たべもの: Part 3 – かんぱい / Cheers to the Drinks

For a quart of ale is a dish for a king..

The Winter’s Tale (Act IV, Scene 2) by William Shakespeare

Much ado for some ale, ain’t this right?

Well, the importance of such seemingly innocuous quarts of ale cannot be understated, given the historical records of consumption of the same dating back to even the Age of the Civilisations. Good drinks have always walked alongside good foods for as long as humankind can remember. And the drinks need not be alcoholic at all for that matter.

Hence, no talk of food can ever be complete without a fair elaboration of the drinks. And Hokkaido is no exception to this rule.

I know the title and the short introduction has generated enough thirst for the liquid gems of Hokkaido. So, without much further ado, let’s start exploring them one by one

かんぱい / Kanpai / Cheers..

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Select “elixirs” from Japan

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In the previous story, I had described about the my tryst with the fifth dimension of taste – うまみ / umami and a short description of other culinary gems from Hokkaido. (Click on the links to read more)

In this edition, I shall lay emphasis on drinks majorly from Hokkaido, but some others from other parts of Japan as well. They will be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

And I am grateful to have experienced them. Honoured to explore them and try to know a bit about their stories. Elated to taste the perfection.

I. Milk

Location: New Chitose Airport, Hokkaido

Nature: Non-Alcoholic

What’s so special about just milk, even if it’s organic?

I know this question might be making you a bit restless or annoyed, as after all, many of you might have wanted something “exotic” or “alcoholic” drink in this post (I’ll get to those as well).

But if someone having a terrible lactose intolerance and hatred towards raw milk places that drink on top of his list, then this has some merit associated to the product. Just as the source of the milk is the farm directly and devoid of processing, which assures its freshness and tops the charts in terms of local content, the milk itself is devoid of the offensive and nauseating smell I detest and instead has a mild smoky taste associated with it. The milk is non-homogenised, giving it a sweetish taste with the real taste of milk solids playing harmonious melodies on the taste buds. A lactose hater like me has to acknowledge the raw superiority of Hokkaido’s Milk over any other raw milk, even homogenized milk for that matter. Maybe the highly volcanic soil, regularly fertilised by mineral rich volcanic ash has something to do with this. Hokkaido, like all of Japan, means Perfection.

And rightfully, Hokkaido is the Dairy Capital of Japan. Imagine what other dairy delicacies are in store in Hokkaido if the raw milk itself is this great.

II. Hot Chocolate

Location: Shiroi Koibito Park, Sapporo, Hokkaido

Nature: Non-Alcoholic

Now, what’s so special about a cup of hot chocolate?

On a beautiful and picturesque Monday morning during spring-time, you begin your sojourn across the smiling cherry-laden landscape of Japan. Speaking of Mondays, imaging yourself encountering an unexpected Monday “blue” in the form of heavy sleet with ocassional snowfall which makes the Mercury plunge headlong into the ground, resulting in sub-zero and freezing temperature, within minutes. This will be a welcome sight for a Chionophile like me, but let’s assume most are not.

Fortunately, you are stuck in one large and iconic dairy and confectionery factory, cozying up behind the glass doors while you watch the nearcy mountains turn from green to white. And let your imagination run wild, dear reader, when you are served with exquisite hot chocolate, made with absolute perfection, amplified in effect by the weather. The Perfection levels just shot up more than the plunge of the mercury. The factory takes pride in its confectionery products and milk based products which make them so loved all across Japan. The drink contains a perfect blend of sweetness and smoothness and falls way short of overwhelming the senses with too much sugar. I don’t know how Japanese sweets or drinks regularly fall in the “Shangri-la zone” of being savoury without too much sweetness, but this is Japan and perfection is a part of the daily life here.

III. Otaru Beer – Dunkel

Location: Otaru Beer & Brewery, Otaru, Hokkaido

Nature: Alcoholic

Otaru Beer and Brewery is a quaint and idyllic restaurant cum brewery located in one of the erstwhile warehouses along the canal in Otaru (more about it in a separate blog post). The restaurant is themed after a traditional German beergarten (brewery or literally, beer-garden). The menu is mostly German, as are the brewed beers. Now Otaru Beer is highly celebrated not only in Hokkaido but also Japan in general.

The variant shown here is the Dunkel Beer, which is one of the three main beer variants made and sold here (the other two being Pilsner and Weiss). The Dunkel Beer has a rich brown colour which contains dictinct notes of caramel. This smooth and flavoured beer is best tasted alone in my opinion, but it went well with the Okhotsk Mackerel grilled fish I ordered – a locally produced and cooked dish with a local beer. It’s great to be sitting in a German themed brewery adorned with gigantic copper cylinders for brewing the beer, giving it the ambience of a 14th Century German tavern, located amidst Dutch canals. What elsse can be referred to as “Perfection”?

You may read about the food preparation here.

IV. Otaru Beer – Helles

Location: Otaru Beer & Brewery, Otaru, Hokkaido

Nature: Alcoholic

The Otaru Beer brewery doesn’t fail to amaze and here is the Helles beer variant from the brewery. The Helles beer is quite smooth with significant notes of orange infused in it. There is slight bitterness of the hops as well. Overall, this gives one the typical experience of German lagers – but thousands of kilometres far away from the German shores. I paired it with the wasabi rice crackers, it tasted well.

V. Sapporo Classic Beer – Hokkaido Edition

Location: Almost anywhere in Sapporo, Hokkaido

Nature: Alcoholic

The name Sapporo Beer precedes its fame. Though this limited edition Classic Beer (made only for Hokkaido) came to me as a stroke of luck I should say, while I undertook an ill-fated climb of Mt. Moiwa in Sapporo (talk about cancellation of the cable car due to maintenance). I got this from a local supermarket and it is simply mind blowing.

This limited edition classic beer has fans at a global level and many visit Hokkaido just to take this beer home. The Sapporo Beer Company itself is renowned globally though for having scientifically cultivating the best of the ingredients itself to bring out the best taste in the beer it produces.

The Classic Beer is rich and flavourful with distinct taste of malt and elegant fruity aroma. It’s rich taste refreshed my mind, and despite the freezing cold outside, this beer held its ground in terms of refreshment. The alcohol isn’t strong and never hits you hard although this may vary from person to person. Overall a very light and extremely smooth and refreshing beer, living upto its reputation, aptly taking the “Vocal for Local” campaign to the next level.

[.. continued in page 2 .. ]