Bottle from Yamaoka. Nose is just nasty coffee that comes off more as pickled chili peppers than anything I ever drank in a cup. There is some sweet caramel malt hiding under there, but it takes time to come out. Vegetal and nasty. Deep amber-brown with a low head. Flavor has more caramel malt, but it comes off as simple and cloying, less coffee, but still the coffee flavor is sour, vegetal, and nasty. Woody flavors too. This is a terrible use of crappy hipster coffee in a sloppy base beer.

Nice stuff. Lots of tofffe I guess from the esb meeting the coffee. Aroma is out coffee but the taste is softer. Can’t taste the booze which is good but also worrying.

Nice. Bit NE but doesn’t have the thickness. Bit twiggy.

Sudden sunshine and heat so time for one of the summer beers I’ve got on hand! Shiga Kogen Summer Saison 5.5% Nice gold with a thick head of foam and white pepper saison aroma. The taste initially starts the same but ends very bitter with an almost metallic earthy bitter element and eggy sulfur. It’s ok but I found that finish rough, in the heat it still disappeared fast.

The rain had me wanting something a bit maltier... Shiga Kogen E2SB 6% Experimental Extra Special Bitter-02 Great looking matte orange brown with a dense beige foam to me screams ESB. Fruity hops up front then malty caramel cocoa. Medium bodied and finished quite dry. This is a very solid ESB. Good example of the style to me.

Shiga Kogen Talus IPA Songle Hop IPA 6% Golden hazy orange with a dense off white head that lasts. Orange with woodsy notes and a slightly floral tropical piña colada aroma. Medium bodied and full flavored with this underlying somewhat tropical thing going on. Quite an interesting hop but it feels like it would shine with something like Sabro, Citra or Mosaic...

Shiga Kogen x Trunk Imperial Coffee ESB 8% Columbia El Paraiso Double Anaerobic Washed Ruddy orange verging on brown, it has a quite nice soft roast coffee aroma. Medium to full bodied with a big earthy coffee flavor up front with mild fruit notes in the finish. Alright but not too sure this coffee blend is for me and I don’t really get the whole “double anaerobic washed” thing...

light amber color. Nice earthy character with apricots, citrus and apples underneath. Nice solid backbone, firm bitterness. Lovely mouthfeel and definitely malt forward. Nice earthy citrus finish.

Shiga Kogen Fake Pils 5% I wasn’t sure what was fake about it and thought it was maybe made like a kolsch but the label says all Noble hops but not using a lager yeast. Nice opaque gold with a thick head of foam that lasts. The aroma is a touch grassy and herbal hops with sweet Pilsner malt notes. Medium bodied and quite earthy with a somewhat chalky bitter element. Quite refreshing in a blazing hot summer day especially for 500¥.