Nasu Kogen Nine-Tailed Fox Barleywine

Brewed by Nasu Kogen Beer Company
Style: Barley Wine
Nasu, Japan

Serve in Snifter

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This was my night cap and colour me unimpressed. I hear the recent batches are not as good as previous. Very smooth for 11% but also a bit lifeless. Quite malt forward with little bitterness. Perhaps passed its prime too.

On tap at Popeye. Amber with almost no head. Sour fruit aroma. Sour plums prevail. Noticeable alcohol. Not the most impressive, but drinkable.

OK. I’ve been visiting Tokyo every year for the past 10 years, and Popeyes for the past 3 years. I’ve stared at Nasu Kogen Nine-Tailed Fox Barleywine every year and never tried it. Why? It was once the most expensive beer in the world to my knowledge, though now it is beat out by beers like HotD Dave ($80/12oz bottle, not counting auctions). 550 yen for 50mL translates to $44/12oz bottle. Really it’s not that expensive ($6 USD) to try though. Anywho, the beer looks exactly like the picture. A 2oz pour (50mL), roughly twice what you get at GABF and similar to most tastings I’ve been to. Cloudy amber color. Sweet and delicious. Listed as 12%. The alcohol + sweetness blend well, with the alcohol still a little noticable. Easy to drink (cough 50mL cough) Very good, especially after not having a stong beer in a very long time.

Draft at GJBF 2009, Osaka. 1999 version. Smooth, sherry-like aroma. Lots of fruity esters, a little alcohol burn. Super smooth in the mouth, but a bit oxidized. Flavor is a bit disappointing. Big, rounded, caramel and fruity, but tastes like it was aged too long.

My Bottom Line:
This classy Barley Wine whispers its apricot fruitiness and caramel maltiness into its relaxed body, while the low carbonation and warming alcohol lure the unassuming drinker into enjoying another conversation.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A slim ring of foam dissipates into the clear pale orange.
-The nose is quite shy for such a potentially potent brew, offering barely a few honeyed cereals and scant fruitiness.
-The fruitiness, low carbonation and lean body would surely please a wine lover too.
-Alcohol is well concealed for this strength.
-The finish is quite disappointing; some cereal sweetness returns, and hops are pretty much absent.
-I am told the 1998 vintage, rated by a few guys here, was far superior to this 2005 vintage. Oh well. Can’t get lucky all the time!

2005 vintage, on tap at Popeye’s.

On tap at Popeyes. From 2005. Orange amber color, nothing but a few bubbles floating on the surface. Very sweet vinous aroma with sweet malt and caramel. Powerful flavors of caramel, citrusy hops, and a distinctive woodiness. Sticky, sugary mouthfeel. Very smooth and soft initially but finishes intensely dry. A very serious beer. Understandably served 50ml at a time.

Draught, 2005 vintage. Pours reddish gold with no head. Aroma is sweet malt, yeast, citrus fruit, caramel, chocolate, and alcohol. Medium mouth. Flavor is a slightly muted version of the aroma. Malty, fruit, chocolate, nutty. Had a great time with this one.

Tap, 1998 edition. Innocent looking orange, big and lasting head. Astonishingly complex nose of yeast, cheese, some chocolate, leather, mangoes. Wow! The flavor is slightly tamer than the aroma but still great. Some guezish qualities but with more alcohol presence as well as even some chocolate-cherry stout characteristics. Hard to believe it’s 12% at the same time. Surprisingly smooth finish.

1998 version on draft at Popeyes. Light amber color with a thick creamy white head. Could pass as your average amber ale just based on looks. However, once you get a whiff of the nose you know this goes from ordinary to extraordinary. Cherries, brandy, chocolate, pears, oranges, toffee, caramel nuts. It reminds me of some type of delicious liqueur filled chocolate with a million things going on. I love it!!!! The mouth is very malty with nuts, oranges, chocolate, cherries and rich, but very surprisingly it is extremely light bodied for 12%. The finish is very warming, like sipping a good brandy. The nose is misleading. It would easily get a 19 or 20 if the body had followed through. Still a 16 aint bad.

Draft at Bakushu Club Popeye on March 31st, 2005. Pours copper color with thin white lace. Caramel nose and medium body. Flavors are sweet, caramel with a little roastiness that brings depth to this beer. It is overall a nice balanced and complexed barley wine.