Tama no Megumi (Ishikawa) Bottle Conditioned Ale

Brewed by Ishikawa Brewery
Style: American Pale Ale
Tokyo, Japan

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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Murky brown colour, minimal head. Aroma has malts and a little bit of caramel to it. Taste has a little bit of bitterness, very little aftertaste. Smooth on the palate, light carbonation. It’s on ok ale, very drinkable but a bit watery.

It’s a non committal, though highly drinkable pale. Balanced with toffee biscuit malt and soft bitterness. A decent finish. Very much the kind of pale you would expect a sake brewer to make.

Ishikawa’s Bottle Conditioned Ale pours a surprisingly nice cloudy honey brown color with a creamy head. It smells slightly citrusy, but not overly sweet like some of the other Japanese microbrews. The taste is outstanding, rich and flavorful with hints of honey and a bit of a hoppy kick. As the beer gets warm (if it lasts that long), other flavors emerge, and the hint of bitterness fades to be replaced by more roasted grain flavors. The ABV is a pretty standard 5.5 percent.

Bottle at the brewery. Light amber colour, white head. Aroma is fresh, slightly fruity, bit citrus, bit grassy, but yeasty too. Plus the usual toffee/caramel. Taste is nice, fruity at the start, maybe bit of strawberry, solidly malty, long malty finish. Slight bitterness at end too. Pretty nice. Little bit of caramel too. With the yeast added, gets a bit earthier. Less hoppy, nice and malty.

Bottle- Pours a copper color with a small head that fades to bits of lacing. Aroma of malt sweetness along with some pine and citrus in the background. Taste of malt sweetness with some herbs and bit of citrus. Nice bitterness and a clean finish. Fairly light body, smooth and quite flavorful. Interesting Balance. Enjoyable beer that is easy to drink. One of the more unique beers I have enjoyed in Japan.

Bottle from that supermarket up the escalator in Namba Ocat. A first for me, this: BC Japanese. Pours opaque orange with a fine low white head. Good fruit jelly-like aroma with notes of juniper, overripe strawberry, liquorice and mandarin. Fizzy and earthy with a botanical spiciness, soapy orange hop, hints of cream cheese, and a pronounced dankness that’s very English. Some Marmite yeastiness and rhubarb-like acidity. In Belgium now. Decent but a little over carbonated and I doubt it bears any resemblance to the cask, if it exists.

Amber colour with a thick head. Vegetable and hoppy smell. Low carbonation and light palate. The taste is unoriginal- simple ale (watery). Citrusy with a stong bitter aftertaste that’s a little unpleasant

[500ml bottle] Unfiltered, so pours a hazy dark golden colour. Aromas of malt and grassy hop, some biscuit. Quite a perplexing beer, some malt and a touch of yeasty mustiness from the sediment. A bit of wheat in there as well. More malt comes out on the aroma than the flavour. Thin finish however, not a great deal of body [15072008]

Tried a bottle that I picked up at a liquor store in Hamamatsu, Japan. Pours a fairly clear copper color with little head. A slight hoppy aroma. Tastes similar to a thin version of a British pale ale--fruity hoppiness--but with a little bit of an odd, tongue-numbing flavor/sensation in the mix. I agree with the other reviewer who described a "metallic" taste. Overall, this beer is too light and not very good.

Caramel and mild fruit aroma. Copper with off-white head. Caramel malts and mild floral hop flavour.