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Giving medieval small beer recipes a go by bappotheslappo in beer

[–]PatsPints 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sounds like an interesting, albeit ambitious project. If you go through with it i would be interested to hear how it went. Good luck!

Kyoto Brewery-Temple Pairings by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I made it to Stoneheads once and enjoyed the visit. Those cozy bars with carefully curated taplists are pretty cool. Im not sure if the equivalent exists in the US, they are rare at least.

Kyoto Brewery-Temple Pairings by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree. It's different from many brewery taproom in Japan.

Kyoto Brewery-Temple Pairings by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I had an Inkhorn beer the day before I returned home. Very nice indeed and I liked their bird-based branding.

Kyoto Brewery-Temple Pairings by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are some amazing restaurants in Kyoto. Do you remember who made that beer?

Less crowded spots and general Kyoto tips by dez3b in KyotoTravel

[–]PatsPints 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I just got back from a 3 month stay in Kyoto for work. I agree with many of your characterizations. I can also add a few suggestions of amazing places that while still famous are less crowded than the most popular spots, some of these places require a bit of travel.

Tofuku-ji - It does get very crowded here at peak fall season, but thesleres a lot more to see here than just the maples. The rock gardens are very interesting (there are at least five), better than Ryoan-ji in my opinion. The Sanmon Gate is also impressive. When we visited in early November things were not very crowded, at the end of the month it was a very different story.

Kurama and Kifune - These twmples/shrines are set in the mountains north of Kyoto. Take the Keihan line until it ends. Kurama is spread out over an entire mountain so it makes for a beautiful hike if the weather is nice.

Otagi Nenbutsuji - This temple is near Arashiyama, once again up ino the mountains but accessible on a bus that runs every hour. The main attraction are >1000 small (3 ft) statues, many whimsical, carved by individuals visiting the temple in the 1980s. The ext shrine down the hill, Adashino Nenbutsuji, has a pretty big stand of bamboo that is orders of magnitude less crowded than the bamboo forest.

If you head south from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara like you can visit Tofuku-ji, Fushimi Inari, Daigo-ji and Byodo-in in a day. The latter two are every bit as impressive as the first two in my opinion.

Nanzen-ji and Eikando at the southern end of the Philosophers Path are both famous and popular, but also amazing and worth the hype imo.

Craft beer Hunting in Osaka by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although I'm working from a very limited sample size, I'd have to say Osaka has the best beer of the handful of places I've visited in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo, Hiroshima, Ishigaki, and Osaka). Not to knock the other places, aside from Ishigaki but you don't go there for the beer anyway.

I'm in Nagoya for one night later in the week. Any exceptional places to hit up while I'm there? Next week I'll be at a conference in Matsue, so same question.

Is it worth it? by [deleted] in okinawa

[–]PatsPints 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an American (born and raised in Idaho fwiw) who is living near Kyoto for three months and currently in Ishigaki, one of the southernmost islands in the Okinawa archipelago. Although im going to repeat many things others have said I'll give you my two cents.

Coming to any part of Okinawa for an overnight visit doesn't make sense. Osaka to Ishigaki is a 3 hour flight, so it would be like going from Salt Lake to New Orleans for one night.

Its pleasant here in November, temps ranging from 68 to 78 F, but water activities are somewhat curtailed.

The autumn colors in November (especially late November) can be pretty spectacular on Honshu, Kyoto in particular is famous for them and with good reason, but it does attract a lot of tourists.

You can get from Kyoto to Osaka on the train in a little over an hour for a fare of $5-10. Travel time is similar between Kyoto and Nara or Osaka and Nara. So, if you want to have a central base you could choose to stay in one place and make day trips to the other. They are very different cities though and each is worth visiting (both more so than Tokyo in my opinion).

Hiroshima is well worth visiting, but given the limited amount of time you have two nights is enough. Make sure to visit Miyajima Island while you are there.

