Tap at iBrew. Lots of caramel, salted maybe, bit of sweet potato! Slightly thin. Aroma is more sweet, but still slightly salty. Bit earthy. Strangely appealing.

The note is no longer in effect as they’ve now released the 5% version in 2014. Bottle from CBB, 490 yen, served in a half-pint glass. A clear reddish brown pour with minimal head & no lacing. The aroma is vanilla & caramel but not caramel malts more caramel syrup. The taste is caramel candy, sugary sweet, vanilla, tangy finish. Thin bodied with a light unsatisfying mouthfeel. Not sure why but it disappoints me a gimmicky beer but ok for all that. I also get a distinct corn flavor sometimes... The ingredient list says it is made with vanilla beans & over 50% malt so perhaps some corn or rice is used in making this...

Bottled, from Yamaoka Sake Shop, Kyoto. Cloudy nut brown, small head. Well... caramelly nose. Sweet and medium bodied with clean, rounded mouthfeel. Mildly hoppy with non-surprising caramel flavour and low bitterness.

Dirty brown color. Lots of caramel going on in the nose and through out, but I found the body was a bit wimpy. Hops are not surprisingly, subdued. Caramel is there without being overpowering. I didn’t pick up much beyond caramel. Strange beer, but tastes better than it sounds. Nice to try once, but hardly would reach for this again.