Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale by Kankiku Shuzo

Apologies for the appalling photo today of Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale but it’s been sitting in my collection for ages and I forgot to take a “better” one. Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale is a 5% American pale ale brewed out on the East coast of Japan in Chiba just up from Kujukuri town. It can be found in most tourist locations in Chiba as well as on tap in some local bars too. Moreover, it’s an all-year round beer and is brewed using the same water that Kankiku Shuzo use for their sake.

Welcome to my nice tidy kitchen.

Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale Aroma and Taste

I really fancied a beer this day and it was the first one to come out of the fridge. Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale is perhaps better known as a product of the ji-biiru era of tourist locations producing a beer for beer’s sake rather than thinking about the process.

Besides the “cute” dolphin that appears to be doing a flip on the front of the bottle, Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale didn’t really have much going for it before I opened it. Tourist beers and BeerTengoku don’t have the best of relationships and I was expecting this one to fail at the first hurdle. It didn’t. It poured out a slightly hazy amber colour with a little bit of head on top. Next hurdle coming up and it had started to tire already. The aroma wasn’t strong nor bold; the hoppy aroma that you might expect from an American pale ale was lacklustre and flat. It was far more malty than hoppy, lending itself to more of an English pale ale style of beer.

This was no more evident than in the body where the malts were first and foremost and the hops, well, they seemed to be an afterthought as they were either missing or toned so much that they had given up. It wasn’t as sweet as an English pale either, so perhaps a cross between an English and an American pale ale. I wonder if the brewers had an argument halfway through and went from one extreme to the other?

Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale One Line Review

Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale is a pretty poor pale ale that is best avoided. Save your money.

Where to Buy Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale

Kujukuri Ocean Beer Pale Ale can be bought from the following places:

• Kankiku Shuzo
• World Beer Market