My Fox Flux was getting a bit long in the tooth. It still looked in good shape although the visor was long gone somewhere on the Tantalus road, but it’s been a few years so it was time to look at a replacement. Arriving on the scene is the new Bell Super “all-mountain” helmet. AM, what is it? Extreme XC, pansy DH? Anyway, what distinguishes this helmet and most “AM” helmets is the supposed increased covereage for more of the head, mainly the back, without being a full head helmet. The Super also features a pretty prominent visor which can be replaced with goggle hooks and additional venting at the brow area to further aid the use of goggles with this helmet. And in keeping with current trends, it also features an accessory GoPro mount  that can be popped into the front vent. Has a rear retenion dial system. Uses microshell construction to keep weight down, anti-microbial pads to keep the funk down.
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This Sam Adams seasonal is a white ale, pours a cloudy yellow with small head. Definite citrus aroma followed with subtler spices. Clean, crisp, just a little bitterness that doesn’t linger and a nutty aftertaste that creeps in as a late pleasant surprise. Moderate mouth feel. Very drinkable and the spicing quite light, can go with food. That nut finish is the crowning touch that does it for me.
3.5 out 4 seasonal monkeys.
Not a beer we arte new to, but never reviewed for B.I.G. and they had it in a sixer at Foodland. Pours a cloudy yellow with strong head that lasts. Pleasant floral with some citrus acid with a bit of lingering bitter. There’s a medium heavy mouthfeel, but the citrusness contrasts that and keeps it clean. It’s like a Hoegarten without the strong spice, which isn’t surprising since they’re both Weissbiers, whites. I really like this beer.
4 out 4 wheaty monkeys.
Pours a medium dark clear amber leaning toward red, heavy head. Fairly strong hop and bitter hit. Faintest hint of nuttiness, the bitter lingers on for a long time at the back of your mouth. There’s a medium heavy mouthfeel. Whatever spices they’ve used, it is very subtle to the point that I can’t tell. Really I find this beer lacking in much character. While not terrible, I won’t be seeking this one out again.
Ah, there’s the spice. As I got to the last sips and the beer had warmed, the spice comes out in the aroma. Maybe you have to let this beer warm up a bit?
2.5 out of 4 seasonal monkeys.
This thing looks like an oversized prop to make normally sized people look like Hobbits or children. Of course when you see something like this in the convenience store, you have to try it! According to the manufacturer’s website, the 568 calorie “King†versions are almost double the 328 calorie regular version. With the increase in size comes an increase in water to be added, up to half a liter versus the 300 or so needed for the standard. The wait time remains the same. Taste-wise, it’s as good (or as bad, if you will) as the regular version. According to the website, the toppings were supposed to be kanikama (artificial crab) and other fish paste products, squid, cabbage, green onion, and egg. There was flat, white stuff that looked like squid, but I think it was the inner leaves of the kanikama. The only chewy squid-like substance had the purple outer skin of octopus, and I had a piece that I swear had a tentacle sucker. Maybe squid and octopus are lumped together for allergy labeling purposes. The nostalgic thing for me was the foamy dehydrated dried egg that disappeared from the USDM versions of cup noodle to be replaced with corn of the same color in the late 1980’s. The website further states that the soup base is pork, asari, and oyster based. I guess I’m a fan of all ramen, including cup-instant and semi-instant. Of course these aren’t as good as something from a good shop, but they all have their place. Even the nastiest instant ramen will bring back some dirtbag college memory. Nasty this one isn’t. It is one of the better cup ramen that I have had. There was a spicy curry one that I had once that tasted better, but had soup that was unappealingly thick. Go relive your misspent youth and get full at the same time!
Three out of four grunge-monkeys
Recommended
226-yen
More pictures after the break
Found the relocated Sapporo Mandarake. They’re in the Norbessa building with the big ferris wheel on top. The new shop space is much larger, but it didn’t seem like there was a whole lot more content. Surprisingly, I didn’t find any unusual figures or arcane DVD’s or manga to add to my collection. Figure-wise, there seemed to be a lot more of the second-tier game prize figures than before. There were a disturbing number of very graphic, uncensored dakimakura covers. …Oh, and someone bought the 1:1 scale Kokonoe Rin figure.
The “red can†Yebisu Kohaku is back again, and retains the same wonderfully balanced, full-bodied taste that I enjoyed before. The 100% barley malt has been roasted to a rich, caramel color, yielding a deep honey amber decoction. The hopping is distinct, with a noticeable bitter note at the end, but not as strong as the drier regular Yebisu or the latest iteration of the “blue can†Suntory Malts Premium Pilsener. There is no significant sweetness of floweriness to the hopping. The malt flavor still stands true. The carbonation is more pronounced than other Japanese production beers. It will hold a head a little longer, due to the heavier decoction. Even as the head goes thin, there are still visible bubble trails, and the carbonation blooms in your mouth. This is still one of my favorite JDM production beers.
Three-and-a-half out of four wafuu monkeys
Highly recommended
5.5% ABV
Here’s the review of the 2010 version
More pictures after the break
Continue reading ‘Beer is Good – 2013 Yebisu Kohaku Amber Lager’
Pours medium amber, medium head. Clean, crisp, nice easy nut and roast. Could be the vacation thing, but this is a nice beer.
3 out 4 frosty monkeys.
There is a traditional myth that the slimy juice from awapuhi ginger flowers can be used as a shampoo, cleanser, and conditioner. Since the flowers were in bloom on the last ride, I harvested a selection of various levels of maturity for an empirical test. Both small, young flowers and large, older flowers produced a slime of equivalent quality. Regardless of age or size, all the gel produced performed the same as a shampoo – poorly. It didn’t remove any of the oily filth of a several hour mountain bike ride, but it did leave a smooth feeling similar to a commercial conditioner. The lingering dirt smell the fluid left unfortunately diminished the possible conditioning benefit. Fail. I guess it might be possible to use it as a conditioner after first shampooing, but it doesn’t appear to have any cleansing properties. It would be nice if it smelled like ginger instead of dirt.
Here we go again into the fray. I’ve been neglecting my anime watching for a couple of weekends, so I decided to catch up with some summer shows that were winding down and maybe see some new ones. There are several that haven’t started yet, but here’s the first: Continue reading ‘2013 Fall Season Anime’