I haven't been blogging because I've been out enjoying my freedom, sushi, okonpmiyaki, drinks, shopping, etc.!
My wife came back from vacation the other day and brought me the most wonderful presents, 3 cans of Ise Kadoya beer, chips & some high class beef form Ise city in Mie prefecture.
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I'm so lucky to have such a thoughtful wife. She also brought me back some Yamachan Chicken Wings Chips & Matsusaka beef, one Japan's three best beef producers. The other two are Kobe & Omi.
I started off with the beer of course. First up was the Kumano Kodo Beer, a brown ale.
I paired it with some raw ham cheese. It had a very light flavor, just enough to know it was an ale. It was actually quite good though. We would call it "nomi yasui 飲みやすい” easy to drink. This is the kind of beer you just want to drink while enjoying a chat with friends, TV or a delicious meal you don't want ruined by an awful beer. It paired fine with the cheese.
Next up was the pilsner.
I don't know who invented pilsner, but I'm glad they're long dead otherwise I might go to jail for murder. I've never been a fan of pilsners and this was no exception. Actually, it wasn't horrible and I would drink it before most American piss water beers, but it would be very low on my list.
Luckily I saved the best for last, Sinto Beer Pale Ale.
This was a great pale ale, light with just the right amount of hops. It's a beer you could drink all night and not get bored. I paired it with some of the Yamachan Chicken Wing rice chips which were also wonderful. The seasoning was like that of Yamachan chicken wings while the chip itself was crispy on the outside, soft & chewy on the inside.
If you come to Japan, these are two products I'd definitely recommend.
Lastly was the high end Matsusaka beef.
I was tempted to just snack on this by itself, but my wife said I should put it on top of rice and so I did. The beef was mixed with bamboo and was quite sweet.
I didn't know what to expect, but sweetness surprised me a bit. It wasn't insanely sweet like something out of America, but it was sweet. The rice balanced it out a bit and overall it was delicious. It has me longing for some un-flavored beef from Ise so I can compare it to some of the A5 beef I've eaten here. I imagine it would be as good, if not better than anything I've eaten here so far.
Here are a few pictures my wife sent me from Ise to make me jealous.
Life can still be good.
For further exploration, here is a great article on Kadoya Brewery, http://japanbeertimes.com/2016/11/ise-kadoya-beer/
