6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle from the brewery. Black is the label, not the beer. Nose is sansho pepper, lemon, bready malt with light caramel notes. Pours a hazy amber-orange with a low, lacy head. Flavor is fruity and malty, caramel, bread, biscuits, lemon, and, of course, sansho. It is strong, almost dominant, but not as over-done as in many other beers it has been used in. Leaves a bit of the typical mouth-numbing prickly spiciness in the finish. Refreshing and fruity, though I cannot decide if I like the rich malt or if it gets in the way. Not enough malt and it would just be sansho, which I do not like. The caramel may be a bit much, but the maltiness seems to work. Now my mouth is numb, though, which may be a bit too much. Overall one of the better sansho showcases I have tried, not as good as Zakkoku's porter, but better than many beers where it seems to just have been thrown in.