Tomato Bibere

Brewed by Echigo Beer Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Nishikanbara-gun, Niigata-ken, Japan

Sampled at the O-Town throwdown. Every rating so far has comes out of FL. Pours hazy pink with no head. The tomato comes through in the aroma better than expected as well as light sweetness and some tartness. The flavor seems to have tart berry fruitiness, hints of tomato, light noble hops and some pale malts. Interesting.

Bottle... O-Town Throwdown... Looks like a red-eye... smells like a red-eye... tastes like tomato juice blended into an amber ale. Medium-bodied with a milky mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Too sweet, tomato finish. Unique, at least. Thanks go out to redlight for bringing this bottle to the Throwdown!

Got to taste this one courtesy redlight. Pours a light reddish color with almost no head. It definitely smells of tomatoes and some sort of vegetable stew. I was definitely intrigued by the smell in anticipation of the taste. Well, its tomatoes too. I dont mind tomatoes as a food, and this certainly wasnt offensive but really not anything I’m looking for in a beer. Pretty thick palate, but hard to pull out many other flavors. It was ok, but not really for me.

Courtesy of Redlight at the O Town Throwdown. I want to start this off by saying that I am not a huge fan of tomatoes as a food. Pull top on the bottle was very cool. Aroma of tomato and beer, nothing else really present. Body was a hazy pink, like watered down tomato juice. Medium mouthfeel. Sweet on the palate, finish is all tomato. Wasn’t offensive at all, even to someone who doesn’t like tomatoes. Couldn’t imagine drinking a full glass of this, but it was very nice to try such rare beer.

What enjoyment came from such a strange little bottle. Had a pull top. Pours out like a thick stout, but is almost a hot pink, with a silky white head. Definitely odd looking, but a fantastic color radiates from within. Good retention, light sporadic lacing. Aroma is of funky tomato juice, pulpy and sweet. Hidden beneath that is a pleasant golden ale, balanced and spicy. Flavor is wowing, mostly tomato but also some crisp hops and bready malts. Finishes light and very refreshing, a masterful blend of such an odd combination. Palate is Thick, a la New Glarus Raspberry Tart, coating the mouth and sealing flavor in. This is nicely balanced by vibrant carbonation, keeping it really quaffable. Really a great experience, totally made me reevaluate my opinion of the unofficial breakfast beer of the south(the hills). Now I just need to go to the farmer’s market and 7-11 to pick up some Miller High Life, let the blending begin. This doesn’t taste like beer as I’ve known it, but that’s a welcome surprise.

Foggy, bright reddish pink. Small off white top. Nose of grains and tomato juice. Same taste with a bit of spice. Body is a bit thick, but kept light by a good dose of carbonation. Very drinkable, would go well with some sushi. Unique. Only rated by central FL raters, gangster.

Special thanks to Redlight who managed to get his hands on a few from Japan. His effort (and expense) is truly appreciated. I was wary of trying this one. What’s there to be wary of? Well, it’s a tomato beer, that is a beer brewed with tomatoes. Interesting concept concocted by the same country that gave us karaoke and anime. So instead of risking the sacrifice of the only bottle I’ll probably ever see, I split it three ways. Let’s say that 2 out of 3 of us liked it. Unfortunately, it’s not the one writing the review. The beer was watermelon pink. It smelled like, well, tomatoes and beer. The taste: Yuengling with a splash of V-8. A little salty, which seemed more off-putting to me than my initial fear of encountering a tomato in my beer. One of my fellow tasters remarked that he could definitely drink a full glass of this stuff. I managed my 1/3 serving. I have no plans to book a flight to Japan.