Baird Country Girl Kabocha Ale

Brewed by Baird Brewing Co.
Style: Fruit Beer
Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan

Serve in Flute

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633ml brown bottle. Brewery label states 6% abv, but import sticker says 5.8%. 2010 bottle. Deep golden pour with haze. Head is big and creamy, off white in colour. Nice lace rings in the glass. Sweet nose, caramel malts, honey, light orangey hops. Taste has caramel and grainy malts, fruity notes and some leafy hops at the end. Grains/malt aftertaste, nice dryness. Medium body and average carbonation. A nice malty amber ale, but not really getting the kabocha.

12/28/11. Pours pretty damn clear garnet colour, deep red, brown orangey colour, head capped to a nice tight, off-white foam on top. Smell is malty sweet caramel, little bit of fruity/pumpkin quality in there too, its like a red fruit of Belgian styles, but a little bit earthier and squashy-like. Also some cinnamon and very light clove in there too. Taste is nice, but a little bit thin, it reminds me a bit of mineral water, it’s got a full and yet empty quality to it. In the taste, the pumpkin and spices are all there, the malt comes off as more bready than rich caramel/toffee like I would expect. A bit of almost warmth, maybe light hop spice on the finish, but its quite smooth. I mean its very easy to drink, not very robust, there is a bit of alcohol flavour in there, which is strange, as its so low, but the body is quite light. It’s very easy to drink and inoffensive though, just maybe not as intense or rotund as I was hoping.

650ml bottle pours a slightly hazy amber color with a finger of thick white head that settles to some nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is toasted malts and pumpkin. Taste is malty sweet with mild pumpkin and a lingering dry hoppy bitter finish. Light to medium body and generous carbonation. A very interesting brew, which is quite enjoyable.

Keg at Harajuku taproom. Amber orange colour with small white head. Aroma is sweet, and vegetabley, and with lots of caramelly malt. Taste is very nice, malt up front and fading into the vegetable taste which I guess is the pumpkin. Very smooth but with medium carbonation. Very nice sweet rounded finish with just a hint of bitterness.

Kabocha: a Japanese variety of winter squash. OK. Poured out a deep deep amber brew with a pretty big light tan head that stays on as a thick cover and leaves some big islands of lacing. Toasty roasty sweetness, honey, squash stuff, caramel, salt, soft and pleasant. Good taste, mildly assertive hops, squashy things - mild and very low key which is how I like this type of beer, light spice, honey and excellent taste when quite warm. Very malty adn very tasty.. ack. I’m sooooo tired

On tap at Nakameguro Taproom. Beautiful red copper colour with a proper tan head. Fruity aroma. Caramel and fruit flavours- the pumpkin notes are subtle. A well-crafted fruity amber ale that leaves the mouth dry.

UPDATED: NOV 20, 2010 Bottle, Dec 2007. Very cloudy, particles in suspension, deep amber color with a medium, fine head. Sweet, fruity aroma with lots of chocolate, caramel, kabocha, slightly spicy as well. Rich and fragrant. Extremely rich flavor! Malty, chewy, cookies. Lots of chocolate, some caramel, it must be the pumpkin, which is not tasted all that strongly itself. Spicy and dessert-like, but not overly sweet. Good balance with dark fruits and just enough hops. Finish of dry amber malt with sweet traces of pumpkin, and then a long hop bitterness

Tap at Cheers, Yokohama. Caramel in color. Hoppy aroma with a solid backbone of malts, and some fruits. Pumpkin? Flavor is heavier on the malts, but noticeable hops are also present. A slight pumpkin spice was there, but only after searching for it. Was a little dissapointed by this beer. It’s a good beer, but I was really hoping for more pumpkin flavor, as I love pumpkin beers. If I hadn’t been expecting pumpkin this would have been rated higher.

My Bottom Line:
This quaffable Pumpkin Ale lays out its cereal and fruity sweetness into a lean body where pumpkin does not override every other flavor.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the hazy pale orange.
-Earthiness appears in the back, maybe a result of the supporting hops.
-Carbonation is rather low, making this absurdly drinkable.
-This one didn’t stand out much at Baird’s fruit beer festival, but it stil provided a fine quencher.

On tap at the brewery tap room.

Hazy amber color. Slight hop character in the nose, but undistinguished. Mouth starts a bit hoppy, but then malts play the bigger role with hints of pumpkin and pumpkin seeds, spice, but after drinking a very complex Octoberfest, this is a bit of a let down. This beer was lost on me.