Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:
An annual autumn rite of passage is the release of a deliciously down-to-earth Baird Beer best characterized by two words: simplicity, sophistication. Country Girl Kabocha Ale marks her 8th annual debut on Friday, October 30 (just in time for Halloween) and this year’s version is perhaps the best yet.
*Country Girl Kabocha Ale (ABV 6.0%):
Kabocha is a Japanese pumpkin-like squash the taste of which is elegantly sweet. The kabocha we use is grown in the garden of our carpenter-partner-friend, Nagakura-san. We first cook it in order to gelatinize it, then we add it to our mash where the enzymes from the malt help to further break it down into simple fermentable sugars. Several characterful varieties of malted barley produce a hearty wort that when married to the kabocha yields a flavor partnership of great depth and balance. After fermenatation, re-fermentation and conditioning, the result is an earthy, rustic beer that manages to deliver an extraordinarily sophisticated yet subtle complexity of flavor. It is, to many resident beer enthusiasts, the flavor of fall in Japan!
Country Girl Kabocha Ale will be available on draught at Baird Beer retailing pubs and restaurants throughout Japan (including all of our Taprooms) beginning Friday, October 30. It also we be availabe for purchase in 633 ml bottles through the network of Baird Beer retailing liquor shops in Japan starting the same day.
*Festival of Hops @ Nakameguro Taproom — Hop Seminar & Tasting (Saturday, November 7 @ 12:30 – 2:30 pm; Saturday, November 14 @ 2:00 – 4:00 pm):
In conjuction with the upcoming Festival of Hops at our Nakameguro Taproom, we will be hosting a hop seminar and tasting on two separate occasions: the Saturday, November 7 seminar which kicks off the festival will be conducted in Japanese while the Saturday, November 14 seminar will be held in English. The content of the seminars and the tastings will otherwise be identical. Details of the seminar and tasting follow:
*Seminar Theme: Hop character in beer
*Seminar Beer Tasting: Eight hop-accented beers in 4 separate blind paired tastings
*Seminar Food: A collection of light beer fare will be served up fresh from the Nakameguro Taproom kitchen
*Seminar Duration: 2 hours
*Seminar Cost: 3,500 yen per person
Each seminar/tasting is limited to 20 indiviudals. Advanced reservations are required. Those who want to hear the discussion in Japanese should sign up for the November 7 seminar; English speakers should opt for the November 14 event. Reservations can be placed by sending an email to the Nakameguro Taproom (nakameguro-tap@bairdbeer.com) or by calling: 03-5768-3025.
Additional details regarding the nine day Festival of Hops will be forthcoming shortly.
Cheers!
Bryan Baird
