8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Deep amber color. Lots of smoked bacon a dna cheese. Medium full bodied with great depth but modest hop bitterness that I would have liked a bit stronger. This is very malt forward. Still very good .
Tried
on 11 May 2025
at 13:44
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle from the supermarket. Surprised to find a new Otaru beer here in Kyoto! Bready malt nose, biscuit and honey, herbal hops. Toast, light nut, tiny caramel. Clear deep gold inching towards amber, with a full, thick head. Lovely. rich malt flavor, not sweet, bready, slightly yeasty. Very light hops. Soft carbonation (they say it is natural carbonation). Slightly doughy, with toast and a touch of caramel, probably Munich malt. Quite nice, supremely quaffable. Kind of reminds me of typical Bavarian Lager bier or Export. Definitely not a pils. Bitterness is light to medium, just enough to balance.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Nov 2023
at 08:14
8/10
The smoke is strong! Little bit of sweetness too. The next night the smoke isn’t strong. Lovely rounded richness with the smoke balanced against the malty sweetness. Great stuff!
Tried
from Draft
at
Hininituka
on 13 Apr 2023
at 05:55
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
(Bottle) Pours clear golden with big white head. Subtle aroma of citrus, malt and grass. Medium body with plenty of soft carbonation. Good taste. Nice pilsener bitterness. Some subtle biscuit malt. Very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Jan 2023
at 09:24
7/10
Malty. Hint of sweetness. Alright. Easy drinking.
Tried
from Draft
at
Otaru Soko No.1
on 06 Oct 2022
at 15:38
7.5/10
Nice stuff. Decent roast but not full on. Not so much of the soy sauce. Touch of creaminess and a bit of chocolate.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Aug 2022
at 13:02
7.5/10
Full on weizen taste but not so much banana but it’s there. Something else fruity too. Feels full on in the mouth too.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Otaru Soko No.1
on 29 Aug 2022
at 13:02
7.2/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6
Otaru Schwartz 5% Nice looking brew with deep cola black and a thick rocky beige head. Aniseed, black licorice, chocolate syrup in the aroma. Medium bodied with a thick bitter chocolate paste flavor with roasty elements. Solid but not the flavor profile for me.
Tried
on 19 Oct 2020
at 04:20
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle, mail order from the brewery, since the re-emergence of the covid threat cancelled my plans to visit them this week. Shiny black with a big, bubbly, pretty tan head. Nose is roasted malt, dark chocolate and a bit of coffee, a touch of licorice, a hint of vanilla. Some fruitiness too. Great nose. Flavor is dry, roasty, 80% cacao chocolate cafe au lait. burnt woody notes, light fruitiness, like plums or figs. Finish is dry, roasty, some licorice and coffee. Excellent Schwarzbier, really. Dry and crisp and leaves you wanting another gulp.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Aug 2020
at 08:21
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
I haven’t had an Otaru Pilsner since I was at their taproom in Hokkaido years ago: Otaru Pilsner 5% Rich golden orange in color with a honey bready aroma with a soft herbal hop bitterness. Quite full bodied and the taste is the same with sweet honeyed malt then a crisp semi-spicy herbal finish. I prefer the Helles but this is nice too.
Tried
from Draft
on 17 May 2020
at 07:09