Tuesday Tasting: Satsuma Shuzo

This week I'm going to look at a trio of beers from Kagoshima Prefecture that my buddy Brian kindly sent to me. I had some of these years ago and thought they were alright but I get the feeling that the recipes have changed. Back then I think only Satsuma Purple was made with sweet potato but it now seems like all of them are.

I received three different styles: 

Satusma Gold, Satsuma Black and Satsuma Red.

The Red replaced Satsuma Purple which was one of my favorite Japanese brews from when I just started getting into Japanese craft beer.

Satsuma Gold 4.5%

A clear bright bass color with a white head of foam. The aroma is bready malts, sweet with a spicy sugary quality I guess comes from the sweet potato. That surgary charact is a bit artificial but not terribly so.

Medium to light bodied with a syrupy texture. The taste is very sugary sweet like some kind of powdered candy but you also get a more typical lager like bready malt sweetness and it finishes quite dry.

It's a weird beer, not as bad as some online reviews painted it to be but too sweet and if that is coming from the sweet potato it is definitely clashing with the other ingredients.

Satsuma Black 4.5%

Also made with sweet potato it pours a cola black with a fizzy beige head that vanished so quickly I couldn't snap a photo of it. 

A nice chocolate fudge aroma with a spicy cinnamonesque quality which is similar to what I picked up in the Gold  which must be from the sweet potato. The dark malts seem to balance that out and prevent it from getting too sweet. 

It is light bodied, a bit too gassy and finishes fairly dry. The flavor isn't bad, roasty, chocolate syrup but it does have that sweet potato character of starchy sugar that is pretty odd.

In this beer the sweet potato sort of works. Decent. 

Satsuma Red 4.5% 

This beer pours blood red with a pink head of foam. The aroma has a fruity wine like character coupled with the sugary spice component I associate with sweet potatoes.  

It's medium bodied with a rich silky mouthfeel. The flavor is sweet though somewhat artificial seeming sweet potato, fruity, some diacetyl but it is weirdly well integrated.

My big takeaway from this brew is of a fruity cotton candy. It’s alright but the discontinued Satsuma Purple was the real winner from this brewery in my book.

Tuesday Tasting: New Belgium

I'm planning on  visiting New Belgium during my trip to Colorado this month so I figured I'd do a small Tuesday Tasting featuring a few of their brews: 1554 Black Lager & Trippel

1554 Black Lager 5.6%

Served in a lager glass it is a deep brown with red accents that verges on black and an impressively thick beige head. The aroma is soft cocoa, chewy breadiness  and an enticing semi-spicy quality. Medium to full bodied with a chewy texture but a raspy carbonation.

The taste is very quaffable with a balanced roast edge merged with chewy chocolate buns. Malt forward, tasty and interesting. A surprise hit with me.

New Belgium Tripel 7.8%

A beautiful bright clear gold with a foamy white head. The aroma is vineous, plum, figs, a bit tart but a very nice example of the style. Medium to full mouthfeel with a dry finish. The taste is crackery pale malts and big luscious candied fruits, figs, plums, raisins and while it has some boozy heat it is quite well balanced. 

I like it, it's a good example of a Belgian Style Trippel, but being in Japan we can get Belgian original versions for less. So if I was in the US I'd go for this in a heartbeat but being in Japan I think I'd get an belgian original instead. Really really nice though.

I didn't realize I had a third New Belgium brew in my fridge:

New Belgium Snapshot 5%

It is listed as a tart wheat beer with a cloudy light gold color that possesses a filmy eggshell white head.

A tart wheat aroma that is very reminiscent of a Gose. 

The taste is wheat, soda bread, some lemon and a mild tartness. It feels to me it is midway between a Gose and a wheat ale. That tartness is very mild in the finish. It's ok but isn't as good as the previous two bottles.

Miyazaki Breweries

I went on a trip in February 2016 to Miyazaki and while there I delved into the local beer scene. Compared to more developed areas like Tokyo or Kansai things are still in their infancy but there's a lot of promise.

Landing at the airport I went straight to the 2nd floor souvenir shop to score some local craft beers to enjoy at my hotel as I wasn't sure how easy it'd be to find craft beer in Miyazaki City. 

2nd floor omiyage shop with an extensive local beer selection at Miyazaki Airport

Hideji Beers at 7-11

I needn't have worried, the station in town also had some local beers and Hideji beer was widely available everywhere from supermarkets to 7-11 and even some tourist type restaurants.

So lets look at what Miyazaki prefecture has to offer in terms of beer. Basically, you've got three options:

Hideji Beer up in Nobeoka is the biggest craft brewery in Miyazaki and is very much in a modern craft beer mold finding their way on to taps all over Japan.

Kirishima Beer is based in Miyakonojo in Southern Miyazaki almost on the border with Kagoshima. They're part of Kirishima Shuzo a mammoth maker of shochu but are slowly expanding and boosting their profile in the craft beer world.

Brewery Aya is located in a farm/hot spring complex to the west of Miyazaki City and is the smallest of the three. I've never heard of them being seen anywhere outside of Miyazaki and they're what you'd call more of an omiyage beer (beers made as a souvenir rather than for regular craft beer drinkers).

Brewery Aya

I picked up the three beers they make at the airport: a kolsch, an alt and a kuro (black) beer. One of the most interesting things about these guys is their 500ml aluminium screw top bottles. 

This makes them great to carry around and also sample in more than one sitting. 

So how did the beers measure up?

Brewery Aya Alt

An orange amber pour with a fizzy beige head that vanished fast. The aroma is alright, grainy, floral fruity (at one point I thought I smelled ripe bananas) and light caramel. Light bodied and very dry. My first impression is biscuit, crackers, corn husks, a bit of sweetness and floral hops. I am just guessing but I almost get the feeling they crushed their malt too fine. 

Very much malt forward but it isn’t as sweet as I am used to in an alt, I think I preferred the kolsch. Paired with some Meiji chocolate the caramel sweetness finally showed itself so if you want to get the most out of this beer, pair it with chocolate.

Brewery Aya Kölsch

A deep gold pour with a fizzy fast-dissipating beige head. The initial aroma was skunk weed, once that dissipated you got a mild grainy sweet aroma with perhaps just a tiny hint of diacetyl.  

It is medium to light bodied with a raspy carbonation and a very very dry finish. I felt it was perhaps a touch overcarbonated. 

The taste is sweet grains, some cardboard and a herbal earthy light bitterness that in the aftertaste makes me thick a bit of pine needles & crackers. A passable beer, nothing is really off with it but then again nothing excels either.


Brewery Aya Kuro (Black)

This is the typical "Kuro or black beer aka a Japanese Schwarzbier that along with alts  and kolsch completes the triumvirate of an unimaginative j-craft brewery. 

Pouring a cola black with virtually zero foam it has an aroma of banana bread and chocolate syrup with a slight graininess. 

Light bodied with that typical Aya Brewery dryness. The taste is roasty chocolate with a slight tang in the initial. Kind of boring flavor wise but not bad. It’s okay. 

Ranking these in my order of preference I'd say: 

#1 Kolsch

#2 Black 

#3 Alt

They’re all fine Omiyage type brews but nothing really stands out about them. Though they are superior to many Omiyage beers in not having any obvious flaws.

Hideji Beer Brewery

Hideji has two main line ups of beer: regular craft styles and fruit beers made with local crops. During my trip, I had a handful of the regular beers which I sometimes come across on tap but rarely see in bottles in Kansai. 

Badass IPL 5%  


This was a collaboration between Hideji and Beer Market Base which is the only craft beer bar I was able to uncover in Miyazaki. It had just been released the week before I went on my trip and of course I had to go to the source to try it (ie Beer Market Base).



It pours a lovely clear light gold with a thick creamy head of white foam. A nice fruity /floral hop bouquet with a dank edge to it. Light bodied and dry with a sharply bitter finish. The taste is woodsy pine with some fruity sweetness in the aftertaste but mostly a lasting bitterness. A solid IPL.

