Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager is a 5% pale lager from Naruko no Kaze, based in Miyagi, Japan. It’s part of their all-year round range and while it can be found in bottles and also on tap across Japan though the latter may be harder than the former. Even though it’s brewed with malt, Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager is listed as happoshu for brewing purposes, and tax, but the ingredient that makes it a happoshu is unknown as it’s not listed on the Naruko no Kaze homepage.
A happoshu but doesn’t smell like one.
Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager Aroma and Taste
Happoshu has a bad reputation in Japan – and rightfully so. The usual can of happoshu that sits on the convini shelf is a concentrated form of hangover in a can – it will give you the runs, the cramps, and a headache in the morning. Yes, it may be cheap and that may be its biggest selling point, but the horrors that lie inside should never be underestimated. You may think you can have one more and you’ll be fine but you won’t and you’ll hate yourself for stooping to that level of “beer”. Why the mini-rant? Because beers like Duvel, Chimay, heck, any beer that has a non-reinheitsgebot ingredient is classified as happoshu.
Which includes Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager. I knew it was a happoshu but couldn’t find what the ingredient was that pushed it into that category. Nothing on the can or the Naruko no Kaze homepage. Yet opening up Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager, it didn’t smell like a happoshu. It had a clean, malt biscuit aroma with a slight noble hop aroma. Not spectacular by any means but not as bad as a regular can of happoshu.
Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager didn’t taste like a happoshu either – sure there was some booziness to it, surprising for a 5% beer, but the malts produced a biscuity flavour with a somewhat sharp crisp bite to it. Like the aroma, I doubt Naruko no Kaze Lager would really win any award nowadays in the lager category but it wasn’t bad.
Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager The Bottom Line
Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager is drinkable but nothing outstanding.
Where to Buy Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager
Naruko no Kaze Kougen Lager can be bought online at the following places:
