Sake Gorilla!

We're interrupting this OCD-ish obsession with the registers to discuss something far more important....BEER!

Slate has an interesting article on the craft beer industry in Japan. For those of you who don't know me, and I imagine that would be everyone, I helped my father brew beer when I was a child. We typically made porters and stouts, with the occasional bock. Although I might have received the occasional sip once the beers were ready, I never really partook of the beer - even during my more rambunctious high school years.

That changed drastically when I went to college. Let's just say I never really needed a fake ID. My roommate and I would just brew the beer in the dorm kitchen and let the beer ferment in our closet. Now that I think about it, that was probably much worse than having a fake ID. Oh well.

Although it's been decades since I brewed my own beer, I have a deep fondness for craft beers. When I lived in Shimane, Japan, I was lucky enough to live a couple of blocks away from the greatest liquor store on Earth, Sake Gorilla:

Picture courtesy of Torie and Erik. Thanks!

It was there that I first purchased chili beer. Yes, I said chili beer. It's a tasty, tasty lager with a little bite to it. Much like tequila with the worm, chili beer has a "surprise" in the form of a chili actually in the bottle itself.

In my law school years, I was a big fan of Celis, an independent brewery in Austin that sadly went out of business in 2001. They made the greatest white beer. The brand name was purchased by Miller, and then subsequently sold to another brewery. Sadly, I think that has meant that it is not the same beer, and not as easy to find. And then there is the national beer of Texas, Shiner Bock, that has become fairly ubiquitous over the last decade.

When I lived in Edinburgh over a decade ago, I became a big fan of ciders. Although it's hard to find any craft ciders, most places seem to specialize in the typical Strongbow and Woodpecker fare.

Nowadays, the Mrs. and I are members of a bar that specializes in bringing new craft beers every week. She's a big fan of IPA's. I'm going through a stout phase, and have really been enjoying coffee stouts like Southern Tier's Jahva.

So does anyone out there have any beer favorites of their own they'd like to introduce?

DISCLAIMER: I swear I'm not an alcoholic, I typically have less than 3-4 drinks per week.

PS: Don't Drink and Drive.

PPS: At the risk of ruining my disclaimer, next week I'll discuss my favorite wines.