5% a solid cloudy gold pour with a decent filmy head with a big clove spicy weizen aroma. Med-thin bodied but smooth making it dead-easy to gulp down. The taste is tangy fruitiness, spicy cloves and wheat. Pretty damn good. Made once a year a spring/summer seasonal.

Bottle direct from the brewery via their website. Served in a pilsner glass, it poured gold with an orange tint to it & very opaque. A thick head of foam formed but it dissipated fast & left behind virtually zero lacing. Not too surprising as I’ve heard rye inhibits the formation & retention of heads of foam. Malty aroma, sweet grains, slightly bready, some rye & a bit of fruitiness. It has a hint of sourness lurking in the back of the aroma. Light bodied, sugary, lightly bitter, some bready rye or cracker notes... I feel a certain sourdough vibe from this beer. Fruity in the finish, with just the slightest hint of cardboard in the finish/aftertaste. Quite crisp. I find this beer to be a bit too thin bodied & sweet for me but is generally within the style guidelines of the BJCP. An alright rye lage but for a better Japanese Rye Beer seek out the Baeren Rye seasonal.

Harvest no Oka’s Munchner (Dunkel) Bottle, 5% ordered directly from the brewery & served in a beer mug. It pours a reddish-copper with a thick foamy light beige head. Nice nutty notes, weak caramel & some grains almost bready. Thin to medium bodied... somewhat watery. The taste is pretty good, roasty grains, nuttiness finishing on a smooth caramel before giving you a tangy sweet malt finish. A bit of nutty caramel in the aftertaste. I like this more than the pilsner, I think it’s better balanced. Good aroma, nice taste but a thin body, overall a decent dunkel.

Mixed 6-pack from the brewery. Served in a pilsner glass. Served in a pilsner glass. It pours a straw gold with a thick fizzy white head - classic pils/lager look. Soft grassy nose followed by a sweet sugary graininess. I don’t dig the sweetness. Smooth almost slick mouthfeel. The taste is pretty good, the first thing is that sugary sweetness which is a turn off but it is followed by earthy lightly bitter hops, some mint & a solid but light cracker malt backbone. I can see what KyotoLefty meant about it being a touch buttery, it’s subtle but it is there. OK.

Draught at Namba Craft Beer Live 2011. Big malty, grainy nose of rye and malt, with a nice sour edge and fruit. Very strong cereals in the flavor, lots of rye, some apple. Nice and interesting, though the taste does not live up to the nose.

Draught at Namba Craft Beer Live 2010. Decent chocolate and caramel aroma, average medium to dark amber, dunkel color. Tastes a little thin and watery, minerally, got ok caramel but too watery and no real kick. Acceptable dunkel.

Draught at Craft Beer Live, Namba, 2010. Looks nice, light to deep amber, good pilsner malt aroma, nice flavor; a little fruity, a bit buttery, but neither too much. A reasonably good pils. I like it.

Draught at Craft Beer Live, Namba, 2010. Nice fruity and banana aroma with a nice sour edge to cut the sweetness. Not cloying, but tangy and crisp. Nice banana and clove flavors. A good, well-made weizen.