OH! LA! HO Beer - Captain Crow Extra Pale Ale

Name: Captain Crow Extra Pale Ale

Brewery: OH! LA! HO Beer

Style: Pale Ale

Purchased at: Liquor store in a super market.

Price: ¥300

Taste: 7.5/10

Alcohol Level: 5%

Music: Ahab - Boats of the Glen Carrig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-XmmznY45I


Snack: Beef Jerky. Special Setsubun sushi roll.

Website: http://www.tomi-kosya.com/ohlaho-beer/ohlaho-beer.html

Experience:

Today was a special day in Japan called Setsubun, we still had to go to work though. Setsubun is a special bean throwing day. In the evening I guess, someone in the family puts on a demon mask and runs around the house while the rest of the family throws beans at them. Someone I work with told said the demon is like all the bad thoughts and stuff you have, so throwing beans at the demon is a way to get rid of a lot of negativity you might be carrying around. If someone started throwing beans at me, I'd definitely leave, so it seems like a good idea. You might have to be careful if you have a kid with some heavy shit going on, those beans might knock you out.

On this particular day they make really long sushi rolls that are probably shared with the family. I got one for myself though and I did not share it. With the sushi rolls they have also been selling peanuts and beans in supermarkets for weeks leading up to this day, so I imagine a lot of people get into it pretty hard.

It also happened to be Friday night, so I decided to help myself to a few train beers. You can drink anywhere here in Japan. A lot of people from other countries, especially Australians, think this is really cool and almost instantly and constantly take advantage of this. Living here for a while I've come to realise that most Japanese people don't drink beers and stuff on the train after work, so I try and be a bit subtle about it. You might feel a bit awkward, but in my opinion Train Beers are an essential part of your Japan experience.

This beer is an Extra Pale Ale. I looked it up and the thing that makes pale ale taste like a pale, I think, is the hoppiness. Whatever it is, this beer has a LOT of it. Fortunately I like this flavour, but if you aren't into it, it's going to be way too strong. I was glad to have some of the beef jerky on hand to balance it all out. Apart from that it was really refreshing and delicious.

This beer is brewed in Nagano, a bit south of where I live. I checked out their website and they appear to have a number of beers available. I've seen a few of them before in 7/11s around here, but I didn't realise they were the same company as this Captain Crow one, so I'll be getting some on the way home to try for sure. Looking further I found that they have a restaurant here in Nagano.

There's a great write up about it here: http://beertengoku.com/2016/03/16/restaurant-oh-la-ho/

Looks unreal and I can't wait to go.

You'll be able to find this beer in many places around Nagano. I've seen it in 7/11s, restaurants and a few of the smaller liquor stores. The smaller liquor store tend to have more variety and more local beers. As I've said before, places like Takagi are terrible for finding local or craft beers. Keep an eye out, you'll definitely spot this distinctive can and be crushing them in no time.

Remember, always train beer responsibly. Don't be loud, just enjoy the views on your journey and be good.

Matsumoto Brewery - Traditional Bitter, Pint

Name: Traditional Bitter

Brewery: Matsumoto Brewery

Style: Bitter

Purchased at: Matsumoto Brewery Tap Room

Price: ¥900

Taste: 9/10

Alcohol Level: 5%

Music: I was listening to Amusement Parks on Fire a lot at the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhsWO6VI9XU

Snack: Pancakes.

Website: http://matsu-brew.com/


We were heading down to Matsumoto City in central Nagano for some exclusive pancakes and I decided to check if there was a beer brewery somewhere in the area. Matsumoto is a really cool place, it has some really nice old streets to walk around and some bloody great restaurants, so I thought there might be a brewery nearby. Sure enough, I came across the Matsumoto Brewery, and their tap room was right in town, so we decided to check it out. The venue has a small bar downstairs and a small room upstairs with a few tables. Downstairs was packed so we grabbed a pint of the Traditional Bitter and sat upstairs.

I've had regular bitter beers many times in the past that were pretty shitty. I associated the name 'bitter beer'' with a shitty, mass produced beer, I went in thinking it might be a bit crap. This wasn't the case at all, it was extremely smooth and delicious. I began to feel extremely cozy. The warm room and the old Japanese streets around me started to feel very comfy and I was ready to take a walk around. Maybe it was the beer talking though.

