KansaiBeerLovers (8927) reviewed Sakura from Niigata Beer 11 years ago
Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 2 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 1
Bottled on March 14th, bought at Yamaoka. Served in a plastic IKEA glass along the Takasegawa in bloom. Light peach fizz looking pour, it is a cloudy orange pink! Incredibly sweet, yeasty, peach & syrupy aroma. The body is light very watery, ultra carbonated. The taste is sweet, sake yeast fruity notes, vanilla & not at all beer like - more like a cocktail or Chu-Hi. This is awful, it tastes like some kind of horrible candy sweet cocktail was filtered through cardboard. Avoid avoid avoid, this was a total drain-pour or rather a Takasegawa pour. I had to open a Tokyo Black to just to wipe the memory of this from my mouth.... Bleh... by far the worst beer I’ve ever had from this brewery.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
Shared by mick at the Kyoto beer festa. Dark brown pour with a light beige head. Malty sweet nose. Very malty sweet almost spicy with a bit of sourness to it. Ok but fairly average.
KansaiBeerLovers (8927) reviewed Niigata Beer from Niigata Beer 11 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
A muddy gold pour with a Belgian zesty vaguely farmhouse aroma. It smells much nicer than it looks. Fairly light bodied, the taste is zesty yeast spice notes, caramel & a bit of chemicalness but overall ok. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
4.5% bottle from Yamaoka. Served in a snifter. A cola brown pour with a very thin tan head that vanished as soon as it started. The aroma is sweet, yeasty, candied fruit like plums or figs with just a hint of chocolate in the finish - think fruitcake or brandy cake. The flavor is quite good, like a fruity dark Belgian beer, warming but it is just 4.5%! The taste is sweet, fruity, figs, with chocolate just being present in a sweet fudge/caramel finish. Probably one of the better Japanese Valentine’s beers out there. I really like it but it isn’t so chocolatey, tons of flavor for the low ABV. Think of it like a Westmalle dubbel with a hearty dose of chocolate flavor in the mix.
KansaiBeerLovers (8927) reviewed European Kolsch from Niigata Beer 12 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle from Yamaoka, I had this in the summer of 2012 after biking up to their shop and back home on a hot summer day. I think it was the first kolsch I had and I cracked it open as soon as I got home. Man did it hit the spot! It poured a clear gold with a light head, a mild hoppy bouquet with a similarly light malt presence. The taste was crisp & clean with a light bitter finish. Since I knew nothing about kolsch I read up on the style as I drank it, it was pretty spot on. Maybe KyotoLefty got a mislabelled body or they sorted out the recipe. It was a great beer on a hot summer day and when I drink a kolsch I always try to relive that satisfying first sip but rarely do. Set & setting I guess.
KansaiBeerLovers (8927) reviewed Espresso Beer from Niigata Beer 12 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Bottle from Yamaoka, it poured a dark brown that was black in the glass with a medium body. The taste was decent with a true bitter coffee burst of flavor so it lived up to it’s name. I second WestKyoto when he says the mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side for a stout.
KansaiBeerLovers (8927) reviewed Black from Niigata Beer 12 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Bottle from Yamaoka, 4.5% Schwarzbier served in a beer mug. Inky black pour with a good 2 fingers of tan foam that dissipates fast leaving behind no lacing. Looks more like a stout than a schwarz to me. Umami, soy & licorice nose. Body is light to medium, this thing oozes candy black licorice flavor with a surprisingly nutty bitter slightly ascerbic finish. Not for me as I dislike dark licorice. My wife liked it. Once it warmed up some coffee came through and fudge like notes though for me it never really gels.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
At a tasting at KyotoLefty’s place. Bottle. It poured a really light failry clear gold with a funky, smokey & light spice aroma. The body was light whereas the taste was a bit rough, spicy & some smoke. I thought it was decent but didn’t have terribly a lot of ryeness to it, earthy.
Davros (5279) reviewed Black from Niigata Beer 13 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 4
Pours black with a fading tan head.Nose shows roasted malt, a chalky clean agent note, industrial notes and ash. Not great...Flavours include roasted malt and treacle along with an astringent note. Again, not particularly tempting.Body feels a bit watery.Quite possibly the worst dark beer I’ve tried.
Davros (5279) reviewed Niigata Beer from Niigata Beer 13 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5
Pours amber with a fading head.Nose shows spicy phenols, sweet malt, doughy wheat, honey. Not bad.Flavours are a shock, with rice, soft cardboard-like malt and industrial notes. Not pleasant.Body feels watery.