Hideji Shinkan no Pale Ale 4.2%

A last souvenir from the airport in Miyazaki that I enjoyed at home.

It pours an opaque gold with a filmy off-white head. It’s got an earthy citrus hop aroma with an attractive underlying sweetness. 

Medium bodied with a sandpapery carbonation but good flavor of woodsy citrus and a balanced bitterness. A solidly satisfying pale ale.

Hideji Stout 4.5%  

A seasonal release for about 620¥ making it the priciest of their beers I picked up. I drank this while waiting for my take out sumibiyaki to be ready. 

It pours out with a thick viscosity and tan head. Fairly full mouthfeel and roasty chocolate goodness on a velvety body. A lovely roasty oats and cacao aroma. The nicest Miyazaki beer I had all trip. 

Hideji Whirlwind Oroshi IPA 5.2%

Had this on tap at Molto a few weeks after getting back to Kansai. It has a nice juicyfruit hop aroma & an almost white pepper edge to it. The taste is a grapefruit pith bitterness with mild pine notes. It’s alright. 



The fruit beers are part of a Miyazaki no Mori series and use a lager as a base. So far they've made Hyuganatsu, Kinkan, Sweet Potato and Grapefruit I believe.They're also pretty good and worth a try if you like fruit beers.

Kirishima Shuzo Kirinokura Brewery

I first had these guys on tap at the 2015 Great Japan Beer Festival and during this trip I went down to Miyakonojo to enjoy the countryside and some hot springs so popped in to check out the massive new Kirishima Factory Garden Complex which includes free tours of the immense Shochu Factory, a Bakery Cafe, a small Shochu Museum, what looked like a driving range, a spring for people to get high quality free water and the brewery/restaurant/gift shop which offers free shochu samples.

Kirishima Factory Garden

Due to the fact the brewery is expanding I couldn't visit but I did enjoy a good quality light lunch and  tasting set at the brewery. They make 4 regular beers: a Blond, a Golden, a Stout and a Hyganatsu fruit beer. 

I did however, meet one of the brewers who said they brew 2-3 times a week and make about 3000 hectoliter a year. When I mentioned the obvious construction going on he said they're adding 10 tanks and have started brewing seasonals. 

These are the brews that has seen them branch out into more craft type styles like Pilsner, Amber and, IPA but the results haven't been that great so far from what I've heard. Good on them for trying.

Anyways, on to the beers I've tried. I had the whole range at the 2015 Great Japan Beer Festival and then tried a three again at the brewery taproom restaurant.

Kirishima Kirinokura Beer Blond  4.5%

On tap at GJBF Osaka 2015. Crystal clear, it had a big fruity wine like aroma. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel. Tasty bready fruit flavor dominates but it was maybe a touch metallic.

At the brewery it was a murky orange gold with an off-white head. The aroma was like of a fruity creamsicle orange and grains. The taste is grainy, mild fruits, wheat dust and a crisp very mild bitter finish. It looked better at the GJBF but tasted nicer at the brewery.

Kirishima Kirinokura Golden  4.5%

It was a clear brown/golden amber with a malty sweet caramel flavor. Medium-light bodied with a dry finish. Crackery malts, caramel and a bit metallic like many of their beers I had at the GJBF. 

I didn't try this at the brewery unfortunately.

Kirishima Kirinokura Hyuganatsu  4.5%

日向夏 - At the GJBF it poured a crystal clear light gold with a rich fruity nose. Med-light bodied. The taste was a bit artificial but full of flavor. 

At the brewery it's a murky orange gold with an off-white head. A fruity creamsicle orange and grains aroma. The taste is grainy, mild fruits, wheat dust and a crisp very mild bitter finish. A drinkable fruit beer.

Kirishima Kirinokura Stout  4.5%

On tap at GJBF Osaka 2015. It was a dark brown and had a chocolate banana bread aroma. The taste was a decent chocolate flavor but a bit metallic as well.

It has a thick beige head & good lacing on a black body. The aroma has a similar fruity character to the blond but with some roastiness. Sharply carbonated on a medium body. The taste is roasty grainy with chocolate biscuits in the finish.  This is probably a Dry Stout.