I believe they had two beers on tap, and four beers for sale to take home in bottles. I grabbed the four to try later. I tried the Traditional Bitter again at home and can safely say nothing was lost in bottling it up and enjoying it at home. It was still a terrific, tasty beer.

I really like their company slogan, ``WE NEED MORE BEER!!!`` I feel like they get me. They have bags and Tshirts with this printed on them 

If you find yourself in Matsumoto, I strongly recommend you check this place out. The staff there speak some English, so it's perfect for travelers who want to try some excellent, local craft beer. Taking a look at their facebook page, they seem to put on a lot of events around the town. They certainly are a lively bunch who want to get their beer out there and enjoyed amongst the people. So get out there, support them and drink a lot of their beer.

Minami Shinsyu Beer - Golden Ale 330ml bottle.

Name: Minamishinsyu Beer

Brewery: Komagatake Brewery

Style: Golden Ale

Purchased at: Grill The Butcher, a steak restaurant in Nagano Station

Price: ¥800

Taste: 9.5/10

Alcohol Level: 5%

Music: Restaurant background music. Before I arrived I was listening to Aves - Feathers
https://avesmusic.bandcamp.com/

Snack: Steak.

Website: http://www.ms-beer.co.jp/

Experience:
On Australia day I decided to have a beer and some steak. Finding a decent steak in Japan can be difficult, depending on where  you live. Outside of the main cities if you don't love Japanese food  to death, then you will have to learn to cook. Thankfully for us there is a really good steak restaurant in Nagano Station called Grill the  Butcher. Compared to Australian prices, the steaks are not that expensive. They are delicious and there's absolutely nothing Japanese about the taste, except for the wasabi they put on the side of the  plate which I try my best to ignore.

Anyway today's beer was a craft beer from the Komagatake Brewery in Southern Nagano. I haven't visited this brewery yet, but if I find myself down south I will definitely check it out. Making craft beer in Japan can't be easy. It's illegal for people to make their own
alcohol at home, which sucks because just before I arrived here I tried brewing a beer of my own (it was terrible). Maybe the process of making sake can become explosive if amateurs try it, I'm not sure, but they don't want people making it at home. To get a license to make
beer is tough and expensive, so given the chance I will always support a craft beer company here.

The beer made by breweries in Nagano always tastes so clean and fresh. There is basically an unlimited supply of fresh water, thanks to all the snow melting and running down the mountains. Drinking beer made here really feels like you are drinking the nectar of the mountains. I believe this company was born from a whiskey company, so I don't think it is some tiny 3 man operation or anything, but looking at their site tells me they are still quite small and everything appears to be handmade.

I had the Golden Ale. It was clean, fresh and crisp. I wanted to sip it because it tasted so good. Drinking this while eating steak, man I was loving life. There was maybe a tiny bit of sweetness or citrus flavour to it, but nothing too strong. Just the delicious taste of fresh beer straight from the icy mountains of Nagano, perfect.

This beer might be a little difficult to come across. I assume outside of Nagano there might not be too many places to buy it. Here in Nagano you might get lucky at a souvenir shop, they occasionally sell beer and sake. Shops selling local foods and crafts might sell it. I live in the northern part of Nagano, so perhaps going south would be easier. And of course, check the menu and maybe it will be available. To my knowledge this was the first time I'd come across this beer, and it wasn't on the menu last time we were at this restaurant. I would like to buy more, but apart from this restaurant, I'm not 100% sure where to find it.

I've found that bottle shops like Takagi are completely useless for beer, they only sell Asahi and Kirin, so don't even bother trying. Maybe the supermarket Tsuruya would have it sometimes, but I haven't seen it. Most people in Japan seem pretty happy with Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo, so you have to go looking for craft beers here. if you are travelling in Japan I urge you to venture outside of smashing Asahi and Kirin the whole time. When they have a cool label and it says it was brewed locally, it really brings to mind the idea of people taking water straight from the rivers and crafting their beers among the mountains of Nagano.