Ise Kadoya - Brown Ale

Ise Kadoya - Brown Ale - Mie Prefecture - 5% - 500 ml bottle:
Taste: Vanilla, caramel, some spice, roasted malts, hops allow some bitterness to linger behind.
Smell: Syrup, sweet malts.
Look: Lighter shade of brown, poured w/ a foamy head, spots of lace leftover.
Verdict: Not as powerful as the Brownstone or Brooklyn Brown, but instead a more gentle flavor, allowing its flavors to come-through. This is a classic brown taste with a subtle mix of other flavors. Very enjoyable, but just a tad too light-bodied.

Uramura Kaki (Oyster) Stout - by Ise Kadoya

Ise Kadoya - Uramura Kaki (Oyster) Stout - Mie Prefecture - 6% - 500 ml bottle:
Taste: A sense of mildness from the oysters, coffee, chocolate, sharp-sour notes, vanilla character, milky.
Smell: Coffee & chocolate aroma.
Look: A dark coco-brown, nice oily shine, thin to no head, nor lacing.
Verdict: This was a very enjoyable experience - my first time with an oyster-stout! A medium-bodied beer at most, it held good carbonation for a stout, providing a smooth texture. Complex yet easy to drink.

Sayonara Tokyo :(

All good times come to an end...

...life is full of ups & downs...

...and sometimes we must heed the call...

...sayonara Tokyo, I'll miss you...

...but life goes on...

...and I will always have a piece of you in my heart.

Beniaka - by Coedo

Coedo - Beniaka (Premium Lager) - Saitama Prefecture - 7% - 333 ml bottle:
Taste: A sweet taste of raisins, other dried fruits, is medium bodied, not sharp- nor dry, but rather has a taste not too dissimilar to shochu (of the potato variant), and is crisp.
Smell: Aroma is sweet as well, whiffs of alcohol, grain and malt.
Look: A nice looking red/orange gives way to a small slightly stained head, leaves no lace nor hardly a bubble.
Verdict: This was a very enjoyable beer, one of the more unique tasting beers here, and had a lovely taste of potato alcohol, such as the shochu I mentioned. Definitely a great take on the premium lager style, and again, the use of potatoes in this brew is unique and delicious.

Bayern Meister - Edel Weisse

Bayern Meister - Edel Weisse - Shizuoka Prefecture - 5.5% - 330 ml bottle:
Taste: Getting wheat, citrus, banana, spices, cloves and hay; a medium to light-bodied affair, finishing doughy with rounded mouthfeel.
Smell: A sweet & spicy aroma albeit slightly musty - that is coriander & citrus, w/ cloves, yeast, and banana.
Look: Pours a cloudy dark yellow / opaque gold colour with a sticky white foam.
Verdict: In brief - a refreshing standrad weizen, nothing new going on here, but that's not a bad thing. Pleasant and enjoyable.

Instant Ramens

The following are instant-ramens I had on occasions when I was too lazy to go out but had that hankering for a good slurp (& clearly they are superior to the dehydrated nonsense we sell here in the States):

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

Aso Farmland - Porter

Aso Farmland - Porter - Kumamoto Prefecture - 4.5% - 330 ml bottle:
Taste: Roasted grains, malt, cocoa, coffee, a hint of dark brown sugar, and some light woody smokiness; decently carbonated, a medium bodied beer that finishes dry.
Smell: Slightly sweet roasted malt aroma with a hint of fruitiness and hops.
Look: Dark brownish-black color, thick off-white head, and spots of lace.
Verdict: I don't have much to say about this one except that it met my expectations by being a balanced porter. Neither too smoky, sour or sweet - I guess you could offer this as a good entry-level porter -- me, however, I like my porters with a little more umph!