We were so hungry so we ordered a yomogi udon (mugwort?) for about 540¥. Good value and interesting compared to the 1200+ lunch sets. If you order this add the spring onions and tempura flakes to the dipping sauce then dip the noodles & eat! 

Mugwort udon!

So that's a look at the three breweries I know of in Miyazaki. Hideji is a fairly big player in the Japanese beer scene, Kirishima has ambitions and is trying to do more while Aya seems content to be a local brewery attraction.

Drink & Dissect: Suntory Craft Select Imperial Stout

Many people have ranted about the Suntory Craft Select series being basically lobotomized versions of the styles they claim to represent. This has especially been the case with their latest offering: 

Suntory Craft Select Imperial Stout

A lot of this stems from the fact it is a measly 6%, so I decided to kick off a new series called Drink & Dissect where I'll analyze a beer side by side with it's BJCP definition.

Let's look at the BJCP definition of an Imperial Stout and break this beer down:

History: Brewed to high gravity and hopping level in England for export to the Baltic States and Russia. Said to be popular with the Russian Imperial Court. Today is even more popular with American craft brewers, who have extended the style with unique American characteristics.

OK so far. Nothing conflicting there.  

History: Well-modified pale malt, with generous quantities of roasted malts and/or grain. May have a complex grain bill using virtually any variety of malt. Any type of hops may be used. Alkaline water balances the abundance of acidic roasted grain in the grist. American or English ale yeast. 

It appears any hops and malts are fine so I guess Suntory remains in the clear.

Vital Statistics:	OG: 1.075 – 1.115
IBUs: 50 – 90	FG: 1.018 – 1.030
SRM: 30 – 40	ABV: 8 – 12%

Now things are getting tricky, 6% is somewhat below the cut off for an Imperial Stout. Even if we go by Imperial simply meaning a ramped up version of a regular Stout the average Suntory beer is 5% so 6% isn't much of a boost and is lower than other past Suntory beers.

Appearance: Color may range from very dark reddish-brown to jet black. Opaque. Deep tan to dark brown head. Generally has a well-formed head, although head retention may be low to moderate. High alcohol and viscosity may be visible in “legs” when beer is swirled in a glass.

Let's take a look, to give this beer it's best chance to impress I decided to use my Spigelau Stout Glass. The color is I'd say on the very dark reddish-brown end of the spectrum, the head is a light beige and it is not opaque. 

The head retention is moderate with it slowly dissipating and leaving some spotty lacing behind. So in terms of the appearance the color is right but it isn't opaque enough while the head is too light in color but has decent head retention/lacing. So 1.5 out of 3 points covered.

Aroma: Rich and complex, with variable amounts of roasted grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hops, and alcohol. The roasted malt character can take on coffee, dark chocolate, or slightly burnt tones and can be light to moderately strong. The malt aroma can be subtle to rich and barleywine-like, depending on the gravity and grain bill. May optionally show a slight specialty malt character (e.g., caramel), but this should only add complexity and not dominate. Fruity esters may be low to moderately strong, and may take on a complex, dark fruit (e.g., plums, prunes, raisins) character. Hop aroma can be very low to quite aggressive, and may contain any hop variety. An alcohol character may be present, but shouldn’t be sharp, hot or solventy. Aged versions may have a slight vinous or port-like quality, but shouldn’t be sour. No diacetyl. The balance can vary with any of the aroma elements taking center stage. Not all possible aromas described need be present; many interpretations are possible. Aging affects the intensity, balance and smoothness of aromatics.

Wow, that is quite an amazing description! The aroma from Suntory's Imperial Stout is most definitely not rich & complex. It has more of a sweet sugary fruitiness. I can see that the fruitiness has a plum like character to it which falls into the style description for fruity esters.

Malt character would be on the subtle side, it's hard to pick out. I could get hints of burnt toast, a smidge of roastiness, a whiff of chocolate but really fruitiness dominates the aroma. Not really what I'm looking for in a purported Imperial Stout and more than the moderately strong from the BJCP guidelines but does match the prominent Fruity Aroma written on the can "フルーティーな香り".

