North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale is a 5.5% American Pale Ale from North Island Beer, based in Hokkaido, Japan. It’s part of their seasonal line up of craft beer and can be found on sale from September onwards in both bottles and on tap. North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale is brewed using locally grown Cascade hops from the Kamifurano area – not the first place you think of growing hops in Japan. At the time of writing, it’s unknown whether this will be released in 2017 or not.
Yeah, perhaps the northern climes are not the best place to grow hops.
North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale Aroma and Taste
North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale poured out a slight hazy golden orange colour with a large fluffy white head on top which clung to the glass as the beer went down. It clung on for so long that there was more head than beer towards the end of drinking it. It had a peachy grapefruit aroma with a slight caramel edge to it that grew stronger as the beer warmed up. North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale also had a subtle orange edge to it that was present when the beer had warmed up.
Hokkaido is well known for being a large area of fertile land, with its produce famous throughout Japan; however, it’s a mystery as to why hops have not really been cultivated well in Japan. With North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale, it’s no different. Cascade hops have been a mainstay of pale ales and IPAs but Japanese ones just don’t have the punch of the American ones and that’s where North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale lets down. It has some grapefruit and astringent lemon flavours on the palate but the caramel flavours are too strong for the hops to come through fully.
North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale The Bottom Line
North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale ends up being a rather bland and forgettable pale ale that is neither really an atypical American pale ale nor a promising one.
Where to Buy North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale
North Island Kamifu 100 Pale Ale can be bought online at the following places:
