It was early in the afternoon when we returned from Asahikawa and it was time a nice afternoon nap. After the light snooze and freshening up, we decided to head out for dinner. Walking through the lobby we noticed, not one, but three weddings taking place!
I guess the Old World charm of the Hotel Monterey makes it a hot spot for weddings!
We noticed that it wasn't very cold out as we walked to our dinner destination. I was told that we absolutely should try Jingisukan (Genghis Khan) while in Sapporo and while it was kind of touristy, we should at least check out the Sapporo Beer Garden. It was a pretty relaxing, quiet walk.
There are several restaurants on the premises. We chose the very casual "Kessel Hall", which has a large beer cauldron, made in 1912 looming over it.
While the place seemed a bit busy, we had no problem getting a table. In an interesting move, we were given large plastic bags for our jackets…..which should have been a hint as to what we'd be exposed to.
After a rather large breakfast and ramen for lunch, we weren't very hungry, so while the all-you-can-eat option wasn't even in the plans, we just ordered a single portion of the mutton with vegetables.
And some other items from the menu that we were curious about. Loved the nice piece of fat used to coat the griddle.
We also got a mug of the Sapporo Hokkaido Limited which I thought was a bit lighter and sweeter than the usual Sapporo lager I have once in a while.
In an earlier post I mentioned Hokkaido produce and dairy products. We had a chance to try a few items from the menu; first Hokkaido baked potato….which, unlike the potatoes in Peru and Spain, were really mild in flavor. Also, being cheese lovers, we jumped at the chance of trying Hokkaido cheese, this one being a nice and creamy, but very mild in flavor. We both prefer Camembert with a more full bodied riper flavor.
The mutton actually had a pretty strong, gamey flavor which we both enjoyed.
The fat basted the bean sprouts and the onions added a mild pungent flavor. It was just enough for the Missus and I.
There was one interesting downside to eating here. Remember I mentioned the plastic bag for our jackets? Well, we should have actually worn plastic over our clothing as the place has no ventilation.
It was so thick that it could almost knock you over. We ended up quarantining our clothes from this visit until we had access to a washer in Tokyo!
Sapporo Bier Garten
9-2-10, Kita7Jo, Higashi-ku
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
There was one thing we learned about at information center. A very nice woman was giving out samples of Hokkaido corn soup, the stuff is made from a powder, so I've always been leery. It was actually very good! The Missus really wasn't interested in trying it, but I had Her try a sample and She was hooked. We bought a couple of boxes home with us and though we can't find the exact same brand here in San Diego, we found one that is a reasonable facsimile. It's great as a little snack or even breakfast on a colder morning.
We took a short detour on the way to the hotel…..trying to stay downwind from folks as we visited the basement of Daimaru looking for some snacks.
There was a Hokkaido Products shop along the way and I purchased a little "nightcap" for me.
This was a nice Hefe, for some reason the fragrance reminded me of bananas! It was a mild, but refreshing beer, which I enjoyed. We were headed to Otaru in the morning and I recalled Kat and Satoshi had visited the brewery a few years earlier. So we now had another item for our agenda!
Yeah prefer not to smell like the food.
Banana and clove scents are classic attributes of hefeweizen. These aromas come from esters produced by the yeast. Many American wheat beers, however, use yeasts that produce very little flavor, for a beer that is focused on grain and hops.
I say let the yeast do what it wants!
/end beer nerd mode
Agreed Billy.
I agree Pam…..after all, look what Cantillon does with spontaneous fermentation. I’ve had Hefeweizen with distinctive clove, but never that much of a banana fragrance.
I always know when Satoshi eats at places like these because his clothes smell oily/smoky
Hi Kat – I’m kind of used to smelling mildly smoky for Korean BBQ places, but man, this one was bad.
Hi Kirk! Did your hair still smelled smoky the next day? I always have to take a shower after Korean BBQ to get the smell out of my hair. Can’t imagine how long I’d have to shampoo my hair after this place.
Hey Carol – I actually washed my hair twice! So nice to hear from you; hope all is well.
It took me a moment to decipher what the words on the barrels meant. I was trying to read it side to side when in fact it’s top-down.
Interesting Junichi….I didn’t even ask the Missus if she knew what was written on those barrels.
In Japanese the barrels say: “麦とホップを製すればビイルとゆふ酒になる.” Roughly means “when you process wheat and hops it turns into an alcoholic drink called beer.” It was used as an advertising catchphrase back in 1876 when people in Japan were still unfamiliar with beer. If you look at the original brewery when it opened the same words are painted in the barrels.
http://blog.sapporobeer.jp/hatakebeer/2014/03/21/2257/
Nice! Thanks Junichi!