How the heck do Tamamura Honten knock out so many limited edition beers so quickly and so often? Shiga Kogen DPA, which means draft pale ale, is kind of a limited edition beer though the draft version of it can be found in places such as Craft Beer Bar in Kannai. Shiga Kogen DPA is a 5.5% American Pale Ale that was first released in bottled form in the middle of April 2015. It’s brewed using pilsner malt with a blend of four different American and British hops.
Better from a bottle than from a straw.
Shiga Kogen DPA Aroma and Taste
The first time I tried Shiga Kogen DPA was through a straw from Craft Beer Bar as part of their 歩きビール, or walking beer, experience. I was in a hurry to get home but wanted one more so it had to be this. However, drinking beer through a straw, and without a bin in sight, was not the cleverest of ideas that I’ve had and before I knew it, the beer had it me and I was one over and struggling to walk. Trying to find a bottle of this was even harder as the usual places had sold out within a week.
Shiga Kogen DPA, both on draft and in bottled form, produced a clear golden body with a reasonable amount of head. The picture above looks like the beer is cloudy, but that was just condensation on the side of the glass so don’t worry! The blended hops packed a serious punch, lots of citrus and pine aromas going on along with a subtle caramel edge from those pilsner malts. A lot was going on in Shiga Kogen DPA, the nose was in overdrive…
With all of the hops, Shiga Kogen DPA is going to be bitter and it was bitter from the first moment, while also erring towards the dry side. It was smooth and fruity though the flavours didn’t last long so more drinking was required to properly analyse the tastes. For science!
Shiga Kogen DPA One Line Review
Shiga Kogen DPA is very drinkable and refreshing but an average American pale ale really.
Where to Buy Shiga Kogen DPA
Shiga Kogen DPA can be bought on draft across bars though the bottled form was on limited release. Keep an eye on the Shiga Kogen Brewer’s blog (in Japanese only) here for more announcements. At the time of writing, Yamaoka Saketen and Liquors Hasegawa are the only shops that had it in stock.
