Hakone Odawara Ale

Brewed by Hakone Biru Gura
Style: Amber Ale
Hakone, Japan

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Draft at GJBF 2009, Osaka. Brown ale. Nice orange-brown color. Aroma of lots of dark fruits and a lot of funk as well. Some barnyard. Sweet, but with a harsh bitterness that mixes and balances very well. Cherries, roasty caramel, very nice.

From can. Dark copper. Sweet fruit and toffee aroma, hints of metal. Fruity flavours, hints of sweet toffee. Drinkable.

Alu - plastic bottle 330ml.
Clear medium amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, light beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, berry, light roasted, moderate yeasty. Flavor is moderate sweet and light bitter with a average duration. Body is light to medium, texture is watery, carbonation is soft. [20100110]

Bottled. A hazy reddish beer with a thin tan head. The aroma has notes of caramel, malt, and some darker fruits. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, caramel, and a bit of spices, leading to a dry spicy finish. Thanks Theis for sharing.

Plastic bottle 33 cl. Courtesy of Theis. Pours a clear dark amber with a small off-white head. Sweet fruity aroma. Medium body, roasted malts and dried fruits. Rather heavy in carbonation. Dryish malt bitter finish. 100110

33 cL plastic bottle, coutersy of Theis. Pours clear and deep amber with a fully gone head. Aroma is dry phenolic and roasted malt. Smooth malty flavoured. Bitter and dry roasted malty flavoured finish.

Draught at "Hakone Brewpub" - in a plastic cup (ølbutikken style). Clear red/brown - offwhite head. Roasted, caramel, fatness, light butterscotch, caramel-buttery, chocolate, nutty, sweetness. OK.

Deep amber color, with caramel and apple nose. Apple brandy notes in the mouth, but the yeast seems to be the same as the Pilsner. Lacks bitterness and depth. Not bad.

My Bottom Line:
Svelte toasted maltiness and its accompanying peachy caramel benefit from a wooden, herbal hop finish and achieve balance and drinkability. All Hakone beers seem to be of the same quality and structure, and this one is no exception.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A rocky head of foam bobs atop the clear rusty russet.
-Aroma is quite timid, but does announce the flavor profile to come.
-Effervescence might be a little too much after a pint.
-Some vague fruitiness seeps from the chosen yeast.

On tap at the market across the street from the brewery.

Tap. We drove south from Tokyo for a few hours to see some sights and stopped here for lunch and beer. This beer had an amber color with an off-white head. The aroma had hints of chocolate and a heavy malt flavor with some coffee.