Non-beer update: A few snow pictures

Ise rarely gets snow ... I can't recall any substantial snowfall last year. On Friday we got a bit that stuck around most of the day, and this afternoon came the sequel. It's blanketing the ground, and roads, with a slushy mess, though trains and buses appear to be running smoothly (edit: reports of train delays have been issued).

Here are a few cellphone shots. Just to prove it snowed in Ise.

The school parking lot. 

We lost our English club students one by one to early departures for home.

 From the bus. I called shotgun, apparently.

 Update: A few more pictures below:

Unazuki beer from Toyama

One of the great things about admitting to friends and family that you're a beer nerd is that they tend to think of you when they're on the road or otherwise come across new varieties of beer. This is especially wonderful since I live in rural Japan and it's generally difficult to discover far-flung brews.

A week ago, I tried two beers from Helios in Okinawa, including a very nice pale ale that was less pale and more so copper. It was a very medium body, not super hoppy, but balanced enough to earn a high mark in my amateur beer reviewer head.

At the moment, I'm enjoying another score, an alt style beer from Unazuki in Toyama-ken. It pours a dark copper color, similar to the Helios pale, and the first sip offered a nice, dry finish after a light caramel malt and hop presence. Now that it's warmed up a little, I'm getting a bit more fruity tones and the beer is growing on me.

Another score today: A book on Japanese craft beer from the local library. It informs that Unazuki is form Kurobe-shi, where its beers source malts and other local ingredients. Their lineup, while not extensive, has won acclaim at some beer festivals.

A visit to this area is now officially on my list-of-places-to-go, which exists only in my head. Unazuki has a restaurant that features their beer plus a curry made to go with beer.

Has anyone out there been to Kurobe or tried this beer?

Beer Free February

As February dawns, I am looking to cut back spending on beer after a few weeks of having quite a bit (thanks to the discovery of a new craft beer bar in little old Ise).

But my half-hearted and vague plans to "cut back" are nothing compared the efforts of Matt at Beer Free February. He has pledged to stay completely dry -- free of beer or any other alcohol -- for the whole month.

The real kicker is this: he is doing it as a fund-raiser. Check out the website, track his progress, and put down some money for a good cause. So far, he has raised $100 toward a goal of $3,000, which he describes as enough to sponsor a child for 10 years of schooling.

Cheers to Matt, and good luck.