite. It is a junmai-ginjo of a medium dry sake with a hint of calcium...I think. I cannot assure if that's gonna make your bone strong but it is not the most pleasant taste infused with sake. My only reasonable doubt is the bottle has gone bad or that is the way it should be.

Coughing

Man, I am coughing part of my lung out! This really sucks. Can't review beer for now!!!

Shirakawago Sasanigori

I don't know much about nigori(unfilterd) sake. Normally, don't like any sake that has a consistency of yogurt. The Shirakawago Sananigori Ginjo Sake proved that there is one last nigori sake that is worth for a try. The body is medium dry with fluffy light finishing; great to be served chilled. This is far better than the cheap stuff from Ozeki.


Got Nigori?

Brooklyn Half Marathon

That's it...what have I done to myself??? I finally ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon and now I am totally hooked. Thanks Owen for being such a great running buddy. You are a real trooper for keeping up with me for the first 6 miles. Thanks Rocco for being there in the finishing line!!! Finally, thanks Grandpa for giving me the strength and will to run. Queens Half Marathon??? Bring it on!!!!


The F Line to Prospect

The Award Winning Jazmine Ale

Jazmine Ale??? This is definitely a chick's beer!!! I am not sure why am I brewing this type of beer. Maybe I was out of maple syrup from Vermont. Anyway the beer turned out pretty tasty and has a mild sweet note with a floral finish...Sounds gay huh???? Make no mistake, this beer is brewed by 100% heterosexual alpha male-Howwwwwl!!! I was kinda shocked that the 2 beer judges at the Hudson Valley Homebrewer's Competition awarded this beer a second place in the specialty beer section. I guess they were having Kung-Pao Chicken while sampling the Jazz Ale.


First 2nd Place

H2O-5 gallons
DME
Liquid Malt Extract (Munton's)
Ale Yeast
Jasmine Tea

---What's the measurement of the above ingredients???? Dream on...you are not getting it. I am gonna patent this in 52 countries!---

Combine the above ingredients and ferment for 6 weeks (2 weeks for primary and 4 weeks of secondary)

Prime and bottle.
Condition for another 2 weeks.
Invite some lady friends for tasting!!!!

One Flew Over the Hitachino's Nest

I got 15 minutes to do this review before catching my ZZZZ. I have tried couple of end products from Hitachino Nest; the Red Rice Ale and the Sweet Stout. The Red Rice Ale is okay but the Sweet Stout is like drinking horse milk with heavy doses of lactose. My fighting spirit hangs on and pushed me to try another beer from this brewery before throwing in the towel. Wow....the Hitachino Nest White Ale (Witbier) is the ichiban nihon biiru (No. 1 Japanese Beer)!!!! Who said J folks can't brew good beer?? kick those stereotypes and their a*ses to the curb and don't let anyone tell you that Sapporo is the best J beer. This fine microbrewed White Ale is quite different from their Belgian counterpart. The Hitachino Brewery actually used orange juice on top of the orange peels. The OJ gives the beer a great twist of fresh squeezed citrus essense.



Hoo...Hoo


Appearance- Nice cloudy golden pour with a thick white head that decreases to about 1/4 inch and stays. A clean minor lacing along the edges.

Smell- No aroma of OJ but a heavy fragrance of corriander and orange peel extract.

Taste- Ha...the OJ finally kicked in..a bit acidic with all the fresh juice going on there. The corriander tamed down quite a bit.

Mouthfeel- Well carbonated as expected, but finishing in thick note. It definitely has a lemonade aftertaste.

Drinkability- The only Witbier I had from Japan. I will definitely pour myself another serving!!!

Socrates, Aristotle and Plato

I met up with my stepbro in the City of Brotherly Love around the holidays season. Philadelphia is one interesting place; it is so much different from the Big Apple and Boston. So we began our little pubcrawling there and pretty much drank throughout the day (By the way, we left our car keys home!). One of the places that we marked our trail is Monk's Cafe. There is where I first sampled the infamous Three Philosophers from Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY. This 9.8% alcohol big beer is truly a knock-out. All day long my stepbro is drinking Quadrupels and other Trippels... The guy is one hardcore son of a gun. Without further interuption, here is my modest review of this brown beauty.


Nice!

Appearance - It has a wonderful cloudy amber colored pour forming a medium tan head. There was a decent amount of carbonation. Nice lacing was seen throughout.

Smell - A very solid aroma consisting of malt, yeast and kriek (cherry) notes. But immediately by a strong kick alcohol.

Taste - Well balanced of sweet and malty flavor that turned towards a chocolatey finished. The taste lingers a bit but is welcome. The alcohol is present but blends in pretty well.

Mouthfeel - Wonderful settled with a smooth feel. The carbonation help maintain the smoothness. This had a medium-full body.

Drinkability - This is one of the best I had so far. I have heard people complaining about this brewery but so far I am happy customer.

