Tom Pepinsky

Author: tompepinsky

  • Mixed Bag

    A Recent Sample of Thoughts

    1. *Ahem.* What did I tell you about the problems of lax copyright enforcement? They make it hard for people to know which are the authentic restaurants. The Jakarta Globe has a story that not only touches on the same topics, but also uses many of the same examples that I do.
    2. Sometimes I wonder about the logic behind the naming of establishments. It seems like I've seen a number of stores in the past couple of days that have store names that don't seem so germane to the things that they sell. Or I guess I mean, "that's not the first word that comes to mind when I think of how to think of a snappy name to sell that product." Examples: Pro Steak. Groovy Pet Supplies. Hong Kong Family Travel Shop & Fun. Town Hall Cassette and CD. Big Top #1 Interior Design. Ritual Coffee to Go.
    3. I saw a law firm yesterday with the following sign: Assiddique and Ass. I know what they mean, and probably you know what they mean, but that sign probably doesn't help much to increase credibility among foreigners.
    4. If I were a graduate student in anthropology, looking to do field research in Indonesia, what would I study? I've thought about this topic from time to time. (EDIT: I realize what this means. Not only am I a professional dork, I daydream about being a dork in my spare time.) Here are my ideas.
      • The spiritual/cultural meaning underlying the decorations that people put on buses and bajajs (three-wheeled motor carts). (cultural anthropology)
      • The consequences of the Western obsession with "organic" and "local" food for farmers in a tourism-focused and export-dependent developing country. (economic anthropology)
      • How wealthy neighborhoods organize to provide themselves with physical security after the breakdown of a highly coercive authoritarian regime (political anthropology)
      • The strategic use of Islamic messages (rather than Western-inspired ones) by feminists agitating for equal protection and social justice in a patriarchal society. (political anthropology plus religious studies)

  • Storm Beer (Bali)

    The craft brewing craze has arrived in Indonesia. Seriously. I was strolling around one of Jakarta's swanky malls this weekend, pricing bespoke suits (everything's out of my price range), and happened across a fancy grocery store. I always have fun looking at grocery stores in other countries, and so I took a stroll through it. And while there, I noticed a display selling five kinds of specialty beers brewed by a firm called Storm Beer, based out of Bali. So of course I had to get a couple to sample.

    Having lived for some time in the Napa Valley of beer, I have pretty high expectations of craft breweries. (I also have a limited tolerance for annoying craft brewing techiques, like brewers that attempt to outdo one another making the "hoppiest" or "strongest" or "darkest" beer in search not of good taste but rather of superlatives. But I digress.) So here are my reviews of three of Storm Beer's selections. I decided to skip two of them (Bronze Ale and Pale Ale) because I tend not to like those styles very much, especially pale ales. The remaining three are the ones that looked most appealing.

    5-19-09

    Before we get started, let me admit that I have no idea about how to taste and or rate beer. None. So this is just me aping the way that I've seen other beers rated.

    Storm Beer Golden Ale
    Pours a large head, but is highly carbonated so it evaporates quickly. Cloudy with a golden color. The nose hints of wheat and hops. The initial taste is wheat and yeast, followed by unidentifiable sweetness (not like a honey or sugar sweet, but I can't describe it properly). Dry bitter finish and aftertaste. Overall: for a summer beer there is probably too much flavor here, but it is pretty good and I prefer this to the standard local swill.

    Storm Beer Iron Sout
    Pours a nice head, also fairly carbonated. Brown/black in color. The nose smells roasty. Taste is surprisingly bitter and thin, less big and chocolatey or malty or roasty as I would prefer in a stout. Bitterness continues though the finish and aftertaste. Again, the word that comes to my mind is "thin." Overall: this is unremarkable as far as stouts go, but it's not a bad beer in general.

    Storm Beer Tropical Ale
    Another big foamy head, highly carbonated but less than the Golden Ale. Lemony yellow in color, not cloudy but still opaque. A distinctly skunky nose, reminiscent of the lower rungs of the Milwaukee ladder/my sock drawer, but combine that with a whiff of lemon. Confusing taste: starts with lemon, then moves to grassy and herbal flavors. Also a bready/yeasty note which does not combine well with the others. Finishes with more lemon and some light hops. Citrus taste lingers for a bit, and is not unpleasant, but the last bit of the aftertaste is of Icehouse. Whoops. Overall: sock drawer + Icehouse: this is a disappointment. Maybe a slice of real lemon might help. Would not drink again.