New Brew Thursday - Asahi Super Dry

Hubby and I went out to dinner with family to a Japanese steak house to celebrate a birthday.    This type of restaurant isn't hubby's favorite so, it was an opportunity to eat a  hibachi dinner, drink hot saké and . . . of course . . . try out a new beer.

I love saké and I don't often get an opportunity to drink it.  Saké is usually misclassified as rice wine.  The process of making saké is more akin to how beer is made.  Saké is brewed but the process isn't exactly the same as how beer is made, though.  When saké is brewed the starch to sugar/sugar to alcohol conversion occurs in a single step; as opposed to two like in beer making.  Saké typically has a 15% ABV . . . what's not to like?

Okay . . . enough about my beloved rice beer.

Hubby ordered a bomber sized bottle of Asahi Super Dry.  Asahi Breweries is based in Tokyo, Japan.  I was kind of surprised that Asahi wasn't brewed by an American based macro-brewery.  Why?  Because it tasted an awful lot like a middle-of-the-road mass produced American style beer . . . Bud, Coors, Miller, etc.




Ah . . . mystery solved.  I wasn't too far off.  It turns out that the Asahi beer distributed to North American is brewed in Molson's Vancouver brewery.  There you have it!

I'm not saying I didn't like it.  I'm no beer snob.  I believe every beer doesn't have to be a $15 bottle craft brew to be good.  I love and appreciate those wonderful brews . . . but mass produced beer has it's place and I like it for what it is. 

Asahi is good . . . for what it is.

Asahi tastes pretty much a typical lager.  There's nothing complex about the flavor . . . it's light tasting and slambackable.  Which is to say that it's a good beer to kickback and enjoy after a hot afternoon of mowing the back acre.

Like I said . . . a time and place for every beer.


Oh . . . about that lager thing.  It's interesting to point out that German POWs worked in the Asahi brewery during the war to end all wars (WWI).  It's possible those prisoners had some influence over the brewing process.



Wow . . . a pretty long blog post for a mediocre beer . . . go figure.

Final Friday at New England Brewing Company

Hubby and I recently attended Final Friday at New England Brewing.  Final Friday is their monthly open house where you get to sample their beer, mingle with other beer lovers and enjoy a live band  . . . all of this at the brewery with the beer making staff.  Basically, a beer drinkin' rockin' good time!


$5 at the door gets you three tickets good for three 10 ounce beer samples.


We arrived just at the start of the soiree . . . 6 PM . . . and the there were already quite a few people there.  Comfortably crowded I would say; room to mingle, check things out and get a beer.

Hubby and I took our cups, dropped a ticket in the bowl and got our beer samples.  Being the IPA lover that I am, I started out with the Sea Hag IPA.  We made our way over to the stacks of pallets loaded with empty cans and sampled our . . . well . . . sample.  


Yummy!  Sea Hag . . . my first time drinking this beer.  It is an American style India Pale Ale.  I liked it . . . I liked it a lot.  It's hoppy and bitter without being overpoweringly so.  The hops are citrusy with plenty of the lemon and grapefruit that I love.  The malt gives the beer a caramel flavor that lends a slight sweetness that blends quite nicely with the bitter hops.  Over all . . . a very good IPA . . . I loved it.  (6.2% ABV)



As we were finishing our first beer we noticed the crowd was noticeably thicker and the temperature was rising in the relatively small space.  And . . . a line was begining to form to get the beer.  So, we hopped in line for our second sample.  Just as we were getting our cups filled the band started and the place was a'rockin'.



My second choice was an Elm City Lager.  This is a German style pilsner.  Again . . . I really liked this beer.  Light, tasty and exceedingly drinkable. This is what a lager should taste like . . . mildly sweet, slightly bitter, clean and smooth.  A sesionable beer to be sure at 5% ABV.  Really quite nice.  An all around good beer!


While sipping my beer I skulked around a bit checking out the equipment . . . tanks, canner, etc.  I happened to look up and spied a red monster dude hanging out on a beam and Elvis perched on top of tank.  


There were kegs and KEGS waiting to be filled.  


But, the pallets of cans and the tanks themselves filled most of the space . . . which was surprisingly small.

By the time we finished our second beer the place was packed . . . and we were sweating like crazy.  A very hot, humid day and a room filled with beer swizzling people makes a very sultry environment.  And the line to get beer . . . looooooooong.  


We eased our way into the line to get our final sample.  I decided to go with the Sea Hag . . . as it was that or the Elm City.  We squeezed our way over to the open overhead door to get some fresh air . . . it was brutally hot.


Mmm . . . out of beer?  Sometimes life is crap.  :)


As we finished up we were ready to get gone.  As crowded and hot as it was we still left happy . . . sweaty but happy.  I'm looking forward to heading back to New England Brewery for another Final Friday.



For more information check out NEBC's website or visit their Facebook page.