Alt
Bakushukan Clair (Kure Beer)

See-through, thin, light birch-beer color--or left-to-steep-too-long houji-cha brown. Pleasant cream bubble with mixed-in larger bubbles like bulging ikura on a chirashi-zushi. Some light lacing. Nose is not much more than light malts, a little roasty, which I suppose isn't foreign for an altbier.

Taste, however, was much different from other Japanese interpretations of the altbier style. An initial lightly fruity taste in the mouth changes over to an excellent bitter hop finish. Lots of roasted grains. Some notes of pistachios. The overall in-mouth after taste struck me as being very close to the taste of a rich houji-cha. Mouthfeel was a bit thin, which seemed to only focus concentration even more on the taste.

Easy-drinking unique beer from a town with not much else going on..