Save Japan, drink beer! Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA
Last summer, My girlfriend and I spent 2 of the happiest weeks of my life backpacking Japan armed with a rail pass, a few basic phrases of Japanese and enough pairs of boardshorts to make the miserable heat and humidity somewhat bearable.
Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA & a fan purchased in Kyoto
During those two weeks of being a complete outsider immersed in a foreign land, I was completely floored by the kindness and generosity of the Japanese people and the lengths to which one would go out of their way to make sure that our visit to their country was a positive one. We had complete strangers offer to walk us a half mile out of their way to the train station when we were lost, people on the street call restaurants that we were looking for to get directions for us, and when we went to a ball game, people came over to teach us the different team cheers, all so that our memories of Japan would be good ones. Even the little actions, such as helping me figure out a map or sharing a bit of yakitori with me made a lasting impression of the country and its people and I don’t ever expect to find a place quite like it again. When the tsunami struck in March it was tough to watch the news, as I kept thinking back to all of the kind people that we met and their families, hoping that they were safe from the destruction that was occurring. I wanted to do something, but other than donating to the Red Cross (which I did), I didn’t know what else I could do.
Stone Brewing, the craft brew behemoths out of North County San Diego, also wanted to do something about it. When you are one of the most badass breweries in the US, you also have one of the most badass rolodexes, so they got in touch with Baird Brewing Co out of Japan and Ishii Brewing out of Guam to make a one of a kind brew to help out Japan. While we don’t get a lot of Japanese craft brews stateside, the fact is that Japan has a large micro brewing scene and corresponding community, and some of the brews that I tasted while there were downright incredible. Combine this knowledge with Stone’s mastery of the IPA and we get Stone/ Baird/ Ishii Japanese Green Tea IPA, a limited collaboration release that I am fortunate enough to get here on the West Coast. This beer marked the first time Aramis hops were used in a brew, which can be read about here, as I’m here to talk about how it tastes
The beer pours a very light coppery color, with a haziness that indicates that it was in fact made with tea. I poured into a wine glass, as I was at my girlfriends place where I do not have my fancy beer glasses. The nose isn’t as powerful as some of Stone’s other IPAs, but it has the sort of floral, hops & citrus notes that are standard among some of the better IPAs out there. I also detected an aroma of apricots which was very pleasant, as well as a faint whiff of the green tea, but nothing super strong. The taste is hoppy and citrusy intitially, reminds me almost of a Port Brewing Wipeout IPA, but then a flavor of apricots kicks in, followed by the finish where the green tea flavors really hit your palate. It’s pretty subtle but you do notice. Reminds me of the sort of finish you’d get when you drink the cold green tea at a sushi joint, a little sweet & flowery & dry at the same time. In fact, I’ll need to try this with some sushi to see how it compliments the fish. For this particular tasting, we made some Grilled Eggplant and Tomato stacks which were pretty simple and perfect for the warm summer evening. I found that the basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar really complemented the hoppiness and green tea finish of the beer well and that the more mild flavors of the tomato, eggplant and mozzarella really allowed the beer to step forward and shine.
Grilled Eggplant & Tomato stacks go well with the Green Tea IPA
Overall, I recommend this Green Tea IPA as a nice complement to a summer evening meal. I paid only $3.99 for the bottles, so the price is right for this limited run brew. This wasn’t my favorite IPA that I’ve ever had but it was certainly an interesting one and I applaud the brewers for trying something new and making something tasty from the experiment. Get some take out sushi or make something at home that is generous with the olive oil, crank up a little Osamu Kitajima, get a little summer breeze blowing through the pad and relax. I have two more bottles of this that I plan on enjoying soon, dreaming of the day that I get to touch down in Tokyo once again for another Japanese adventure of my own. Kanpai!
