Kirin Ichiban Special Premium Reserve Beer

I first ran into this beer back in the day when I first started eating Sushi at Miyako’s

(the one at 6345 Westheimer Rd). Sitting at the sushi bar at happy hour after ordering a large batch of sushi and needing something to wash it all down with, I looked to what was being consumed all around me and it was Kirin. I can still remember the experience today and it was a good one, the beer went so well with the Squid and octopus, so smooth and refreshing. You can really tell the beer is well crafted. This single wort brew with it’s fine barley malt and top notch hops helps to make this beers finish a non bitter one which also helps to make it so versatile in the taste department. This beer is just so good, that I have a hard time coming up with more words to describe the taste other than extremely refreshing and light in taste, the beer enhances the taste of food much like salt can do if applied correctly. This is the jack of all trades beer in that it is good for drinking and eating with most everything. Perhaps the only detractor from the beer is that the art on the bottle is so fine that you may not think to pick it up for something as simple as just a weekend BBQ, you might look at the beer and think, this beer is too high brow for me I can’t just come inhere with my summer looking flip-flops and this T-shirt and grab this beer. I need a tux on or something before I purchase this fine looking beer. Don’t fool yourself, if you like good beer then this is the beer for you. Don’t let the label scare you

Real Ale Devil's Backbone

This beers initial taste profile is reminiscent of Steel Reserve which was a candidate for beer of the year last year, however with some differences. First off the malty taste is much more subtle than that of the Steel Reserve which makes for a much more enjoyable and multifaceted beer for drinking and enjoying with food. The taste profile on this beer is a strong clove and sweet pumpkin spice which rides rough shot over the bitter hops with which comes in as a slight aftertaste. The best food to enjoy this beer with is spicy dishes like Indian food, or what I enjoyed mine with which was a grilled chicken breast with an improvised BBQ sauce with habanero hot sauce and brown sugar and soy sauce. The spice of the food and the sweetness of the beer play well with each other and that makes for a nice meal, one you enjoy after a long day out in the summer sun. In addition to that the beer is good as a standalone and perhaps best as a dessert beer. So despite the fact that there is a devil on the bottle this stuff is good and that is saying a lot. Perhaps I will have to give the folks over at Real Ale another chance.

Southern Star Brewing Co. Bombshell Blond Ale

Right off the bat from what I can reed off the back of the can, this beer is a very informative beer and in addition to that a very socially responsible one as well. the can indicates an ideal serving temperature of 40 degrees a reminder to recycle and to cut the plastic six pack rings so birds and fish don’t get caught in them. Starting out i am impressed and in addition to that this beer is brewed in Conroe Texas. This is an interesting beer right out of the gate this beer is a taste duo in that on one hand you have the malt taste which is not found in ale beers and vise-versa. Two taste profiles that you don’t find in beers together. Southern Star does a good job at pulling the two flavors together. I would look to Southern Star to refine this flavor as the company grows. This special blend has a malty earthy taste which is lightly sweet at the start and ends in the ale taste, it smells like sunflower seeds and even though it says blond in the glass it looks like a dirty blond. In conclusion this is a good backyard beer one which is best enjoyed with chicken. So enjoy this diamond in the ruff of a beer.