Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle from Yamaoka. Lemony, fruity nose, tropical fruit, esters, biscuity malt. More fruity than the pilsner version. Deep gold, hazy, low head. Sweet and fruity, nice pilsner malt, good tropical and citrus fruit flavors. Nice, not quite coming together as well as the lager version, but fun to try and tasty.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
On tap at Ant'n Bee Tokyo. Black with a small tan head. Quite mild with roasted malt, chocolate, some notes of caramel and coffee. A decent one.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Clear pale gold with a decent white head. Super intense Yuzu. Light Yuzu and pale malts. Nice balance considering the crazy nose.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Hideji Celebration Brew Kotohogi Red Lager 7% I got this to celebrate the new year, a beer made with Azuki beans! Then I was out of town and forgot about it but here we go. A red-amber brown with a thick light beige and long-lasting head of foam. The aroma is fragrant perfumy floral almost with sweet caramel notes. Full bodied and velvety smooth the taste is bitter caramel up front a floral hop bite in the finish and sweet caramel in the aftertaste. Quite nice.
Was worried about the nose at first but boy does it settle nicely, smoooooth, nutty finish. Dark and rich. Lovely beer for a turmoil week so far.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Draft from Craftman Kyoto 8-28-15
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
330 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2019 vintage. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy khaki head with solid retention, that reduces to a thin ring of lace that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk chocolate, cocoa, chestnuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, coffee, licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, chestnuts, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of big milk chocolate, cocoa, chestnuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, coffee, licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Very mild herbal, woody, grassy, spicy, roasted bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, chestnuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread, coconut, coffee, licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, chestnuts, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a solid roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying/acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Minimal warming alcohol for 9%. Overall this is an outstanding flavored imperial stout. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, chestnuts, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish; amazingly soft/silky feel. Fantastic balance of super rich malt complexity and chestnut flavors; with mild earthy hops and fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Black ipa. As you’d expect. So, nice. Good roast bitterness balance.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Green apple maltiness. Bit sweet. Alright.