House IPA - Shiga Kogen Brewery.

Name: House IPA

Brewery: Shiga Kogen Brewery.

Style: IPA.

Purchased at: Aeon Supermarket.

Price: ¥400

Taste: 10/10

Alcohol Level: 6%

Music: Still listening to Demon Bitch - Hellfriends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n03AEI2NiKM 

Snack: I had some chicken with this sauce. I purchased this sauce at the Shiga Kogen Taphouse, so I thought I should enjoy the sauce with their beer.

Website: http://www.tamamura-honten.co.jp/

Experience:

I have been delaying the review of these Shiga Kogen beers because they are easy to find where I live. I am quickly running out of time here in Japan though, so I thought I had better start. There are at least 10 of these that I need to get through. I have 4 more in my fridge, all different styles, and there are more to collect yet.

To put it simply, I loved this beer. It was deliciously hoppy and refreshing. There was not a lot of foam. The colour was a deep brown which I think looks so delicious. As you can see I have a Shiga Kogen glass as well, I would have liked it if the beer filled the entire glass I have to say. The Shiga Kogen brewery grows their own materials, so I am lead to believe. And I can only imagine they source their water from the icy peaks of the Shiga Kogen mountain range which rises above their brewery. This image in mind makes me enjoy this beer so much.

These beers can be found at the Nagano Train Station and Harashin super markets most easily. Occasionally I see them in convenience stores, but that has always been a rare event. Having a glass bottle to get rid of in Japan is perhaps one of the most inconvenient things imaginable, thanks to the lack of public bins.  There is one day a month where I can dispose of glass bottles from my apartment. Already this month I have quite a few beer and wine bottles. By the time I review all of them I am going to have a massive collection of glass.

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Shiga Kogen Brewery - Yama Bushi, Champagne looking bottle.

 
Name:Yama Bushi.

Brewery: Shiga Kogen Brewery.

Style: Inspired by Belgian White.

Purchased at: Aeon Supermarket.

Price: ¥1100

Taste: 9.5/10

Alcohol Level: 6%

Music: I absolutely can't get enough of Demon Bitch - Hellfriends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n03AEI2NiKM

Snack: Got some Dill Pickle flavoured chips from a Seiyu. Jeez they were good. Didn't get a chance to take a picture because I ate them all in the car on the drive home.

Website: http://www.tamamura-honten.co.jp/

Experience:

Last Friday I decided to celebrate being alive with this incredibly fancy looking beer from the Shiga Kogen Brewery. I haven't reviewed any of their beers yet because I am saving them, since they are so readily available here, but I should really just get around to doing it.

As you can see this beer came in a champagne bottle. The cap was hard to get off, for some reason my bottle opener kept slipping. Once I finally got the damn thing opened, boy was the beer delicious. I think it's a Belgian White beer. The back label says it is inspired by Belgian beer. This beer really reminded me of the taste of some beers I had at the Snow Monkey Beer Festival. Since this is one of the breweries that helped run the event, maybe I tried it already without realising it. It was light, fizzy and fruity, almost like a soft drink. Completely delicious and refreshing.

The beer's name is Yama Bushi. I looked this up in a dictionary and it said it meant ''Mountain Priest''. Not 100% sure that is correct. Google translate also said ''hare'' and ''slut'' at one point so who the heck knows. There is a picture of a goblin on the label, so I reckon it has something to do with that. It might be a local sort of name or something. It also says on the label that it was made from home grown rice and hops. I got the impression that this brewery was a lot bigger than it actually appears to be, perhaps they just have good distribution around Nagano. Now that I think about it I haven't really seen any of their beers outside of Nagano.

The next day I decided it was time to check out the brewery itself, the Shiga Kogen Brewery that is. To my disapointment, it turned out to be pretty small and I don't think they offered tours. This brewery spawned out of a much older sake brewery that has been around for a few hundred years. Sake seems to be waning in popularity amongst younger people (can't blame them as most of it tastes like nail polish remover AND it's only about 17% ABV so you can't even argue it's worth skulling just to get the job done) it seems like they decided to add beer to their portfolio. They literally make about 12 different types of beer and I cannot begin to imagine how they manage to brew it all in their small brewery. I'll do some more investigating in the near future.

If you are in the area during winter, apparently they have a tap room bar. It shut for the season like last week so I didn't manage to go there. But many bars in town have this beer on tap. Look for the distinctive dragon logo! And all their beers come in bottles, which is somewhat unusual in Japan. I'll have more reviews from this brewery in the near future.