Craft beer at my local Circle K

It has not been the best night in terms of random luck -- my iPhone had died and the craft beer bar was closed when we arrived after yakiniku -- but the silver lining is that I found craft beer cans at yet another Circle K in town. It seems the word is spreading. It's now up to three Circle K's here in Ise that are selling Yona Yona Ale and Ginga Kogen American Pale Ale. My post dead-phone stop into the Circle K nearest to my place turned out positive indeed.

My iPhone, meanwhile, is still looking very much dead.

But back to that American Pale Ale. Beer lovers know that the "American" in American Pale Ale refers to the style of pale ale -- in this case, a bitter type pale ale. I brought a few over to a poker game the other night and got some interesting reactions from the international crowd. But indeed it was the Americans who assumed American meant "watery" in this case. They seemed to think a Japanese brewer was trying to reproduce that ever-so-American Budweiser sensibility.

Between hands, I tried to explain that this was a Japanese craft brewer and that this beer was a special thing to find here in Ise. The Yona Yona was easier to sell, since its name and label make it stand out a bit, but even among American citizens craft beer is poorly understood.

I'll have to try harder to spread the word. Maybe I should have shared?

Cans on the Radio

My homestate public radio station back in Oregon just did a report on craft beer in cans. Not only is it fun to read the text of the story and pretend you're a radio reporter (just me?), it's a good look at the changing attitudes on the topic.

On my most recent trip to Portland for my brother's wedding, the stigma was alive and well with one of the groomsmen, who said he felt that craft in cans was simply not right.

In the article, a pub owner points this out: 

"As of this week, there are 131 craft brewers nationwide that are either canning, or in the late stages of canning. Yeah, it’s a trend, I would say the biggest trend in craft-brewing right now"

It further lists reasons for accepting cans:

-Keeps the beer fresher

-Lighter, easier to transport

-Easier to recycle

Any downside? Besides the stigma, the article notes that it is more expensive to run a canning line, which may make it difficult to the smaller of the small brewers.

Here in Japan, we have seen a few brewers produce cans. Yona Yona was on the shelves in cans when I got here in 2007, and they are definitely among the leaders. I have recently seen Coedo and Echigo beers in cans even out here in Inaka Mie. It would be great to see more Japanese brewers follow suit, especially the other mainstays leading the field already in quality and availability.

In Japan, the stigma issue is probably larger than back in the states. Already, craft beer is seen as foreign, exotic, and essentially "not beer-like." That's because the image of "beer" is a light lager, golden in color, with 30 percent head for good measure. Many craft producers here treat their product like it's some sort of holy nectar, adorning their cans with colorful foil toppings (I'm looking at you, Kinshachi).

Of course, I balance my bite here with general respect toward the still-maturing industry. I'll accept anything that's good, in a glass or a bottle or a can.

I'm still here -- and random beer discoveries

My most recent post was on March 9, two days before the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami brought devastation to Tohoku. For a while after, I was quiet on Twitter, and for longer, I've been quiet here on this blog. I cannot claim that I posted so often before, but for a while I simply did not feel like coming on and talking about my most recent beer samplings or the newest Ise Kadoya release.

That's not to say I did not drink. My school's new-school-year-staff-change party went down as scheduled, with plenty of beer going around. I've been frequenting Twelve, the makeshift craft beer hangout opened by Masaya from Ise Kadoya in what used to be his first-floor living room. And from time to time I've visited Ise Kadoya for the 2-hour nomihoudai for less than 2,000 yen.

Meanwhile, I have launched Mie Life Magazine, an online only bilingual magazine for Mie prefecture. It has been fun, but also incredibly challenging, as it has been an all-volunteer operation. I have not had much luck finding contributors to write, and if it is only me and one or two others then I feel it lacks a range of voices required to make it interesting. Further, I need Japanese writers contributing, but so far it has been difficult to find them.

For what it's worth, I've written two columns on craft beer for that magazine. Readers of this blog would not find anything new there. The columns target those who don't know much about craft beer. I hope to reach people who just come across the magazine and maybe they'll expand their beer selection.

As summer rolls on, I hope to return to this blog. I'll begin with some recent discoveries:

CRAFT TO GO AT NAGOYA STATION
Seijoishii is a foreign food store with a decent craft / international beer selection. I picked up some Coedo for the train along with some Kona Brewing selections for the fridge. They also had Yona Yona and a few offerings from Hokkaido Brewing. that were popular with sweet-beer-liking friends.You can find this shop just outside the Hirokoji exit of Nagoya station.

MOKU MOKU - NAGOYA
Upstairs on the 13th floor of the JR tours you'll find a restaurant by Moku Moku farms of Mie. You can enjoy a buffet lunch or dinner (organic food, plenty of options for meat lovers and vegetarians) along with some craft beer made in Mie. There were two beer options on the menu along with a couple of seasonal selections in bottles available. They do not seem to offer their beer in bottles (or cans) to go so you have to go in for a meal to try it. There are similar restaurants in Mie (Tsu, Iga, Matsusaka) and one in Osaka.


ISE KADOYA SEASONALS
I have been enjoying the Blonde Ale, which seems to me more bitter than previous years (though I could be wrong). Meanwhile, I know the Imperial Red Ale has been making the rounds. I really like this beer. It was a result of a collaboration of brewers from craft makers around Japan who converged at Ise Kadoya for a sort of beer-making clinic. I wish I could have been there for that! If you have not tried this yet, keep an eye out.

CONVENIENT CRAFT?
A Circle K in Ise has recently started stocking Yona Yona ale, and a different Circle K in town sometimes has Coedo options. Is this a new trend? I hope so. I'd love to see Yona Yona return to the shelves of my local grocery store (it left two years ago). I would also love to see a wider selection, of course, be it cans of Coedo, Echigo, or more brewers willing to go can and go national. It would also be nice if our friends at Ise Kadoya would expand their can options.

That about does it for today. I'm heading in to Ise Kadoya's Biyagura tonight for some birthday drinks, and I'll report anything new here tomorrow.

Cheers!