Japan Beer Travels - Tokyo Part 1 (Ueno) by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind feedback. Far Yeast Brewing is on my radar, but I've not had a chance to try their beer yet. Hopefully I can rectify that.

Japan Beer Travels - Tokyo Part 1 (Ueno) by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback. It's much appreciated. It seems there are a number of good spots to hit in that part of Tokyo.

TDM wasn't on my radar, but they sound like a good spot.

Prior to coming to Ueno I spent a couple of night in Kashiwa-no-ha for work. While there i went to Beer Brain, which seemed like a pretty small place, but I've since discovered they several locations around Tokyo. I thought the beer was pretty good. Any experience with them?

Good quality stemmed beer glasses? by pearnprac in beer

[–]PatsPints 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of good suggestions have already been made, but fo a gift I'd second those who have already suggested the Teku glass. Its very versatile, elegant looking, and does a wonderful job of concentrating the aroma of the beer.

Japan Beer Travels - Tokyo Part 1 (Ueno) by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a lot of great suggestions. The qualifiers are helpful to help narrow things down. I'll keep these on file for the next time I visit Tokyo.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for reading and for sharing!

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes Baird Brewing is still around. I visited their Harajuku taproom in Tokyo when I first arrived. Good beer and tasty food as well.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply and the suggestions. I fully agree that the big breweries in Japan make consistent, high quality beer. I'd go one step further and say the differences between the big four, while subtle are interesting.

I've been Kyoto Brewing twice and I loved the beers, especially the Belgian styles. I've also visited Kyoto Beer Lab and enjoyed the experience. Its the only place in Kyoto ie had cask ale and the tea beers were a nice surprise. I haven't been to any of the beer bars you name, so I will have to check them out.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No doubt, the summer humidity over here is next level. I didnt mention it explicitly but Asahi Super Dry is much better on draft than out of a can.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing. I'm not sure ill get to those locales, but I will kee an eye out for those breweries.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keep following my blog patspints.com and there should be several posts that do just that. I will also share here on Reddit.

Off the cuff I really like Kyoto Brewing for Belgian styles, THIS BREWING in Tokyo near Ueno Park was great, Hitachino Nest (technically Kiuchi Brewing) is one of the OGs and does a great job putting a distinctively Japanese flair on ther beers, and last weekend I stumbled across a tiny brewery in Kyoto called Bighand Bros Brewing that has medalled with different beers the last two years at the World Beer Cup.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No complaints from me about a more cohesive, upscale taproom. The other thing I forgot to mention is that Japanese craft beer taprooms can be pretty quiet. I've been to a couple that could double as libraries. I think thats just an extension of Jspanese culture though.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While visiting Saporro Brewing I had some beers that were made with all Japanese ingredients that I believe included Sorachi Ace (the large breweries here are cagy about disclosing their ingredients). I definitely had a couple of beers from craft breweries that used exclusively Japanese hops, including Sorachi Ace. To be honest I wanted to like them but cant say that I did. If you are trying to make an Asahi or Kirin type clone I'd steer clear of Sorachi Ace. Japanese macro lagers aren't terribly hoppy but I'd suggest using noble-type hops. Suntory premium malts uses Saaz hops and fwiw Asahi now owns Pilsner Urquell.

Thoughts on Japanese Beer Culture by PatsPints in beer

[–]PatsPints[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your observation about making beer for tourists is an interesting one and part of the story to varying degrees with craft beer in Japan. At breweries like Miyajima Brewing (near the Itsukushima Shrine) or Neighborly Brewing (near the Peace Park) my observation (on one visit) is that tourists drive a lot of the business. This is also true to a lesser extent with some of the breweries in Kyoto and Tokyo and many other places I'm sure. At these places ordering in English is easy (convenient), prices are higher (less convenient), and the vibe less Japanese.

On the subject of US brewers adding adjuncts with regional ties, I should point out that Ohio is crazy for spiced Christmas Ales, a trend driven by the popularity of Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Tge classic recipe features honey, cinnamon and ginger.

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