Karuizawa Kogen Beer - 2020 Session Ale

Name: 2020 Session IPA

Brewery: Karuizawa Kogen Beer

Style: IPA

Purchased at: Aeon.

Price: ¥350

Taste: 8/10

Alcohol Level: 4.5%

Music: Iron Griffin - Curse of the Sky. 
 

Snack: Quesadillas. Earlier in the day I ate some fried oysters.

Website: https://karuizawa-kogen-beer.com/

Experience:

I have returned to the mountains of Nagano. The feeling of walking into a supermarket and seeing the shelves lined with Kirin, Asahi and Yebisu brought a tear to my eye, let me tell you. For the first few weeks I drank these beers, and some old favourite like the Yona Yona Ale. As time passed I decided to start exploring Nagano’s craft beers again. The beer I chose to restart my Nagano life was the 2020 Karuizawa Session Ale.

This beer reminded me of other IPAs I’ve had in Japan, in that it didn’t taste like they injected pure hops extract into this beer like so many others I’ve tried in Australia. The IPA taste is more subtle, but undeniably there. Refreshing and fruity are words that definitely come to mind. Perfect with dark chocolate or, as I had, quesadillas.

In the time between now and my last review some things have changed, some things have remained the same. I still love quesadillas and jambalaya, but I’m adding more foods to the short list of things I cook. I still listen to heavy metal, there have been a lot of great releases and a lot of older albums I have discovered.

 

While drinking this beer I was listening to Iron Griffin – Curse of the Sky. Incredible, somewhat lo-fi heavy metal with amazing vocals and riffs. It’s not a loud album, and may take a few listens to get into, but if you like Demon Bitch, any bands playing that throwback heavy metal style, give them a listen. They aren’t at all psychedelic or overly rocky,

 

While back in Australia I worked on making my own beer and slow cooking meats. Both of these will be difficult to do in Japan. It’s illegal to brew your own beer here, and gas ovens are not at all common. I do want to get into smoking and slow cooking meats in a weber style bbq, but I live in an apartment at the moment. I’ll sort it out.

 

Yo Ho Brewing - Karuizawa Kogen Beer Belgian White

Name: Karuizawa Kogen Belgian White

Brewery: Yo Ho Brewing


Style: Belgian White

Purchased at: A restaurant in Karuizawa

Price: ¥500 (Restaurant price)

Taste: 9/10

Alcohol Level: 5%

Music: Summoning - Stronghold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuoR8wEW0Bo

Snack: Roasted Chicken at the restaurant.

Website: http://karuizawa-kogen-beer.com/

Experience.
I'm a little confused about who brewed this beer exactly. I thought that Karuizawa Kogen Beer was its own company and brewery, but on the website it says it is owned by Yo Ho brewing who are also based in Karuizawa and gave us the undeniable masterpiece known as the Yona Yona. I'm just going to assume this is a company owned by Yo Ho until I can find out what is really going on. Looking on their websites it appears as if there are two separate companies, but then I see the Yona Yona label in different pictures. And the bio mentions Yo Ho brewing. Enigmatic and confusing! You don't need to be a genius to drink and enjoy their beers though, so here we go.

Karuizawa is a town in Nagano, Japan. It is fancy as heck, lots of rich people shops and skiing and all that. It has two big breweries that are brewing great beer. Yo Ho brewing and the Karuizawa Brewing Company. Both of these breweries are based in a city called Saku though, which is maybe half an hour away from Karuizawa. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Karuizawa is a place where rich people from Tokyo have their summer or winter homes. Maybe they don't have the room for big breweries. I'm sure some marketing magic was involved because, no offence intended to Saku, but Karuizawa I imagine would be a lot easier to sell as a luxurious place where beer flows freely or whatever.

Anyway, I've reviewed two of the beers from this company before, but they were their all year beers. This is the first seasonal one of theirs but as I said you shouldnt have too much trouble finding it. I'm not even sure what season this beer is meant to be available, it doesn't really matter, what matters is the taste.

And boy, the taste is unreal. This beer is sweet and fruity. I swear I could taste oranges or something. I can see it becoming a bit sickly if you had too much of it, but one or two and you are in heaven. Looks so nice in the glass too.

These beers can easily be found in Karuizawa, Nagano. Just about anywhere that sells craft beers will sell this beer. Maybe it will be out of season when you look for it, but don't worry because it will be coming back.