India pale ales are heavily hopped ales originally formulated to survive the long sea voyage from England to India during the colonial days before the advent of refrigeration. The higher level of hopping along with a higher alcohol level helped prevent spoilage. This IPA from Onuma Brewery in Southwest Hokkaido has the typical sweet, fruity flavor common to the variety. The color is similar to other ales. The initial flavor is sweet and flowery with a fruity finish. There is no significant bitter, and the malt flavor is buried by the hops. The carbonation is low. I personally dislike IPA’s, but from memory, this one is not much different than others of this variety that I’ve tried. This one packs a good buzz, having about 150% the alcohol content of most other beers! Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Onuma Brewery India Pale Ale Jibiiru’
Monthly Archive for October, 2008
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Koelsch beers are old-style beers that use top-fermenting yeasts like ales, but the yeasts are active at warmer temperatures. This variety is the regional specialty of Cologne, hence the name. Koelsch beers are very similar to altbiers in technology, manufacture, and flavor. This koelsch from Onuma Brewery in Southwest Hokkaido has a clear, light malt flavor and a moderate bitter note, typical of the variety. The bitter note is lower than the Hakodate Beer koelsch – the only other example of this variety that I’ve tried. Although the hopping has provided the bitter, it doesn’t impart any sweetness of flowery notes. The blond color and clean flavor is not unlike a light, dry lager. The initial flavor is dry and crisp, with the bitter in the middle, and a light maltiness in the finish. The carbonation is moderate. This is a very drinkable beer. Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Onuma Brewery Koelsch Jibiiru’
The picture speaks for itself. It appears to be a water main replacement project along Farrington Highway in Nanakuli. It’s not supposed to be doing that, is it? There is another backhoe there on the other side of the plume of water.
Tuesday really didn’t start out as a bad day – it was a normal, non-descript, plain day: Nothing really good happened, but neither did anything really terrible happen. After finishing up at “real” work, I headed over to McBike. The traffic was average too. When I got in and went down to the Pit, I saw Kevyn’s Santa Cruz there. He had joined us on Sunday for an afternoon Maunawili ride, and the master cylinder on the front Hayes brake got blown-up on a crash on the Drop-in of Death. I put the bike in the workstand and took the front brake channel off and started taking it apart. I figured it would be just a case of straightening out the mangled e-clip that holds the works together, reassemble, and re-bleed the system. Of course, nothing goes as planned… Continue reading ‘E-clip Gnomes: Hayes Mag Lever Rebuild’
Scat picked us up at Ckucke’s after the Monday Night Freeride, and we stopped by at Hide-chan restaurant in Mo’ili’ili. The word “rafute” caught the corner of my eye as I was glancing over at the menu written on sheets of paper affixed to the wall. Mmm… I hadn’t had Okinawa-style simmered pork belly in a while, so my mind was made up. Both Ckucke and I ordered the miso rafute-don. Root and Scat got the katsuo tataki teishoku. The miso rafute don for those unfamiliar with this is a donburi (large bowl of rice served with an entrée topping) topped with large, thick pork belly chunks that have been simmered in a sauce primarily flavored with shoyu and miso. A pinch of kizami beni shouga (thinly slivered pickled ginger) garnished the top. The pork was tender and appropriately fatty. I could cut the pork with chopsticks! The flavor was outstanding. Shiawase! Sides of miso soup and tsukemono (pickles, in this case radish) were included as part of the meal. If fatty pork bugs you, best steer clear of this one (the more for us who love it!). It’s not inherently unhealthy – just don’t overdo it. It is not uncommon for people to live past 100 in Okinawa, just remember that the people who live that long generally don’t have an “American” caloric intake (especially in the serving size of meat), have a diet high in vegetables, and engage in rigorous physical work daily.
I haven’t had such good rafute since having some “home-cooked” many years ago.
Highly recommended
Four out of four grinning monkeys
Around $15 USD including tax and tip