Raw talent
May 30 2008 by Alastair Gilmour, The Journal
Later we turned the sushi-inspired taste-test on its head by introducing a Japanese beer presented earlier by the charming Nami Fukutome, part of a group visiting the North East last week on a reconnaissance tour for a Japanese Picnic Club project taking place around Newcastle and Gateshead later this summer.
For 10 days in August, an 85-foot long aeroplane-shaped lawn will appear in Baltic Square on Gateshead Quays. This, explain the Japanese visitors, is Motherplane – you can picnic on it.
Dozens of smaller Babyplanes will travel around nine other picnic sites in Newcastle and Gateshead, chosen with the help of local people. It is hoped some of these might lay the foundations for a NewcastleGateshead Picnic Club.
Tokyo Picnic Club, Original Brew Picnic Beer (7.0% ABV) is from a range of Nest Beers from the Hitachino company and as the back label is in Japanese, there’s very little else we can report at the moment.
However, it’s a fine example of a speciality brew, a Belgian-style strong dark ale which for all the world is reminiscent of one of that country’s decent, spicy wheat beers. It’s bottle-conditioned, extremely lively, with an initial aroma of ginger that we then decide is a combination of coriander and orange peel. A hint of cinnamon joined the palate along with an earthy vegetableness then the aftertaste returned to a whiff of orange.
And, you know what it accompanied brilliantly? We decided there was too much going on inside the glass to partner something equally flavoursome (it has four malts and four hop varieties in its make-up), so sliced a large triangle of cold mince pie. Its slightly fatty flaky pastry and musty but rich meatiness had food and drink sitting down together, conversing beautifully.
There are Saaz hops in the Tokyo Picnic Club beer, which proves that even in a glass, it’s a small world. Language barrier? Not a bit.
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