Hakusekikan Tennenhachimitsukoubou Shizen Bakushu

On tap at Beer & Bear, Osaka. Hazy peach golden with a small froth. Refreshing fruity caramel aroma. Orange zest flavours, good offsetting spices, ending dry. Grainy mouthfeel. A refreshing Belgian-style saison.

Hay colored with little head. The aroma starts out with spices and sweet malts moving on to smoke and yeast with a touch of honey. Nice body, easy to drink. No smoke in the flavor, but the spices and yeast notes make their presence known. Some fruits along with banana and sweet malts. A nice beer, hard to imagine drinking more than one at a time.

My Bottom Line:
The intrinsic floral character of the wild honey yeast works wonders with the various citrusy pale fruit engendered by the hop bite. This is another unique Wild Ale from Toshi Niwa, Hakusekikan’s ale and yeast wizard.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-Nearly headless, the golden shine is nonetheless appealing.
-The wild yeast is tamer than their Shizen Bakushu, whose yeast comes from the air.
-The bottled sample was quite thinner than that taken from the lagering tank, where it was creamy and more seductive.
-Hakusekikan beers seem to all have a floral character of their own which is truly appealing.
-While this is nowhere near as mesmerizing as the Shizen Bakushu, it is entirely unique and a wonderful session ale.

From the lagering tank, from the bottle, and on tap at Beer and Bear.