Lazy

I have been lazy lately... Trois Philisophers, Hitachino White Ale, Hana No Mai, Kaori and my award winning Jaz Ale are next on my list. I will make up the assignments and willing to take points off!

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

AzianBrew knows what's good for body!!! Rogue Dead Guy Ale is one of the finest American Ale (Yes, the type that used sh*t loads of cascade hops). I am currently trying to step away from this cascade arena however my patriotism keeps yanking me back to this All-American canabis!

Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier

Ahhhhh....This is a heck of an ass kicking weiss bier! I really got a good ass kicked when it came in a half liter mug along with an order of grilled red snapper sandwich at Waterfront Ale House. The beer also goes great with popcorn....yes the fake buttery type.


Hold the lemon, please!!!!

Appearance- A cloudy golden pour with a 3/4 inch large bubbled head with a great lacing.

Smell- A nice scent of Hefe. A good amount a clove action with a hint of banana aroma and maybe a light touch of vanilla.

Taste- Fresh and satisfying brew. Again a good amount of clove taste and creamy banana background.

Mouthfeel- Gave my mouth pretty dry aftertaste but smooth finishing. Moderate carbonation level on this one.

Drinkability- One satisfied customer on a Saturday evening. For $6 a half liter mug, I need a fatter wallet.

Kronenbourg 1664

Took a trip to LIC and check out this French bistro with a pal. The menu looks quite simple; nothing fancy or pretentious. Just straight forward bistro items such as Steak Frites and Escargot kinda stuffs. As always, I normally judge the restaurant by it's restroom (washroom, if you're Canadian..eh)and the beverage list. Now, this is a small neighborhood bistro and not a four stars restaurant with a sommelier. The wine list and soda list look very impressive but the beer list is beyond pathetic! The fact is, there no listing beer!! The skeptical expression of my face has drawn the attention of our pregnant hostess. She carefullly walked toward my direction and I asked her the "beer list" s'il vous plaît. She mumbled en francais and I sort of picked up the word "Saison". Yes, Saison is what I am in the mood for (By the way, the Saison she mentioned is the only selection of beer they have). When she came back with the beer, the green bottle just told me that is no Saison. I didn't want to send it back and jeopardize the extra flavor of our orders. So, I sucked it in and prayed that the food is what we came for. The food is really mediocre...but I don't have a reason to complain considering the price that we are paying. Okay, back to the beer review...

Three words "Budddd...Weiz...Er..." The Kronenbourg 1664 that I mistakenly ordered is drinkable but I won't pay for it....again.


Kronenbourg 1664

Appearance – Light piss yellow in color with a decent looking head that showed some good retention and left some awesome average lager lacing on the inside of my glass.

Smell – I am not sure whether it is water in France or this bottle has been vintaged. There’s some light hopping that tries to mask its tracks but there’s no hiding this mild skunky odor.

Taste – It tastes a bit better than it smells but it still tastes like "Buddd..Weiz...Er.

Mouthfeel – This lager is actually quite smooth in the mouth and pushing to be drying at the finish.

Drinkability – The only reason I didn’t send this beer back is because I worried the quality of our orders.

Enuff sez....

Buckwheat Ale Project

I totally screwed up right from the start. How can I over soaked the buckwheat groats??? Not only the groats didn't sprout, it turned sour and f*cking stinked up my whole kitchen. I was supposed to soak it for 6 hrs, rinse then let dry for 3 hrs and repeat the process 3x's. It should have 27 hours process! My attempt is not to brew a gluten-free beer and save all those poor souls who cannot digest gluten but to experiment buckwheat as an adjunct.

FYI, I plagurized the following info from a Celiac Disease Support Group website to broaden your horizon:

Celiac disease, also known as gluten intolerance, is a genetic disorder that affects 1 in 1331 Americans. Symptoms of celiac disease can range from the classic features, such as diarrhea, weight loss, and malnutrition, to latent symptoms such as isolated nutrient deficiencies but no gastrointestinal symptoms.


Buckwheat

The 2 commercial buckwheat brews that I have heard of are both from Rogue Ales-Morimoto Black Obi Soba and Morimoto Soba. Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto took part of the project and the gave name Soba(Buckwheat Noodle), go figure.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

I am not a great fan of beers from the Brooklyn Brewery. I have friends who praised their Monster Ale (Barleywine Style) and Post Road Pumpkin Ale. That all changed when I took my first dive at the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout last night at this place in LIC. This stuff is pure EVIL!!!! It started off with nice note of dark semi-sweet chocolate and ended with a sweet finishing; pair it with a slice of New York Style Cheesecake for that happy ending experience! Ahhhhh....let me drool over my bartender, Kelly who served me the second pint.

Brooklyn Half Marathon

That's it....I am running this for my buddy at work Rocco who recent got sucker punch in San Juan, PR. A**hole broke his jaw and sent him to the hospital for 2 surgeries. I hope this f*cker got his ass jammed in the pent.