Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale by Tamamura Honten

Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale is a 5% American pale ale from Tamamura Honten and is sometimes advertised as AfPA in bars. While it does have the word Africa in its name, Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale is not made from any African ingredients. The concept behind the beer is that it is halfway to being an IPA based on the voyages of IPA in the past from Britain to India being stuffed with hops so the beer could last the journey.

Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale in the wild

The lesser spotted Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale as seen domesticated.

Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale Aroma and Taste

This is not my first try of Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale as I did have a pint of it at Craftheads in Tokyo and also at Craft Beer Bar in Kannai. It has a light caramel orange body with a meagre amount of head to it but this bottle was close to its best taste date. Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale is definitely on its way to becoming an IPA but waiting for that puberty spurt to kick in. It has an ever so slight citrus and hop front to it.

What makes an IPA an IPA is the hoppy, astringent kick when you first try one followed by an assault to the taste buds in some cases. Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale doesn’t possess nearly as much of that as I thought it would really. The body was thin and crisp but not watery and had a wee bit of hoppiness to it that was more soothing than astringent.

While the regular IPAs are citrus bound, Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale had a more refreshing, tropical note to it that conjured up hunting gazelles on safari. I jest. More of a sitting on a beach, relaxing under some palm tress.

Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale One Line Review

Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale is light and refreshing enough to be a good session beer that is worth finding.

Where to Buy Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale

Shiga Kogen Porter can be bought online, at the time of writing,  at the Tamamura Honten store here or you can try craftbeers.jp here.

Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale Second Opinion by Rob

I managed to get a pint of Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale at Craft Beer Bar in Kannai and found it to be a generally crisp and refreshing take on an IPA. While it has an ABV of 5%, I drank a couple of them relatively easily due to the moreish aftertaste. Well worth finding it.