Shiga Kogen Fake Weizen is a blink-and-miss-it limited edition release from Tamamura Honten. Why is it called a “fake weizen”? Well, the beer uses saison yeast rather than regular wheat yeast though it is brewed to a traditional German weizen recipe. It has an abv of 5.5% and was first released on 28th April 2015. Hopefully, it’s an annual release though knowing Tamamura Honten and their limited edition range, it could more than likely just be an excuse to play with us, leaving us wanting for more.
It’s a fake weizen due to the yeast but still a nice beer.
Shiga Kogen Fake Weizen Aroma and Taste
Straight from the get-go, Shiga Kogen Fake Weizen is not your normal weizen. There was no glorious fluffy head and nor was there a banana and clove aroma. During a brief chat with the brewer on email, I was told “don’t use a weizen glass, use a regular ale glass”. The wheaty aroma came through with a spicy saison that would probably induce heartburn in Joe if he were to drink this. The hazy golden colour of the body showed off a strong inkling of saison punch.
The mix of flavours in the body was interesting as the typical wheat biscuit (rich tea if you’re wondering) flavour was mixed up with some dry saison followed up with a citrus kick that worked incredibly well though it was strong, no doubt about it. It came across as a witbier that had been turbocharged though someone didn’t add the cloves for the weizen.
Shiga Kogen Fake Weizen One Line Review
Shiga Kogen Fake Weizen is a unique twist on a weizen and saison that is worth trying. If you can find it.
Where to Buy Shiga Kogen Fake Weizen
Shiga Kogen Fake Weizen can be bought from the Tamamura Honten online store here. If you can’t find it on there. Liquors Hasegawa, known stockists of Shiga Kogen limited edition beers, may have it though at the time of writing Kameya had it in stock too.
