Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer is a 5% dry stout beer from Kinshi Masamune Shuzo in Kyoto. It is available in these 330ml bottles or for the more hardened or stronger drinker, jumbo 1L bottles that come with flip-top lid for resealing. Like the rest of the Kinshi Masamune range, Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer is a top fermented beer brewed using locally sourced water that also is used in Kinshi Masamune’s range of sake too.
Yeah, it’s a stout. Wasn’t expecting that.
Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer Aroma and Taste
I really wanted a pilsner when I got home from work and reached into the fridge and grabbed Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer. Without thinking, I opened it and poured it into a glass and was a bit surprised as you can imagine when a black beer came out and not a blond coloured beer. My initial instinct was to pass this off to the wife but thought what the heck, drink it and review it. So lucky you reader.
Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer poured out pretty lively from the bottle though nothing as bad as the now infamous Amaou Oatmeal Black, aka the pocket grenade beer. The body had a dark brown, almost black, colour to it with a slightly brownish head on top. There was some funky aromas coming of the beer with some coffee mixed in with a bit of sweet, caramel malt though the weird fruit aroma too of sour figs was worrying.
The funkiness continued into the body of Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer as that sour fig aroma was present in a mainly dry beer. The body was a tad thin and a overly carbonated for my liking for a dry stout and quickly gave me the burps. The sour funk carried right on through to the aftertaste along with a mix of the chocolate and coffee taste too.
Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer One Line Review
Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer is too thin and overly carbonated for my liking and seemed to be a jazzed up version of a dry stout. It’s ok but not worth it unless you’re trying to complete your Japanese craft beer collection.
Where to Buy Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer
Kyoto Machiya Heian Beer can be bought from the following places:
- Kinshi Masamune Shuzo online store here
- Isetan Department store in Kyoto station
