Last night we were graced by a Super Moon — though sadly it was visible only very briefly though the overcast.
A couple of days earlier we were treated to the arrival of Blue Moon...
It was the Japanese launch of the beer of that name and — as you might expect, given that the beer is backed by the massive marketing clout of one of America's heftiest beer companies — the event was a major splash.
It took place in the gorgeous plush surroundings of Anjin, the cafe/bar upstairs at the brilliant Tsutaya complex in Daikanyama — still one of my favourite spaces in the city, a year and a half after it first opened.
It's a nice beer, with a certain complexity of flavor, courtesy of the coriander and other aromatics, and a smooth mouth feel (as they say in the trade) which comes from the addition of oats to the mash. And it's not as challenging in flavour as the Belgian white beers after which it is modelled.
I'm not a huge fan of sticking wedges (or even slices) of fruit in my beer. But it looks pretty, and it makes a welcome change from the prevalent (and quite limited) standard selection of Japanese lagers. In short, perfect easy drinking for the summer months.
In fact it should win over quite a few more drinkers of mainstream beers to try some new and different tastes. And from there to discover the exciting parallel universe of craft beer.
In that sense, Blue Moon constitutes what those in the business might call a gateway beer: a few sips and before you know it you'll be hooked on the hard stuff... triple IPA.
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