Tap at Bungalow. Roasty nose, some cocoa, but of citrus. Light body. Roasty flavor, coffee, charcoal. A light dry stout. Ok.

Tap at Molto. Brilliant golden color, clear, low head. Smoky nose with pale malts. Lovely smoke and hop character, clean malts, crisp and pilsner-like. Smoky, very drinkable. The best beer they’ve made recently.

6% on tap at Ibaraki Bakuon, I am glad to see breweries making more releases. They also had a black bitter. This poured a light opaque gold with a centimeter of thick creamy looking foam. Odd for a rauch but it has a nice smokey aroma with a hint of berry fruitiness. Medium bodied with a rough mouthfeel. The taste is pretty decnt - bitter smoke and berries with light maltiness and lingering smokiness. Interesting and alright.

Tap at Craft Man, Kyoto. 5.0 %. Hazy yellow-amber color, small steady white head, lace. Aroma has peach sweetness. Medium-bodied. Sweet peach fruity flavor. Light bitterness. Tastes like a fruit beer.

33 cl bottle at a tasting on October 30, 2013 (backlog). Thanks to Ingo!Marked 3-26-12.Kotobuki Brewing - Original ale breweryKuninocho Beer 5%Gold "Original Light Ale".Sort of happy out of the bottle, build up very happy out of the glass when poured. Clear pale golden color, huge fluffy off-white head, settles to a nice top. Intense fruity, citrus, mandarin, yuzu fruit, lychee, fresh scent. Fruity, citrus, zest, pith, a bit cloyingly sweet, dish washing liquid taste. Sweet, citrus aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel, surprisingly low CO2, low to very low bitterness.Smells super nice, taste much less nice.

5% Cinnamon version, bottle from Yamaoka. A cola brown pour that’s black in the glass with a light beige head that dissipates a bit fast leaving behind a bit of lacing. Freshly poured it gave off a strong cinnamon aroma but the roast coffee beans kicked in wiping it out. A definite coffee beer vibe. The body is medium with the taste being mostly coffee, some dark chocolate in the finish but the taste is slightly rough. I am not getting any cinnamon possibly it needs to warm up... Yep, after it warms up you get some cinnamon sweetness to it but it is stil mostly coffee. Not terribly balanced, kind of over the top but ok. I was expecting more cinnamon... Not a bad beer per se but average, if this was marketed as a coffee beer it’d be closer to the mark.

Bottle from Yamaoka. Very strong cinnamon nose, also coffee, cocoa. Somewhat harsh and over-done. Very dark brown, almost black, but dull, and cloudy, with lace. Somewhat sweet and chocolaty, but strong coffee or spice bitterness too. Roasty, woody, spicy. Better than the nose, but too dependent upon the additives, which don’t really seem to go all that well together. The coffee is rather poorly done. There is sake in this like their other kijo beers, but it doesn’t really come through, drowned out by coffee and cinnamon.

600 yen 10 oz at Bungalow, 4%. Now back in production after a 5 year absence, was it worth the wait? A dark cola brown with a tan head that lingers & clings to the glass. The aroma is sweet chocolate malt. The taste is bitter coffee, some roastiness & a bit of chocolate in the finish. It has a spritzy body due to a light but highly active carbonation. It is a nice enough beer but a bit too bitter for me, it still needs some refinement. Average. ---UPDATE 2014 version---- I didn’t realize I’d had this before, it definitely seems to have improved. On tap at Ibaraki Bakuon. I am guessing this is the same as the Dry Stout they recently released? They said not... now 5% it pours a dark brown which is virtually black with a chalky soft cocoa nibs aroma. The beer has a medium body and ok mouthfeel. The taste is a bit umami licorice, dark chocolate and cocoa powder. It’s gotten pretty good but is less imaginative than their smoke ale.

Draft at the brewery. It has a nice golden straw color with a fluffy white head. Mild carbonation & it is fairly true to style. A grassy hay like flavor, thin mouth feel. It is ok. I think it is light & refreshing but drinking it on a cold winter day is disappointing, it is a beer made for a hot summer day. It’s decent but I think that their Gold is by far their best brew. I don’t buy craft beers to drink middle of the road lagers...

Draft at the brewery. It poured a beautiful clear amber with a light brownish-white head. It was highly carbonated & slightly opaque. It had a malty fruity taste with a mild bitterness. A decent amber beer but not so flavorful.