First time (I think) I have a saison at home, actually. I didn’t even realize what it was until I was half way through already.
Tamamura House IPA
Nagano is the home of great craft beer in Japan, and Tamamura‘s House IPA fits in well. You might know the brewery from their Shiga Kogen brand.
Karuizawa Asama Kogen alt
The Karuizawa brewery is one of the top Japanese craft beer makers, so understandably I had quite the expectations for their alt. It didn’t let me down.
Shepherd Neame Gentleman James
Gentleman James is another one of Walmart’s order-made beers by Shepherd Neame. I was expecting a malty ale after reading the label, but it turned out a bit different.
SanktGallen Yokohama XPA
I figured that XPA stands for Extra Pale Ale without even looking it up. I guessed it’d be a very strongly hopped IPA. I was right.
Brewdog Libertine Black Ale
A black ale? Sounds like a plan! I was interested to see what this Brewdog beer had for me.
Otaru Bakusyu amber ale
I might’ve had amber ale before, I just don’t recall. More likely, I haven’t. Hokkaido in general has quite a unique scene for gourmet stuff, be that food or drinks, so I looked forward to this beer from the northern island.
Iwate Akakura
Akakura is the second of the Iwate Kura beer lineup that I got my hands on (the first was Kinkura). As the “red” in its name suggests, it’s a red ale.
Oh! La! Ho! Bossa Nova Summer IPA
Karuizawa beer has a fame that it’s gotta live up to. My expectations were high for this IPA, and it was indeed quite a ride.
Unazuki Torokko
I’ve only had alt beer once before opening this can of Unazuki Torokko, back at Banji Kaicho. Must say that Torokko is a whole different world. I’d hesitate to even put it the same category as Shonan Beer’s alt, they are so different.
