Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat is a 5% wheat ale from Tamamura Honten, based in Nagano, Japan. It’s part of their limited edition range and was first released in May 2017 as part of a 10th anniversary celebration to the Yuru Buru blog – which is run by the headbrewer at Shiga Kogen, Ego-san. By the time this review for Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat comes out, it will probably have sold out as only 1950 bottles were made, while it can be found on tap in some places.
Citrus and wheaty – what else should you expect from Shiga Kogen?
Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat Aroma and Taste
The most surprising thing about Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat is how similar the draft and the bottled version appeared – talk about not being able to tell the difference. The hazy copper orange colour was adorned by a meagre amount of head in the bottled version but the draft did have a frothy white head – which was really the only difference between the two. The lemony citrus aroma was the first to come through, but then a slight edge of peaches and wheat came through once Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat had warmed up. I didn’t really expect much else from it though surprisingly, the citrus aromas faded fast.
There was an interesting roughness to Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat – not quite sandpaper like but it did feel like some more filtering could have been done on the beer as it did tickle my throat a tad. The tropical fruits were strong of pineapple, peaches, and some grapefruit thrown in for good measure, with wheat just coming through in the end. It finished off with a fruity flourish before a slight peppery kick in the end.
Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat The Bottom Line
It’s a shame Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat is going to be a one-off as it was a nice change from usual wheat ales.
Where to Buy Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat
Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru Wheat can be bought online at the following places:
