Arriving back to a new country, after getting parts of the house and work and kids set up... well, then comes the very much onerous task of discovering, exploring, and tasting the local offerings. For me that it more the beers, ciders, and the spirits... and for my wife, it is more along the lines of the wines. Honestly, I have no idea what people see in wines... I can't really drink much of them... except for the sweet dessert wines that is, and my wife gets cranky at me if I have those with dinner. Even more so, when we are at a restaurant!

Anyway... a while back, I wrote about a local brewery where we had lunch. I figured that I would just look up their website to see if they did any orders, or if I would have to drop by to pick up some tasters. I did remember loving the red ale that I had with lunch there, but although they did sell the red ale online, I really was after more of a tasting box of beers from them. Unfortunately, the mixed case didn't include the red ale... ah well, maybe I could order that separately next time!

So, This box of 16 cans is a taster of the Capital Brewing Company's most popular ales. Most of these seem better suited to a refreshing summer drinking sort of thing, outdoors in the heat... but they are decent for a warm house house indoors in the winter as well! So, a selection of Ales in this... for some reason, I've always been more attracted to ales rather than lagers and other types of beers (I die if I have the dark ones...). I have no idea why, I don't even really know enough to know the difference between them all... other than that I will prefer the ales, and I should avoid the dark ones.

So, XPA, Summit Session, Hang Loose, and Coast are the selections for the taster box... so far, I've had the Hang Loose and Coast Ales... and I do have to say that they are pretty decent and easy to drink. These are more the refreshing types of ales, if you want more of a punch in taste/depth, then you will have to look elsewhere... but for me, this is the sort of thing hat I'm after in a dinner accompaniment.

Meanwhile, I also ordered a case of a Japanese Craft Beer called Yoyogi (I had some euros to burn on a debit card...). Anyway, I had tried this in a restaurant in Sydney ... and it is a delicious (and again refreshing) pale ale with hints of mango and passionfruit. Honestly, this has been one of the best ales that I have ever had.

Originally it was an import from Japan, but recently, they have started brewing it in Australia as well, and can be found on a specialised Japanese liquor site that ships throughout Australia. This was the sort of love at first taste that had me googling purchase options at the restaurant right after tasting it! Interestingly enough, it is one that my wife loves... and she isn't always a fan of beers.

The 24 pack of the Yoyogi comes with a lovely enamel/stoneware "glass". It is pretty cool, but it is quite a strange feeling to be drinking from it... but definitely a welcome addition!

... if you are curious, you can find more of those stoneware cups at the above instagram. Although, I figure if I want more of them, I will just order more beer!

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