Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

The Festival of Hops at our Nakameguro Taproom is just around the corner, kicking off this Saturday, November 7. Event details are listed below.

Festival of Hops @ Nakameguro Taproom (Saturday, November 7 – Sunday, November 15):

*Beer:

Eight different single-hop beers will be featured throughout the festival. The eight Beers are:

(1) Glacier Ale (U.S. Glacier Hops)
(2) Sterling Ale (U.S. Sterling Hops)
(3) Motueka Ale (NZ Motueka Hops)
(4) Hersbrucker Hop Ale (German Hallertau Hersbrucker Hops)
(5) Amarillo Ale (U.S. Amarillo Hops)
(6) Simcoe Ale (U.S. Simcoe Hops)
(7) Centennial IPA (U.S. Centennial Hops)
(8) Cascade IPA (U.S. Cascade Hops)

We will be selling Single-Hop Half-Pint Drink Cards all week (valid only during the Festival period) for 4,800yen (8 x 600 yen — 400 yen discount) for those eager to experience the entire lupulin lineup. Completed cards will be entered into a festival-end raffle in which we will be awarding the following prizes: (1) Taproom Hashigo Nombei Pint Card, (2) Taproom Hashigo Nombei Half-Pint Card and (3) Baird Beer t-shirt of the winner’s choice.

We also will be featuring a “Smell the Hop” display throughout the week in which all eight varieties of hops (in whole flower form) will be available for inspection and sensory evaluation. Other beers of strong hop character that will be available for sampling during the festival include:

(1) Suruga Bay Imperial IPA (the newest year-round Baird Beer that will debut at 3:00 pm on Saturday, November 7)
(2) 6 by 2 IPA (Ryoichi Takabayashi’s Wan Cup Champion IPA to be debuted on Sunday, November 8 @ 2:00 pm)
(3) Teikoku IPA (year-round Baird Beer)
(4) Rising Sun Pale Ale (year-round Baird Beer)
(5) Red Rose Amber Ale (year-round Baird Beer)
(6) Angry Boy Brown Ale (year-round Baird Beer)

*Food:

Seven or eight hoppy beer-inspired fresh food items will be featured throughout the week to compliment and enhance the beer experience. Hops in beer do a wonderful job of stimulating the appetite. They also are very effective at extinguishing the heat from spicy food and lightening the heaviness of rich food. Food menu prices will range from 500 to 1,000 yen.

*”Hop Character in Beer” Seminar & Tasting:

(a) Japanese Language Seminar (Saturday, November 7; 12:30-2:30 pm; limit 20; by reservation only; 3,500 yen per person)
(b) English Language Seminar (Saturday, November 14; 2:00-4:00pm; limit 20; by reservation only; 3,500 yen per person)

We love hops at Baird Beer. We exclusively use whole flower hops; we aroma- and dry-hop regularly; we maintain the broadest inventory of hop varieties in the Japan beer industry. During this two-hour seminar and tasting, I will be discussing hop character in beer: What is it? How do you get it? How do you evaluate it? I will be discussing this from the viewpoint of both the brewer and, more importantly, the enthusiast beer consumer. In addition to tasting 4 sets of single-hopped beers, we will be touching, rubbing and smelling hops and punctuating the experience with some tasty cuisine from the Nakameguro Taproom kitchen. I am excited to share two hours with you discoursing on one of my truly favorite topics. Please make reservations by contacting directly the Nakameguro Taproom (nakameguro-tap@bairdbeer.com; tel. 03-5768-3025).

*Homebrewing Appreciation Day (Sunday, November 8):

Homebrewing of beer has been practised throughout history all over the world. The homebrewing community forms a bedrock of support for the craft brewing movement everywhere. We will be celebrating the efforts and passion of this community on Sunday, November 8. The highlight of the day will be the debut tapping (@ 2:00 pm sharp) of Ryoichi Takabayashi’s Wan Cup Champion IPA: 6 by 2 IPA (brewed by Takabayashi-san and Baird lead brewer Chris Poel at the Baird Brewery this past September). This is a beer of fantastic hop character. Chris and Takabayashi-san will be talking about the brewing of this beer and sharing the insights gained. We also will be conducting a 20-question hop quiz for interested takers. Prizes will be awarded to the top two scorers. The choice of prize will be either (1) 1 kg of whole flower hops (chose from our inventory in allotments of 200g) or (2) a half-pint Taproom Nonbei Drink Card. The test will be administered between 2:00 and 5:00 pm and the winners announced at 6:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing hoppy times with you at the Festival of Hops!

Cheers!

Bryan Baird