Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA is a 6.5% American IPA from Tamamura Honten, based in Nagano, Japan. It’s part of their limited edition range and was first released in June 2017 to celebrate the opening of The Farmhouse – a small little bar and hotel owned by Tamamura Honten. If you hadn’t guessed, Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA is another Japanese attempt to introduce the New England style of IPAs into Japan. The brewers at Tamamura Honten first travelled to New England in November 2015 to get some ideas for beers and this was the first of them to be released.
Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA Aroma and Taste
I was lucky enough to try Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA in both bottles and on tap as it seems whenever a Shiga Kogen limited edition beer is released, it sells out incredibly quickly. It doesn’t help that the online sales were set to 12 bottles per person – so there was definitely some bulk purchasing going on, but as they say, you’ve got to be in it to win it. The draft version has been much easier to find but also suffers from the same problem in that as soon as it goes on sale, it sells fairly quickly, with the draft version I had at Molto! selling out within a day.
Both versions poured out a hazy amber orange colour with a clear frothy white head on top that stayed from start to finish. It’s probably a good idea to serve Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA in a metal cup or container as it really does look horrendous.There was a lot going on in the nose with a big orange and passion fruit aroma coming off Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA with hints of grapefruit and lemon too. Like most American IPAs, Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA had no discernible malt profile, besides a slight sweetness but then with so much fruit going on, then it wouldn’t be a surprise if I had mistaken all of that for the malts.
If you drink orange juice with bits in, then the texture of Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA won’t come as much of a surprise. It’s a “juicy” beer, so not refreshing or dry in the slightest possible way, with a lot of fruity flavours going on – orange, passion fruit, mango, grapefruit, and lemon – heck, it has so much going on that Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA probably contributes towards your 1-a-day fruit and vegetable portions. After a while though (maybe two or three good gulps) Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA begins to overwhelm the senses and just eventually pummels them into liking the beer and getting it down. The fruit flavours linger into the aftertaste and the middle of the next beer.
Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA The Bottom Line
I don’t care for New England IPAs, and Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA did nothing to convince me otherwise.
Where to Buy Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA
Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPA pretty much sold out in bottles straightaway though if it comes out again it can be found online at:
