Bottle from the brewery. This is basically a sticke, a stronger version of their Amagi. Alt-like nose, caramel, minerals, brown sugar, earthy hops. Pretty red-orange-brown color with a low head. Sweet caramel, brown sugar flavor. No malt complexity, seems like extract. A bit of spiciness. Simple, but no real problems, and probably the best of the four.

Bottle mail ordered from the brewery. Nose of cocoa, light coffee, burnt wood, and a bit of cream. Not such a full nose, but decent. Pitch black, slightly dull, with a pretty, high tan head. Dry, roasty flavor, some cocoa, coffee, a bit astringent and burnt. They seem to have this problem in all the beers. No real malt fullness, but no off flavors either and so far the best of the 3. Body is too light though.

Bottle mail ordered from the brewery. Nose is rather typical Japanese altbier: some caramel malts, light brown sugar, some minerals, a bit of dry, earthy hop. No defects, although not exactly exciting either. Amber-orange, low bubbly head. Flavor is rather plain caramel malts, grassy, earthy hops, somewhat sugary and thin. Quite bitter in the finish. Meh. Not terrible really, but too thin, too bitter in an unbalanced way, and not much real character. Better than the kolsch, though. As it warms, the malt gets a bit richer and almost nuanced, but the harsh bitterness also increases. Seems to have improved since 2009! (Not a whole lot though).