Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle from New Beer Distributors. Pours muddy burnt orange with off white head. Nose and taste of toasted barley, burnt caramel, molasses, earthy toffee malt and birch sap/resin. Medium bodied.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Part of their 3900 yen Rakuten Thank You Set. 6% A nice robust Porter. It poured with a brown head and a dark black color. It’s fairly light and easy to drink for a dark beer and goes really well with a brownie. Good stuff.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Swan Lake Ale 5% A clear gold with a thick white soapy head of foam. The aroma is crackery malts and floral/fruity noble hops. Medium to light bodied with a crisp clean flavor and balanced taste of chewy mild malts and soft fruity hoppiness.
This kind of deft execution reminds me of what Swan Lake is capable of. This beer went from a 2.9 to a 3.6
-------original review from July 9th, 2013 ------------
Part of their 3900 yen Rakuten Thank You Set. It is a very light malty beer with a little hop flavor. I found it refreshing but kind of weak and thin for me...
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Part of their 3900 yen Rakuten Thank You Set. 5% A very light crisp, clear and refreshing lager. The label calls it a Golden Lager. The second time I had it was after drinking an IPA and it tasted much maltier with the rice clearly coming through and I felt it was more palatable.
Earlier Rating: 7/9/2013 Total Score: 3.4
Part of a 3900 yen Thank You Set direct from the Brewery via Rakuten. Horoyoi means tipsy and it is a very light crisp lager that is extremely drinkable. The pink label with a woman on it reinforces that this beer is intended for women. At 5% it would make a good session beer.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Bottle from Tanakaya, Tokyo. Pale golden colour with a white head. Aroma is fruity, hops. Slightly bitter. Flavour is malty, grain, fruit.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Bottle at RBJG 2 Grand Tasting. Opaque yellow colour with a white head. Sour wheat aroma. Sightly sour wheat and citrus flavour.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Draft. Cloudy yellow color, medium white head. Aroma of clove and banana. Taste is spiced banana bubblegum.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6
Draft. Dark brown color, tan edge head. Aroma of caffe au lait. Taste is heavily roasted coffee grounds.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
Tap at the Griffon at Shinjuku. Black colour with a medium sized beige head. Roasted aroma with some hints of chocolate. Weak flavour of roasted malt.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Tap at the Griffon at Shinjuku. Hazy orange colour with a small off-white head that leaves a heavy lacing. Spicy caramel, hops aroma. Flavour is fruity, raisin, malt.