The hop aroma is very low to non-existent but this doesn't conflict with the style guidelines. There's no alcohol character which at 6% I wouldn't expect and thankfully this beer is free of the dreaded diacetyl.

So in this case I'd say it is a miss in terms of the aroma, the things you'd expect in a stout are there but they are not there in the right proportions. 

If you go strictly by the guidelines however I guess it could be considered acceptable "The balance can vary with any of the aroma elements taking center stage. Not all possible aromas described need be present; many interpretations are possible."

Mouthfeel: Full to very full-bodied and chewy, with a velvety, luscious texture (although the body may decline with long conditioning). Gentle smooth warmth from alcohol should be present and noticeable. Should not be syrupy and under-attenuated. Carbonation may be low to moderate, depending on age and conditioning.

This beer has a medium to light body that verges on watery, nah screw it - it is watery. Carbonation is low, there's no smooth warmth from the alcohol, the texture isn't velvety or luscious and it's not chewy. According to the guidelines in this category Suntory Craft Select Imperial Stout fails on every point.

Flavor: Rich, deep, complex and frequently quite intense, with variable amounts of roasted malt/grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hop bitterness and flavor, and alcohol. Medium to aggressively high bitterness. Medium-low to high hop flavor (any variety). Moderate to aggressively high roasted malt/grain flavors can suggest bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, and/or strong coffee. A slightly burnt grain, burnt currant or tarry character may be evident. Fruity esters may be low to intense, and can take on a dark fruit character (raisins, plums, or prunes). Malt backbone can be balanced and supportive to rich and barleywine-like, and may optionally show some supporting caramel, bready or toasty flavors. Alcohol strength should be evident, but not hot, sharp, or solventy. No diacetyl. The palate and finish can vary from relatively dry to moderately sweet, usually with some lingering roastiness, hop bitterness and warming character. The balance and intensity of flavors can be affected by aging, with some flavors becoming more subdued over time and some aged, vinous or port-like qualities developing.

Again this big bold style has a massive description. This beer's flavor isn't rich, complex, deep or intense - it is roasty with a medium bitterness that seems to derive from the malts rather than any hops. I can see some of the roastiness suggesting bittersweet chocolate but there's no coffee, no alcohol, no diacetyl (yay!) but it's got some burnt and fruit notes. 

The finish is moderately sweet and does have lingering roastiness. I'd say Suntory hit about half the points they should have in terms of flavor.

Overall Impression: An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play.

Looking at this category Suntory didn't do too bad: it is roasty, fruity & bittersweet with dark fruit notes. However, anything to do with the Imperial monicker is lacking: no intensity, no tar-like sensation, no alcohol presence and definitely no comparison can be made to a barleywine from this subdued six-percenter.

Comments: Variations exist, with English and American interpretations (predictably, the American versions have more bitterness, roasted character, and finishing hops, while the English varieties reflect a more complex specialty malt character and a more forward ester profile). The wide range of allowable characteristics allow for maximum brewer creativity.

Well I'd guess this would be a Japanese Macro-Brewery variation and while it is tasty enough it is underwhelming to those expecting an Imperial Stout anything like the suggested examples below.

Commercial Examples: Three Floyd’s Dark Lord, Bell’s Expedition Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, Stone Imperial Stout, Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, Scotch Irish Tsarina Katarina Imperial Stout, Thirsty Dog Siberian Night, Deschutes The Abyss, Great Divide Yeti, Southampton Russian Imperial Stout, Rogue Imperial Stout, Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout, Avery The Czar, Founders Imperial Stout, Victory Storm King, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

My main takeaway from this Drink & Dissect experiment is that Suntory Craft Select's Imperial Stout doesn't qualify as an Imperial Stout according to the BJCP guidelines. While some of the necessary qualities are there the low ABV and weak mouthfeel means it should be more properly be a English Porter or possibly an Irish Stout. I'd say it can compare favorably to a Guinness which may be what they were going for. If they'd labeled it a Stout or Porter than there would have been fewer beer geeks in Japan scratching their heads and saying WTF?!?!?!?!!!

