Kurofune Porter, a special present from Japan.
I’m very excited! I just opened up a very special beer. It is special because a friend of ours went to the trouble of packing it in his luggage on his visit home from Japan, where he currently lives. The friend is Jason Koehler. He and his wife moved to Japan a few years ago and to his great fortune, he ended up working for a small craft brewery rather than teaching English. He has since moved to another brewery, Baird Brewing where he is in sales. A very cool thing I think.
Baird Beer is available in the US but certainly not in Oklahoma. It doesn’t really matter that you can get it in the US. This is way cooler. MY bottle of Kurofune Porter is all in Japanese and it was given to me by a friend. Awesome.
It is also a fine example of a porter with a malt aroma that has a mild roastiness. The flavor is well balanced with chocolate and mild bitterness that’s lingers. If I were judging this beer in a competition I would give it a 38, which is in the excellent range when judging beer but since it was from a friend that thought enough of me to haul this beer across the vast Pacific, that adds at least 8 points to the score, making it a world class beer!
Kurofune Porter Label
I checked out Baird Brewing’s website and they are truly a craft beer brewery with several seasonal that would fit right into the American brewing scene. Not only do they have a wide range of beers to choose from, their labels are works of art. I have to say this is so cool seeing this kind of beer being produced in Japan.
Baird Brewing has nine year round beers. Here they are with the description from their website:
Wheat King Ale: This cloudy, golden-hued wheat based ale is fresh and wholesome like a newly baked loaf of bread. It also is supremely quenching. The aroma is delicately floral.
Rising Sun Pale Ale: This hoppy, brisk and refreshing Pale Ale is indescribably complex, but holds tenaciously to Japan’s prime aesthetic value—balance. It is a perfect beer for drinking now, later, tomorrow, the next day, every day.
Numazu Lager: Clean, soft Numazu water combines with German malts and a mix of world hops to yield a fantastically round yet snappy lager. It is unfiltered and naturally carbonated like all Baird Beers.
Red Rose Amber Ale: The Red Rose is a most original Amber Ale – the result of high fermentation (with ale yeast) at an unusually low (lager-like) temperature. This robust, rich brew, with fruity, malty flavors, is nonetheless crisp, refreshing, and dry. As a rose – extravagantly layered, expansively fragrant, and just a bit prickly.
Teikoku IPA: This ale bursts with hop character while still achieving a sublime balance due to a firm, robust malt backbone. It is a rich yet refreshing IPA in the English tradition.
Suruga Bay Imperial IPA: 90 BUs of hops in the boil, double dry-hopping, and krausening at packaging give this double IPA a complexity and character as rich as the Suruga Bay is deep.
Angry Boy Brown Ale: Beneath the cool façade of the warrior, a red-hot flame of intensity, determination and, yes, anger burns. So it is with this unpredictable Brown Ale: fleeting malty sweetness and warmth hide complexity, a barely controlled bitterness, and, naturally, a bit of an angry edge.
Kurofune Porter: Kurofune is the word Japanese used to describe the American gunboats that came to open Japan to Western trade. Kurofune Porter is sleek and forceful, but leaves a winning bittersweet taste of chocolate and coffee on the tongue.
Shimaguni Stout: This is the Baird version of the quintessential Irish beer style: Dry Stout. The pitch-black color and rich, roasty dryness belie the relatively low gravity and alcohol content. Japan and Ireland, in addition both to being ‘island countries,’ now share one more trait: great, locally brewed Dry Stout!
Their seasonal beers all look fascinating and show how innovative Baird Brewing is in taking classic styles and incorporating ingredients native to Japan. If I ever move to Japan I will track down every one of them and give them a try. Here is a description of their seasonals from their website:
The Carpenter’s Mikan Ale: The lively citrus aroma and flavor comes from the addition of fine Japanese mikan fruit. The mikans we use come from the land of our friend and partner, the Carpenter Nagakura-san, who picks them by hand. Our fruit ale is inspired by the rich tradition of craftsmanship in Japan – the “Shokunin” spirit – which is embodied in the Carpenter.
Jubilation Ale: This celebratory ale is brewed with freshly picked Japanese figs and cinnamon twigs. Rich and opulent, it is emblematic of the good cheer and renewed energy with which Japanese celebrate the coming of each New Year.
Dark Sky Imperial Stout: This foreboding black ale unleashes a torrential downpour of hop character within a maelstrom of roasted malt flavor. A pleasing roundness and satisfying balance offer but the illusion of safe shelter. This monster stout is not for the faint of heart.
Temple Garden Yuzu Ale: The spicy aroma and tart flavor of Japanese yuzu fruit, picked at a local temple garden, define this other-worldly brew. A luscious kiss of malt sweetness serves as a wonderful balance to the citric tang. This inspired ale surely is proof of the existence of a higher being.
Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale: Brewed with fresh Shizuoka summer mikans (natsumikans) and citrusy American hops, this original ale is aromatic, effervescent, dryly acidic and unabashedly refreshing.
Thanks Jason for thinking of me. Have a safe trip back to Japan.
Cheers to everyone else and Happy New Year!
Desiree Knott
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
7164 S Memorial
Tulsa, OK 74133
(918) 461-2605
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
About The Author
Nice Article! Bryan Baird is a good friend of mine, and one HECK of a brewer. I highly recommend visiting his brewery in Japan if you have the chance. Stop by my blog, http://www.jibeer.com and you can see many pics from his brewery! Cheers!