Pours a cloudy light amber. Thick. No, I’m not describing the mouthfeel, it literally pours thick, although the mouthfeel is likewise almost syrupy. This is one of SA’s Imperial series where they are pushing the envelope of the types of beer. This is the version of a spiced white wheat ale. The syrupyness is reflected in its sweetness, and the 10% buzz packin alcohol content. This sweetness also puts me off. I think I’ve stated in a number of my reviews that I don’t care for when a brew gets sweet and tasting like a drunk juice “malt liquor”. SA does recommend serving at a warmer range, and indeed it did seem to become more drinkable later as it warmed up. Of course that could also be because of that 10% ABV and empty stomach. And horrors, I squeezed a lemon wedge into mine. Honestly, for a spiced white, I’ll go with a Hoegartan.
Barely 2 out of 4 juiced up monkeys.
Catching up on a backlog of B.I.G. reviews here, I grabbed me a sixer of this domestic. Pours a clear light yellow with light head. I found the first sip to be quite pleasant. A nice grainy/nutty flavor. On subsequent tastes though, the flavor seems to get lost and was left with a clean pleasant drinking beer. If you rest the palate for a while and then come back for a sip you do get that flavor I found so nice again. Surprisingly, from a big name domestic, this gets a favorable nod from me, BUT it is priced at “craft” beer pricing. A couple bucks more I could get me a twelver of Speights which is just as nice drinking.
3 out of 4 “craft” monkeys.
Pours dark opaque parctically black with moderately heavy head but quickly subsides. Smoky aroma that also evokes shoyu for me. Fairly sharp bitterness, but then there is a sour middle note, and then a bitter finish. There is a bit heavier mouth feel than your average fair, but this lacks the creamyness of something like Guinness. Not bad, but there are many other darks that I like much more, I don’t care for the sourness.
2.5 out of 4 stout swigging monkeys.
Next up in the pack is the Coastal Wheat. Pours with a cloudy light yellow with a weak head. Clean aroma, the citrus peel adds a brightness and goes with the dry initial taste. There is a slight bitterness that dissapates quickly and then leaves an almost nutty finish. A pleasant crisp beer, easy drinking. I’d give it a 3 of four weissen drinking monkeys.
Now open for a few years in Honolulu, the claim to fame for this small Japaneses restaurant is that they serve fresh housemade soba noodles. Location is on S. King Street on the left just past Punahou St. For the oldtimers, it’s where Dairyu used to be, go past where Cinerama used to be, in the small group of stores that includes the Obama Baskin Robbins. It’s a small space with about six tables and a counter, cozy, you won’t have any problems flagging down service. 
Visited twice, first time had the tenzaru soba, a standard that should be good to judge by. Noodles correctly “al dente”, tempura crisp and light, side dishes nice, tokyo negi for your noodles, the wasabi looks to be high percentage of real wasabi. Not the usual mystery mostly mustard/horseradish green paste. I don’t think it’s fresh grated, but it might be the 100% real from tube wasabi. Second visit I had the Battera Gozen with the upgrade to standard size noodle portion of the hot soba. The battera is wonderful, just the right amount of vinegaring.
Continue reading ‘Inaba Honolulu Restaurant’
Pours with moderate head, a dark amber. An interesting ale. Distinctive aroma that I have a hard time describing. Smoky flavor coming from the featured peat smoked hops. Bitterness that tapers, an almost astringent middle, then lingers. A pretty robust brew, but not thick like a porter or stout. I’d give it close to 3 of 4 peat smoking monkeys.
Pours with a medium head, medium amber with a red tint. Aroma of hops detectable, but not strong. Likewise a fairly strong bitter element that does linger for a bit. Also a touch of sweet feel, but not to the point that I find objectionable. Perhaps not my favorite of the pack, but still pretty smooth and drinkable, although I prefer it with some food rather than drinking it alone. 2.5 out of 4 monkeys.
Sam Adams has become so ubiqitous that it now often gets passed over in the search for more “exotic” brews that I haven’t had. However this variety pack perked my interest as it had many varieties, almost all I haven’t had, in one convenient case. And I’m happy to say, it was a good thing! 5 of the 6 varieties I have now sampled and all get my thumbs up, and the final one is the Boston Lager which is a known good quantity.
I’ll start with the last and most recent that I just had. A seasonal, the Noble Pils. Pours light yellow with at most a moderate head that quickly dissapates. Pretty strong floral notes, as expected since it’s a Pils and the whole tagline is that it is made with all 5 Noble hops. It also gives it a good citrus note, without really having any citrus adjuncts. I’m not a huge fan of Pils and strong hops, but it works quite well here. Could it be that my love of Wernesgruner has given me a taste for hops now? Regardless, the SA Nobel Pils is nicely balanced, crisp, and clean. The hops emphasis give it a fairly high bitterness, but it does not linger. Mouth feel is light and clean. I have to give it a 3 of 4 tipsy monkeys.
What? More beer? This time another Hitachino variety I haven’t had yet, the XH. Labeled as matured in sake casks. Pours cloudy dark brown with extremely strong head. Sorry, I passed out before I could write a review so my thoughts are a bit cloudy on it. I blame the high 8%ABV. I didn’t really detect the cask flavors. I recall the sweet then sourness. It reminded me again of drunk juice malt liquors that I do not like. I can’t say I’m having a very good track record with the Hitachino’s, 2.5 out of 4 booze sleeping monkeys.
Catching up on a past brew here! Seasonal brew, pours with small head, very dark. Pretty strong roasted flavor, pretty effervescent feel on tongue, dry, lingering bitter from the roast. I like, but not an intensely complex beer. 5.3% ABV, not high. 3 out of 4 dark roast monkeys.
Pours a cloudy light amber. Thick. No, I’m not describing the mouthfeel, it literally pours thick, although the mouthfeel is likewise almost syrupy. This is one of SA’s Imperial series where they are pushing the envelope of the types of beer. This is the version of a spiced white wheat ale. The syrupyness is reflected in its sweetness, and the 10% buzz packin alcohol content. This sweetness also puts me off. I think I’ve stated in a number of my reviews that I don’t care for when a brew gets sweet and tasting like a drunk juice “malt liquor”. SA does recommend serving at a warmer range, and indeed it did seem to become more drinkable later as it warmed up. Of course that could also be because of that 10% ABV and empty stomach. And horrors, I squeezed a lemon wedge into mine. Honestly, for a spiced white, I’ll go with a Hoegartan.
