Originally sent: 12 May 2005. About this series. I spotted my first rat on the way to work this morning which was the size of a small pony. It was headed in the direction of my house. Things bode ill. I’ve just finished my first few weeks of work and it has been incredibly hard… Continue reading Ratspotting
Category: Beer
Anglia Shandy
“Brewer”:Guinness Anchor Berhad (Diageo/Asia Pacific Breweries-Heineken). One of my dreams was to become Asia’s leading reviewer of canned shandy, the worst thing to happen to beer since the discovery of shandy. Today that dream is horribly realised. GAB Says: “The real shandy. Malaysia’s pioneer shandy, since 1978, recently took on a new and refreshing image… Continue reading Anglia Shandy
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
Sierra Nevada is the brewery that probably gets most craft brewers hooked on the idea of American Pale Ale; there is no end to the pale imitators and delightful, almost flawless copies. Their India Pale Ale, the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, will with any luck spawn another round of duplication. Pours amber, the aroma… Continue reading Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale
Kona Brewing Company calls this a “Hawaiian-style” pale ale rather than an American pale ale, the only differentiator being that Hawaiian style pale ales must display an active volcano on the label. This lava-filled terroir holds no influence over the beer itself. I don’t imagine that any of the ingredients grow anywhere near the island,… Continue reading Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale
Asahi Style Free: Happoshu and Beer of the Third Kind
It is a strange quirk of history and economics that a nation’s taxation regimes change the beer that each country drinks. In the US, beer needs to contain at least 25% malted barley and so mass market brewers push the lower limit using rice, corn or anything else that can contain sugars and is cheaper… Continue reading Asahi Style Free: Happoshu and Beer of the Third Kind
Beer and Chocolate: Sapporo x Royce Chocolat Brewery Bitter
This limited release from Sapporo and apostrophe’d Japanese confectioner Royce’ is a strange Belgian nightmare; multiple vices backsliding into a brown can of depravity. Hops bitterness and cacao bitterness are perfect partners, malty and chocolate-y sublime and congruent combinations. Beer and chocolate works together. But these two really don’t. The pour is black with a… Continue reading Beer and Chocolate: Sapporo x Royce Chocolat Brewery Bitter
Asahi Strong Off
I’ve noticed that one of the first beers that I drink in any country is the one whose advertisement I see first. The ads for Asahi Strong Off on the subway platforms around Tokyo depicts your average businessman with an expression on his face of either drunken jubilation or gaping in a rictus of groin-tearing… Continue reading Asahi Strong Off