July 2024

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[German Beer Purity Decree]

The summer heat is getting hotter and hotter every year, but for some people, this heat makes beer taste even better! Sapporo's annual summer festival “Sapporo Summer Festival Odori Beer Garden” is held in Odori Park, located in the center of Sapporo City. In each section of Odori Park from 5-Chome to 11-Chome, there are beer garden venues sponsored by major Japanese beer companies, as well as venues serving beers from overseas and craft beers from various parts of Hokkaido, making this a summer-only event where visitors can enjoy a variety of beers under the blue sky. Among them, the 11-Chome venue is the “Sapporo German Village,” where you can taste German beer, the same beer served at the Oktoberfest festival held in Sapporo's sister city Munich, Germany, which celebrates the start of the brewing season, along with German sausages and home cooking! Beer is a popular drink in Germany. Germany is associated with beer lovers, but it is not just beer lovers; beer is a culture for Germans, and they are proud of their German beer.

To begin with, the history of beer is very old. In the Mesopotamian civilization, which is said to be the oldest human civilization around 4000 B.C., a clay tablet called the “Blau Monuments” was discovered depicting the Sumerians making a drink that was the origin of beer, and it is considered the oldest beer on record. At that time, beer was made by grinding dried barley into flour, baking it like bread, crushing it, adding water, and leaving it to ferment for a while. It is known that beer was also consumed by the civilizations that emerged later, and beer has been an essential part of people's lives since ancient times.

In the Middle Ages, with the spread of Christianity in Europe, beer was brewed by intellectuals and monks in monasteries. Because it was difficult to secure safe drinking water in those days, beer was better preserved than water, which tended to spoil easily, and “glut,” a proprietary blend of herbs and medicinal plants that gave beer its flavor and aroma and made it more resistant to spoilage, was used. In addition to rehydration, beer was also used as a nutritional supplement and medicine, making it a valuable health drink. However, it became known that among the herbs used in beer, hops were superior in terms of taste and antiseptic effect, and hops were increasingly used as an ingredient in beer. Brewing of beer, which had been done mainly in monasteries, began to be produced by civilian brewers due to increased demand and other factors.

However, as the beer spread, the quality of the beer deteriorated, with the addition of herbs and other plants harmful to the human body, and even products that were no longer even considered beer were sold. In 1516, Wilhelm IV, who ruled the Bavarian region in southern Germany, issued the “Beer Purity Decree” in order to overcome this situation. The decree prohibited the addition of ingredients other than “barley, hops, and water” to beer. Since yeast had not been discovered at the time of the decree, the law was later amended to “barley, hops, water, and yeast.” However, this law protected the quality of German beer, and the high quality of German beer has been passed down through the years. Although the law has been amended up to the present day, many breweries still follow this law as a proof of German beer. However, if the ingredients are limited to these four types, does this mean that all beers are the same? However, each brewery produces its own unique beer by carefully selecting the four limited ingredients and paying particular attention to the malt made from barley.

The traditional German beer produced by the German people, who take extraordinary pride in their beer, can be enjoyed at beer gardens in Sapporo until Wednesday, August 14, but Otaru Beer Otaru Warehouse No. 1, located a 5-minute walk from our Otaru Showroom, will be serving this traditional German beer as a beer pub. Otaru Beer and Otaru Warehouse No. 1, a five-minute walk from our Otaru Showroom, is a beer pub serving this traditional German beer year-round. The store is a stone warehouse along the Otaru Canal, and is actually not only a beer pub but also a brewery, with a large brewing kettle in the store and a brewery tour. In Germany, it is not “beer for now,” but “beer from start to finish! Because it tastes so good!” Otaru Beer is a great place to enjoy German beer in summer or not, so why don't you enjoy the difference from your usual beer?

Otaru Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/otaru.html
Otaru Beer, Otaru Warehouse No. 1 (Every Thursday and Saturday, all-you-can-drink beer for 3 hours for 2,200 yen including tax)
https://otarubeer.com/jp/?page_id=357
Sapporo Summer Festival
https://www.sapporo.travel/summerfes/

References
https://www.sapporo.travel/summerfes/event/odori11/
https://www.brewers.or.jp/tips/histry.html

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[Spare Ribs with Rice]

“Spare ribs” are popular at yakiniku and barbecues. It refers to the ribs of a pig and the lean meat around them. It is a bone-in meat with moderate fat content. It is also widely used not only for grilling but also as the main ingredient in stewed dishes.

The other day, I bought spare ribs that were half-price at the supermarket and froze them. I decided to make them into takikomi-gohan (mixed rice) to have some rice to beat this hot weather. The only ingredients are rice and spare ribs. The seasoning is a little less salty, which allows you to enjoy variations in taste.

Suggested toppings include soy sauce, salt, fresh spicy horseradish, finely chopped pickled takana, pickled plums, and onion koji. Spices such as five-spice powder and cumin powder can dramatically change the aroma and impression of the dish. Five-spice powder gives the dish a Chinese flavor, while cumin powder gives it a Middle Eastern flavor.

Pork is rich in protein and B vitamins, which are essential for a healthy body, and is said to relieve fatigue and boost immunity.

Rice cooked with spare ribs

Ingredients:
300 g spare ribs
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
3 cups rice
Water + seasonings* for a total of 3 cups of rice

*2 tablespoons soy sauce
*1 tablespoon oyster sauce
*2 tablespoons sake
*1/2 tbsp honey
*1 garlic clove, grated

Preparation:
1. Pierce spare ribs with a fork and rub salt and black pepper.
2. Marinate the spare ribs for 10 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan and brown the meat in step 2.
4. combine the marinade and water to make a total of 3 cups, then add the rice, spare ribs, and water to a rice cooker and cook normally.
5. When cooked, mix well and serve.

Hakusan Porcelain's Hirachawan
https://www.shokunin.com/en/hakusan/hirachawan.html

References
https://www.nipponham.co.jp/recipes/meat/knowhow/pork/01.html
https://kuradashi.jp/blogs/kuradashi-magazine/254
https://macaro-ni.jp/51149 (Reference recipe)

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[Hario's V60 Ceramic Dripper has been added]

The V60 Coffee Dripper easily reproduces the taste of flannel drip using a paper filter. It was born from the brewing of coffee using an experimental triangle funnel and paper folded into four pieces within Hario, which started as a manufacturer of physical and chemical products.

The V60 Ceramic Dripper, with its smooth, unclouded porcelain surface, is individually handcrafted by artisans in the Arita ware region, a pottery tradition that has continued for 400 years. The ceramic stone, which contains a large amount of glassy material, is fired at a high temperature to reproduce a hardness similar to that of the original mineral, resulting in a dripper that is easy to handle and durable. It is characterized by the ease of changing the flavor of the coffee depending on the speed at which the hot water is poured, from refreshing when poured quickly to full-bodied when poured slowly. It was awarded the 2007 Good Design Award.

Arita is a pottery town that has cultivated delicate techniques. The reliable quality drippers produced from these techniques are used in Japan, specialty coffee competitions, and cafes worldwide. We hope you will experience the world-class quality of our drippers through your daily cup of coffee.

Hario's V60 Ceramic Dripper
https://www.shokunin.com/en/hario/
Concept Movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4cBRgfap1k