Morioka Weizen - by Baeren

Baeren - Morioka Wezien - Iwate Prefecture - 5.5% - 330 ml bottle:
Taste: Wheat, yeast and banana make up a light-to-medium body, citrus- orange provides a sharp finish, mildly spicy notes give this weizen just enough pazzaz to make it interesting.
Smell: Banana at the front, wheat & yeast.
Look: Cloudy- unfiltered with sediments in suspension, big frothy head, some patches of lace. Verdict: After having some delicious Baerens' and happily proclaiming them the best makers of German brews here in JP, I had this weizen. While it was good and very classic, there was nothing that really made this stand out from the pack. All-in-all a refreshing weizen, but would pick up a Coedo Shiro over this one if the choice was presented.

Shiga Kogen - Porter

Shiga Kogen - Porter - Nagano Prefecture - 5.5% - 330 ml bottle:
Taste: Medium-bodied and somewhat dry, flavors of nuts, watered-down coffee, cocoa-powder and a subtle smokiness. Nice lively mouthfeel which leans a tad more hoppy than creamy.
Smell: Deep aroma of roasted malts, mochaccino, traces of smoke and molasses.
Look: Pours out in a dark brown colour with a small beige head.
Verdict: While a good porter for sure- and probably tied with the best I've had here- this is shy of being an excellent beer. Porters to me are a very tricky beer, I like them to be a full-medium bodied experience and complex - which this light/medium bodied beer just misses out on being. Recommended none-the-less.

Kyara - by Coedo

Coedo - Kyara (Vienna Lager) - Saitama Prefecture - 5% - 333 ml bottle:
Taste: Nicely malty- sweet & roasted, caramel, biscuits and grains, hops provide a balanced bitterness to the rich malts.
Smell: Aroma holds roasted malts, grain and sweet grass accents, some hops.
Look: Pours a clear deep golden orange with a healthy white head.Verdict: Kyara is a nice vienna - providing the rich malt flavor with enough hops to balance while being unobtrusive. Coedo has a nice selection of lagers for sure, and none of them disappoint.

Yasubee (Shimokitazawa branch) - Ramen Shop

Sun Lager - by Hideji

Hideji - Sun Lager - Miyazaki Prefecture - 4.5% - 330 ml bottle:
Taste: Sweet malts, citrus- orange & lemon, sharp, apparently hoppy too.
Smell: Orange with slight whiffs of sourness.
Look: Hazy orange/yellow, poured with a small head, leaving no lace.Verdict: This is a refreshing and easy to swallow beer, as a good pilsner should be. Winner of the pilsner Gold medal in the Japan Asia Beer Cup 2009 -- I can't argue against that.

Aperitif De La Nuit Blanche - by Niigata

Niigata - Aperitif De La Nuit Blanche - Niigata Prefecture - 4.5% - 350 ml bottle:
Taste: This is a sharp somewhat acidic beer, notes of banana, peach, vanilla, malt, and not really hoppy at all.
Smell: Aroma of banana, faintly fruity in general.
Look: A semi-opaque yellow, poured with a nice head, nicely carbonated, no lace.
Verdict: Well this is definitely different, its almost in-between a lager and a weizen. But it's a rather mild, weak bodied beer - there is definitely "something" missing... hops for starters, but ultimately other things as well. Calling this one a dud.

Shiga Kogen - House IPA

Shiga Kogen - House IPA - Nagano Prefecture - 8% - 330 ml bottle:
Taste: Both sweet and hoppy to a balanced perfection, raisins, fruity- mandarin, floral, and pine are the big players here; medium bodied and resiny.
Smell: Sweet fruity aroma with pine.
Look: Hazy deep orange copper, small head and just a little lacing.Verdict: This is a great IPA, love the high ABV without ever realizing it! Another victory for Tamamura-Honten!

Shikkoku - by Coedo

Coedo - Shikkoku (Schwarzbier Lager) - Saitama Prefecture - 5% - 333 ml bottle:
Taste: It's all about the roasted malts here, the sour-level is held in-check - a very nice balance, hops are apparent and balanced as well, slightly smokey giving hints of wood, meat, coffee and chocolate.
Smell: Earth, hay, and a slight coffee scent.
Look: Dark brown to the point of looking like a porter, poured with head and leaving rings of lace.Verdict: This is a very good dark lager, providing a subtle but complex taste, very enjoyable, very German!