Exotic beers

Friends of mine who recently visited France brought home some Tahitian beer which had nice polynesian artwork on the can. It didn't only look cool it also tasted surprisingly good!

http://www.hinano.com/

Good taste, Klas. This one and Negra Modelo are probably my top favorite ones.

Hefe Weizen (sp?) Dunkel . No lemon please!

(I was just talking to the owner of the distributer (gk skeggs) that carries Hinano for the u.s. last week. They might be getting a (bamboo ben) tiki bar for a trade show in Vegas coming up. Hmmm. Hinano will be coming out my ears!!!)

Jag tücker om Hinano ocksa... det är gutt.

Good job finding our best imported beer...in Tahiti, this beer is a religion, with tee-shirts and hats of it everywhere, and there's even tahitian songs about that beer.

I thought I had tasted a very rare exotic beer that no one here had heard of, but obviously I was wrong :D

On 2003-09-29 02:01, virani wrote:
Jag tücker om Hinano ocksa... det är gutt.

That's very good swedish, only a couple of small errors (Jag tycker också om Hinano... det är gott - I also like Hinano... it taste nice) :)

The Surfites

[ Edited by: Klas on 2003-09-29 04:44 ]

[ Edited by: Klas on 2003-09-29 04:53 ]

Hmm...will have to try to find that beer here. I also brew my own beer, so i'm putting together my own Tiki beer recipe.

[ Edited by: Tiki Bird on 2003-09-29 09:37 ]

If anyone in Socal is interested in trying this (and many other) beer, it can be found at Galco's old world grocery store in Highland Park.

On 2003-09-29 09:36, Tiki Bird wrote:
Hmm...will have to try to find that beer here. I also brew my own beer, so i'm putting together my own Tiki beer recipe.

I make beer too, and have been trying to decide what a Tiki beer should contain... I like fruity beers sometimes, and I make a good cherry flavored beer, but my attempt at a pineapple beer and an Orgeat beer both failed miserably.

Oh well... back to the hard stuff...

Greetings all,
Whilst enjoying myself at the Great Canadian Beer Festival here in Victoria I had this fantastic beer made by the Howe Sound Brewery. It had a nice banana smell to it. Somthing like that would be great as with a Tiki name. Here's a little about this particular one:

Hangdog Hefeweizen 5% alc./vol. A German-style wheat beer brewed with 60% malted wheat and 40% pale barley. The slight banana and clove aroma comes from the special top-fermenting yeast that is characteristic of many weizen beers. In German, "hefe" means yeast; "weizen" means wheat.

I tried many raspberry and cherry beers as well, all soooo good. I'm brewing a beer at home right now that's a Mexican Cerveza, not quite right for a tiki name. I wonder if I can find a good recipe for a hefeweizen?

Aloha, eh
-Tikiwahine

got a 6pack in da fridge already. my favorite.

I've seen Hinano at The Wine Country on Redondo Ave in Long Beach.

[ Edited by: UtopianDreem on 2003-09-29 13:03 ]

TikiBars,
My friends & i successfully made a peach hefe, but i think a tiki beer would have to have some kind of tropical fruit in it. I am attempting to find a mango or passionfruit extract for a pale ale or hefe recipe.

Lambic fruit beers from Belgium are the best out there. They would be a great template for your tiki beer experiments.

HO! a tiki beer would be da bes! hope you come trew wit da idea! I would love to try a mango flavor....my favorite fruit of da islands!

For folks in the South Bay: Bristol Farms (Redondo, Manhattan, Palos Verdes) carries Hinano as well as an excellent selection of rums and liqueurs. (Of course, I always keep the Castaway Lounge well stocked with it also...)

Hefe weizen without lemon? EEeeewww...

It's true that a Hefe without lemon can be a little inspid...but not necessarily if done right. There's a couple micro pubs here in Vancouver that make good'uns, can be enjoyed with or without. And that banana thing - that's normal and essential, it's the main way I judge a Hefe. Yummy!

em

Emspace is right, after drinking lots of hefes in my time ive stop putting lemons in them. My friend in my brew club does a hefe with a little puree banana in it as well.

drool ADDING banana to a hefeweizen? Yummy! Now I'm going to HAVE to try that one!

My first drink in a club was a Monkey's Lunch.(Banana by Bols, Kahlua and milk) After that my favorite thing to do became mixing drinks for friends, mainly concentrating on the sweeter variety, as well as martinis. Mmmm...
Peach on Malibu beach...
(Peach Schnapps, Malibu and OJ)

But seriously, I'm now on the lookout for instructions on home brewing hefeweizen. I'm already designing the label in my head..
:) I see a monkey in a Fez...

Ahh Hinano - A long story, short. Been trying to import it to the US for years. A guy in Hawaii brings it in from Hawaii and distributes it in California. Go to Bevmo.com and you can order it. A little pricey and the taste is not so good since it been shipped 1/4 way around the world, but its good. It is huge in Tahiti - They also have a new beer Tabu Beer - Not as good but I am trying to bring that in now. Hinano will never taste as good as in Tahiti.

I just picked up a 6-pack of the Tahitian beer at the Beverages & More in Danville (No Cal - East Bay - Valley) 2 nights ago! I HAD to get it - although I was already bogged down with Sing Ha and various rums (as well as the Parfait Amour that I can't wait to try!)

My steadfast favorite remains WIDMER Hefeweizen...WITH lemon! Best consumed with a WSU Cougars game on.

I agree, Hinano is best when consumed while in Tahiti after a day of exploring under the hot sun, but if anyone finds any in the NW, let me know. My tiki bar needs it (desperately).

I just picked up a couple of new beers to try and found one that I like: PUMPKIN ALE. I loved it and only bought one bottle...should have gotten more. Before I drank it I smelled its aroma...I highly recommend doing that. I found it at TOP FOODS (in the Seattle area) and it is bottled out of Portland. Perfect for a Halloween party!! This web has a huge picture of the bottle and comments:

http://www.mylifeisbeer.com/beer/bottles/bottledetail/349/

After reading this post last Friday, I found myself craving a Hinano. It had been years since I was in Tahiti & I wanted a Hinano. On the way home, I swung by the local Beverages & More (which by they way is an awesome store, if you haven't been...go). Sure enough, they had them in stock, on the shelf, ready to be purchased. I purchased the entire case (all they had) and I was on my way. Got home, iced them down & I was pleased... they tasted as I remembered. Thanks for the idea and the trip down memory lane.

Tabu (the tiki lager beer) is made from the same factory as Hinano is in Tahiti.
It taste like Corona or Sol...I brought some cool glasses from Tahiti.

when it comes to beer, Hinano IS our drug of choice here, for the most part.

it is as common, almost, in Hawaii, as Butweiper is on da mainland.

friend of mine started importing it from tahiti into Hawaii and orchestrated the distribution elsewhere...

If you want a beer with flavor and fruit try some of Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss. Gotta agree banana or mango beer would be a treat. My dream is still to find a way to finance a Tiki inspired micro-brewery.

http://shop.leinie.com/page.htm?PG=berryweissnews

By the way this page even has drink and food recipes that you can make from the beer.

"May the Tiki Gods bless you and always keep your life Tikifull!"

[ Edited by: Tiki-Toa on 2004-06-21 07:44 ]

On 2004-06-21 07:41, Tiki-Toa wrote:

My dream is still to find a way to finance a Tiki inspired micro-brewery.

I thought i was the only one with this dream, damn i wish i was original, Tiki inspired mirco-brewery...Yes please!!!

Tbird.

Tabu from Tahiti is actually good. Its a little sweet but good. I dont think its going to make too much headway against Hinano in Tahiti.

I make beer too, and have been trying to decide what a Tiki beer should contain...

we brew our own here island side;
lilikoi hefe, guava hefe...

ono!

On 2003-09-29 10:26, tikibars wrote:

On 2003-09-29 09:36, Tiki Bird wrote:
Hmm...will have to try to find that beer here. I also brew my own beer, so i'm putting together my own Tiki beer recipe.

I make beer too, and have been trying to decide what a Tiki beer should contain... I like fruity beers sometimes, and I make a good cherry flavored beer, but my attempt at a pineapple beer and an Orgeat beer both failed miserably.

Oh well... back to the hard stuff...

I've heard of a Tribal New Guinea beer... I believe it's made from yams. Has anyone tried (thought of) brewing something like this?
-FB

On 2003-09-28 19:42, thechikitiki wrote:
Good taste, Klas. This one and Negra Modelo are probably my top favorite ones.

Negra Modelo is also one of my favorites. Fortunately, living in San Diego it's not too hard to come by. Even my local taco stand serves it. My fave German beer right now is Spaten Optimator (for Oktoberfest). Also the local S.D. micro brews can't are popping up everywhere. The Alesmith Evil Dead Red Ale (jus' in time for halloween) is killer.

I am a recognized beer judge...sounds fun, but it's tests, arguing, evaluating crap... work. (lengthy critiques trying to keep enthusiastic brewers upbeat, but kicking them in the ass for the bilge I'm forced to drink and smell)

The Banana you are is one of two things. The molecular chains that make banana smell like banana can be reproduced during fermentation. Sometimes it's on purpose, sometimes not. (Other tropical fruit, and spices can be reproduced too, clove being the most common) One screw up...and it can go from Banana to Butterscotch, creamed corn, or bandaids...such is the nature of fermentation

Typically it's the result of esters formed in warmly fermented ales, and is often more exagerated with the presence of wheat.(My favorite Cnadian Brewer ferments at an unheard of 94 degrees f)

Unga Bunga hit the nail on the head with the Belgian Lambics...they're magic. Incredibly complex, and the sweet of the simple sweet ale is ballance with the acid of fruit rather than hops. (This also can be achived with Meads.)Tru lambic are from a tiny area where the organisms in the are are perfect for brewing. it's an area about 12 sq miles...

There are some Brewers in Canada and a few in the US making these sorts of beers...it's an expencive risk to try to recreate, and sell to a public of Bud drinkers.

The lambic brewerys in Belgium are filty, usually leaky barns, and the beer actually ferments in open vats with spiders and dust around. (so the spontanious yeast can create the ale)

To actually add a banana to fermenting beer would most likely be bad, but possibly nasuiating (But it wouldn't actually kill you)

Bananas are quite starchy. If you wanted to use the starch converted to a sugar, it would have no charachteristics of banana left. If you added it at the end of fermentation it would cloud your beer but worse yet there is a chance of forced fermentation of starch...the result if this can be buteric acid.

Buteric acid is the most fucking horrible thing on earth (next to mimes) and is what is used to make natural gas smell.
Adding banana juice to beer just before you drink it might be good...like the Irish having chandy's before church...

Fruit extracts can be purchased, and mostly are horrible...but best if added after fermentation, before kegging or bottleing.

I don't have any idea what you guys like about the Tahitian beer...please describe what is pleasing about it? I didn't find it much different than a typical Mexican beer.

If any of you can find a style called Saisson or "Belgian Farm House ale" (DuPont is the most common one around here) please try it and let me know what you think.

On 2004-10-29 19:03, Gigantalope wrote:

I don't have any idea what you guys like about the Tahitian beer...please describe what is pleasing about it? I didn't find it much different than a typical Mexican beer.

You're right, the Tabu (Tahitian beer) tastes a lot like a Mexican beer with one difference; There's a Tiki on the bottle!

Other than that the fascination escapes me...

On 2004-10-29 19:01, Shipwreckjoey wrote:
My fave German beer right now is Spaten Optimator (for Oktoberfest).

Mmmmm Optimator. One of my favorites (along with Paulaner Salvator).

These are Double Bocks (or Dopple Bocks). If you have never tried a Double Bock you really owe it to yourself to get one. Don't drink it too chilled and please use a glass.

Hakalugi That's a great style. The strong maltiness (a bit sweet) cuts thu mouth burn in spicy foods...

German beers are not so wild and kooky as other places, but one style I find intreguing is Rauchbier. As the name emplies it's Smoked. The grain is lightly smoked with Beech or Alder in big kilns (it's a very old style, probly done originally to keep bugs from the grain) It takes some getting use to...but if you like smokey food, salmon and bbq stuff...this beer is worth a try. It's origin is Bamburg, and they say you can't judge it until you've had 6 litres...then decide.

It's traditionaly a lager, but other brewers make Ales in this style now (Like smoked Porters)

Scots brew an ale made with peat smoked malt which is much different, and has no wood qualities.

For folks kicking around the idea of a traditional Tiki Beer, there are two ways to think. Ingriediants (or flavors) associated with polinesia, or tastes complementery to food associated with tiki.

A style which is really splendid too is witbier, made in Belgium or Holland. the ale is brewed with those kooky fruity esters with the tropical aftertastes, and is slightly spiced with correander, and sour orange peel (yes oranges) specialy grown in Curasau.

[ Edited by: Gigantalope on 2004-10-30 16:34 ]

Tara or Poi might be able to be converted from starch to sugar, then used to make a beer...That's a thought. (it would be a similar process to making Pumpkin Ale)

A brewery in Reno named Great Basin (owned by a palentologist) makes a wonderful beer in Autumn using local flora.

It's not my favorite beer, but it's well made, very interesting and fun. What spices specifically come from the south pacific which might be considered for a Tiki Beer?

Also in West Africa, Palm Wine is popular...Not sure what kind of plams it's made from, but at the top of adult trees there is a small reservior of sweet slightly alcoholic juice which might also be a thought for something wild and Tiki.