All this being said get ready for two new beer releases on December 15th, 2015 in what I assuming is a commercially successful series: IPA and Amber Ale.

For further reading on the Imperial Stout, check out this article from All About Beer here.

Fish Tale Brewing

Fish Tale is a brewery from Olympia, Washington that has recently begun distribution in Japan via Ezo Beer. There seem to be three main series: a Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series, an Organic Series and the regular series. I got a few to try from the regular and Organic series and was lucky enough to have a friend share one of the Hobbit beers as well.

I started off with the Regular series which have cool cartoon like labels and are priced right around 500 yen which is quite reasonable.

Beyond The Pale - Pale Ale 5% 

Less than 500 yen on Rakuten. It pours a cloudy orange-gold with a light beige head. The aroma is classic West Coast hops - pine & fruit - with a good sweet malty base. Medium bodied with a raspy carbonation. The taste is bitter pine, spicy and fruity. A solid pale ale and I loved the label which just screams summer to me.

I then had the Smaug Stout shared by my buddy. The bombers in this series ran closer to the 1500-1800 yen range due to premium for the movie tie-in I guess. This meant I was very happy to get to try it due to a generous soul!

Hobbit: Smaug Stout 8%

A roasty, unami & dark fruits (raisin+plums) plus chocolate syrup. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel. The taste is coffee, roasty, earthy with some chili pepper burn. Really nice. As it warmed up it definitely improved by coming together and melding into a more balanced whole.

Finally, I decided to try their two IPAs side-by-side as I honestly wondered if there was a difference between with the Organic IPA and the Hodgson’s Bitter End IPA.

First up, Organic India Pale Ale 6.5%

The psychedelic hippy label on this doesn't really do it for me but it is a classic IPA copper gold with a solid light beige head of dense foam. The hop bouquet is citrus (lemon, candied grapefruit) & prickly pine that has a very robust malt sweetness supporting it. 

Similar mouthfeel in both beers with a soft round carbonation though the body is medium to light as opposed to the fuller Hodgson's body.

It's got a more balanced flavor profile that features more fruitiness and malt than the Hodgson's and that is a definite plus for me. The finish is a nice little bitter hop kick with a pine & mint bite. I enjoyed this one.

Hodgson's Bitter End IPA 6.5%

The label makes this more attractive right off the bat which is why I've seen the regular series in more shops I believe. I would say it pours a slightly deeper copper gold than the Organic IPA and is a bit more opaque.

The aroma is maltier, fruitier with less of a bitting hop bitterness to it - definitely less pine notes. Medium to full bodied with a soft round carbonation makes for a pleasant mouthfeel.

Wow, this is bitter. The malts provide sweetness but I don't get any fruity hop character, it's like licking a pine cone or what I imagine drinking pine sap tea would be like. Decent malt kick in the finish. I get more of a pale ale than IPA feel from it but it's an old school pine bomb - if you enjoy that kind of thing you'll like this.

I'd say that these are definitely different beers but subtly so and overall I prefer the Organic IPA which is more my cup of tea. 

Final thoughts on Fish Tale in Japan:

A decent brewery at the right price.

Tuesday Tasting: Usami Brewery

I ordered a 4 beer Tameshi-kurabe Set(try & compare set) directly from the brewery and got it less than a week after placing my order.

It included 4 beers: an Alt, a Golden Ale, a Kölsch & a Stout.

Usami Brewery is from the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka home of many breweries taking advantage of clean water and plentiful land. The best known brewery in the area is Baird Beer.

Donau Pale Lager 3.5%

It pours a light cloudy gold with a fizzy white quickly dissipating head of foam. The aroma is a green herbal/grassy hoppiness and a light pilsner malt character. The taste is really green hops, grassy and a flatbread breadiness from the malts. Light bodied but with an ultra-dry finish. A nice clean Japanese table beer.

