Zakkoku Tranquil Ale is a 5% pale ale from Zakkoku Kobo Brewery based in Ogawa, in Saitama, Japan. Zakkoku Tranquil Ale is part of their spring seasonal lineup and can be found in both bottles and on tap at limited places across Japan. Zakkoku Tranquil Ale is brewed using Cascade hops.
Zakkoku Tranquil Ale Aroma and Taste
I had originally been told that Zakkoku Tranquil Ale was a dark ale and not a pale ale – well I had been let down by both descriptions as this beer looked like Zakkoku Cereal Box – a muddy brown mess of a beer with not much going on in terms of head or body. The aroma was pretty much the same too – a buttery, oxidised papery mess of a beer. I was hoping that the Cascade hops could have saved Zakkoku Tranquil Ale once it had warmed up but alas it wasn’t meant to be.
The body too – had they really screwed this beer up so much either during brewing or bottling – that it had gone bad so quickly?
If you have seen the Three Beer Thursday for Zakkoku Tranquil Ale then my thoughts on this beer may not come as a surprise. I really couldn’t stomach this beer. It was well within its drink-by-date, had been stored chilled in my fridge, and the seals were intact on the top of the bottle. However, that couldn’t save this from being a muddy brown mess of a beer that ended up going down the drain. A horrific buttery, oxidised mess of a beer that had a peculiar grainy texture to it that was neither pleasant nor nice.
Zakkoku Tranquil Ale The Bottom Line
Maybe it was the bottling or maybe bad storage from Zakkoku Kobo but this was horrendous.
Where to Buy Zakkoku Tranquil Ale
Zakkoku Tranquil Ale can be bought online at the following places:
