Picked up at Safeway this Sierra Nevada seasonal. Reading the blurb had me a little worried, said it’s a Pilsner, but since I have had a few pilsners that I have liked, decided to chance it. Pours moderate head, clear yellow. The floral isn’t too strong, but the bitter from hops is pretty strong and the floral does come out later. The bitter lingers for quite a while. Mouthfeel is pretty clean and light. Thankfully there isn’t any skunkyness, but I still can’t say I really like this beer. I think it needs some pretty strong flavored food to go along with it, I find it hard to drink by itself. 2 out of 4 bitter puckered monkeys.
Archive for the 'Review' Category
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I picked up a set of these at Soul Trex in Windward Mall for use with Fage yogurt. My Snow*Peak titanium spoon was too large to get at the fruit component, and these were a more environmentally friendly alternative to disposable spoons. I guess I could wash and reuse the disposable plastic spoons, but it ends up being pretty easy to throw away something that is free rather than something I paid cash for. For around $7 USD, this smallest version of the Swedish-made Light My Fire Sporks come in a pack of three assorted colors. The set I got has white, black, and chromate green: I think the other combination was red, pink, and white. It’s nice to find plasticware that isn’t made in the PRC. I feel a lot more confident that it isn’t going to poison me with mystery substitute materials slipped in after the test batch is inspected. Continue reading ‘Light My Fire Spork Little’
Mmm… Tiramisu. How can you go wrong with espresso-soaked chocolaty goodness? The shape of this version from the Patisserie La Palme D’Or bakery in Ala Moana Center is a narrow bar instead of a single round or a pie wedge, but it’s all good. The added flavor and texture from a layer of caramelized brittle really makes this special. It’s a little on the sweeter side of neutral, which is somewhat odd coming from a Japanese bakery. Continue reading ‘Patisserie La Palme D’Or Tiramisu’
There has been a bit of an outdoor store void on ‘Oahu since the first iteration of Powder Edge went under. The zombie reincarnation of Mauka to Makai was a faint shadow of what the original store was, and that wasn’t really all that great to begin with. Today, Chris told me that a new outdoor store had opened in Windward Mall, and I stopped in this evening to check it out. Like Chris had mentioned, from the store name and signage alone, one might think that it was a Native or Jah-waiian lifestyle store, but looking inside immediately laid this notion to rest. They have a reasonable range of outdoor gear from major brands, encompassing hiking, camping, climbing and general outdoor goods. Tell me of somewhere else where you can retail a Petzl climbing helmet or Black Diamond harness on ‘Oahu! In the back, they actually have a small indoor climbing wall. It’s limited in height, since it is a retail store, but some parts have a negative angle for traversing fun. Pricing is mostly MSRP, but nothing quite beats the hands-on buying experience for certain parts of outdoor kit. They actually have some clothing items for 20% off right now. The owner/manager told me that they have been open for about three months. Check them out the next time you happen by Windward Mall - they’re on the second floor of the theater wing near HIC.
Recommended
With my PC dead at the moment, reduced to doing what I can with my iPhone, & the only stuff I can watch is Crunchyroll streams. I’d watched most of what initially interested me, so now down to the lesser stuff. Continue reading ‘Anime Briefs – Spring 2011 continued’
I brlieve Dave reviewed this beer already, but I found it at Safeway today and had to grab a sixer. Pours a bright clear light yellow with no head and weak carbonation. I think it has suffered from ill handling, Daves was much the opposite. I don’t detect a whole lot of initial aroma. Comes across as a dry beer with a fair amount of bitter. Quite drinkable, goes well with food. 3 of 4 elephant loving monkeys.
OK, Dave was suggesting I do a review page of the new anime shows showing up on fansub and streaming and I see he put up one post, so I’ll work on a the new batch. The spring batch of anime started off slow, the first shows I watched were pretty bottom of the barrel drivel. Continue reading ‘Anime Briefs – Spring 2011’
Deja vu. I get the feeling I’ve seen this all before… In the late 90’s, TBS started a long-running afternoon drama, Onsen he Ikou! about a woman in he waning years of her marriageability showing up at the onsen-yado run by her estranged mother. After her wedding plans fall apart, the heroine seeks to reinvent herself by taking on a job as a live-in maid at the inn. Of course, cattiness, tension, deceit, and eventually heartwarming moments ensue. Fast-forward a decade in real-time, take a decade off the age of the protagnist, and you’ve got Hanasaku Iroha. As the “turning-thirty” heroine of Onsen was meant to resonate with the early-afternoon housewife audience demographic, the middle teen protagonist of Hanasaku is designed to appeal to girls about to go through (or are going through) that transition between middle school and high school. Because of this, I’m sure it’s not really going to be a direct ripoff of the drama, but I can’t imagine that there will be any storyline or literary twist that hasn’t been previously explored in 5 seasons of Onsen he Ikou!, or the 2008 reprisal, Onsen he Go!, or even Asakusa Fukumaru Ryokan or the multitudinous seasons of Hotel. Continue reading ‘Anime Briefs – Hanasaku Iroha (JDM/USDM)’
Have had this on tap at Kailua Pub, so it’s a known good brew, but haven’t reviewed it in B.I.G. yet. Pours a clear dark brown with moderate head that dissapates, but manages to persist a little and maintains carbonation. There’s a definite roasty aroma even before you take a sip. There is the bitterness of a dark roast, but it is very even and smooth, I thoroughly enjoy it. Despite its darkness, it’s quite clean drinking, there isn’t a really heavy mouth feel, there’s a little initial heft, but it does not stick around. Great beer for fans of stouts and porters but when you want something a tad lighter. I like.
I don’t know if its because it’s the end of a busy week and it’s super hot and humid out, but this beer is giving me much enjoyment that I’m giving it 4 out of 4 Irishy monkeys.
Not feeling super different, decided to pick up this offering from Red Hook breweries. Pours with a weak quickly dissapating head, although carbonation does persist. Color is a slightly cloudy medium light orange. Moderate tapering bitter with a bit of astringent middle and finish. There is a medium amount of thick mouth feel. A touch of floral. A decent drinking beer, but if it got any more syrupy it would tread dangerously into the realm of american buzz juice malt liquors taste that I dislike. The 5.8% ABV does pack a little bit of buzz. I’d have to go middle of road and give it 2.5 out of 4 capybara avoiding monkeys.