Rhein Alt 5% 

It pours a very clear reddish-brown with minimal beige foam. The aroma is malt-forward giving you notes of caramel & dried figs/dates. Chocolate, tart caramel, a bit of smoke. Light bodied but a fairly tasty beer though I feel that sour/tart flavor doesn't really seem appropriate for an alt. After awhile that sourness fades and I get maple/tobacco notes. Pretty good.

Gold Kolsch 4.5%


Served in my kolsch glass at home, it impressed with it's vivid gold and thick dense head of foam that left big soapy lacing behind. The aroma is floral then a hayloft type of graininess with subtle hits of a tangy fruitiness around the edges. I was pleasantly surprised as I wasn't expecting all that much from this beer. 

Aqueously light bodied with a silky mouthfeel as the beer glides down my throat. The taste is extremely mild hop fruit notes but predominately the hops come through as herbal/spicy - light but deftly done. Sweet grainy breadiness like a dense loaf of good stuff with a semi-dry finish. Maybe after a long day I just needed a beer or something but this really hit the spot.

Usami Thames Stout 5%

I cracked out my stout glass for this one. It pours a deep brown with a thick beige head that alas leaves no lacing behind. The stout glass concentrates the aroma which gives me a bready cinnamon type yeastiness, sugar plums and chocolate buns. Not bad just not at all what I'd expect from a stout. Light bodied edging towards watery.

The taste is sweet roasty chocolate and light spiciness. This is an odd stout, call it a Christmas beer and you'd have a winner. It definitely grew on me as it warmed up but I'd like more body on a dark beer.

Surprisingly enough, not long after my order I took another look at their homepage and they'd added three more beers: Usami Golden Ale (which I believe is the same as the Gold/Kolsch), Curry Amber Ale (different from the Alt?) and a Saison. 

Judging from the fact that there had been only 4 entries on Ratebeer for this brewery for years and suddenly they're brewing new recipes I am guess they've decided to change directions and take brewing more seriously. If so, good for them and I wish them all the best. This was a decent little tasting set.

Hokkaido Craft Beer

I don't know why but Hokkaido craft beer is widely available around Japan. I guess it is the idea of Hokkaido as Japan's source of fresh & healthy food, especially Western food. 

This means many department stores have Hokkaido Fairs as do supermarkets. These events often include craft beer. This trend makes it fairly easy to stumble across small breweries from Hokkaido while going out and about shopping.

In this post I'll look at two of these breweries: Otaru Winery & Ishikari Banya.

First let's look at a few beers from Ishikari Banya which is located in a rural part of Hokkaido.

Ishikari Banya Gold Lager 5%

A brilliantly clear deep gold with a dense white head. The aroma is earthy green hop bitterness on a light bready Pilsner malt body - not my thing too earthy grolsch like.

Sharply carbonated on a med-light body with a crisp dry finish. The taste is much nicer than the aroma. Semi-sweet, a bit floral and quite bready. 

Overall, pretty good & it apparently won some prize in 2008 in the Pilsner category.

Ishikari Banya Red Ale 5%

This poured a surprisingly deep brown with a somewhat molasses looking color. It's got a rich malt forward aroma, plums/prunes, caramel fudge and some nuttiness.

Medium-light bodied with a scratchy carbonation. The taste is initially caramel with a bit of a hop bite, then fudge, sugar and a lingering brown sugar biscuit, cookie, molasses and some astringency. It's alright but the lager was nicer.

Otaru Winery is located in the picturesque town of Otaru about 30 minutes by train and it is also home to the beautiful canal house that is home to Otaru Beer that brew many nice quality german style beers. 

Weizen 5% 

A pale opaque gold with a semi-soapy head and a sweet sulfury eggy-cloves aroma. The taste is bready, candyish, cloves with a prickly carbonation. The aroma underwhelms but the taste satisfies.

Helles 5%

Served in my footed Pilsner glass it pours a nice looking light gold with a fizzy fast-dissipating white head of foam. The aroma is very bready & sweet with a flour like character to it. Light body with a bright crisp finish. The taste is really good - bready light malts, herbal noble hops. An amazingly clean tasting beer with clearly defined flavors. For a beer marked down to 360¥ where I wasn't expecting much it was a pleasant surprise.