Takashi Imperial Stout
Tamamura Honten

 

 

A secret wish / goal I have in life is to amount to something significant enough that someone would think to name a beer after me with the caveat that the end product not be a Wee Heavy / Scottish Ale.

Whereas the easiest way to achieve said goal would probably be to convince Shaun Hill of Hill Farmstead that I am his long lost Asian ancestor and he brings great shame to our secretly Asian famiry for not brewing and naming a beer after me, the more prudent way would probably be to become the influential head of a brewing company, much in the way "Takashi-kun" was to Tamamura Honten.

Useless fantasizing aside, if Takashi-kun's personality was as robust and dry as his namesake beer is, I'm sure we'd have gotten along pretty well. Roasted malts, double shot espresso, and a hint of smoke is prevalent on the nose, with a slight hint of caramel apple once the brew warms up. There's also quite a bit of wet pine cone scent going on which gradually fades with time.

Nose is well-matched on the palate: rich roasty black coffee notes dominate, with sporadic sprinkles of bitter cacao and green apple surfacing toward the back end. Save for a hint of sweetness accompanying the green apple, the overall picture the beer paints on the palate is rich, roasty, and dry; this is not a beer you want to start out the night with.

Medium-bodied with negligent carbonation; the brew feels ever so slightly slick and oily on the surface of the tongue if you let it linger. This would be a substantially better brew with a thicker body, but I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too.

 

A: Lovely black colour, but under carbonated and pours with no head or lacing.

S: Smells of medicine, TCP and industrial alcohol, not my preference, but I guess better than nothing.

T: The smells follows threw in the taste. Harsh notes of alcohol that limit the other elements. Roast barley is present, not really in a good way. A touch a treacle, salt, bitterness, but no noticeable hop profiles, just a generic slight bitterness, as much from the roasted barley as the hops.

M: Not bad, pretty smooth, shame about the carbonation.

O: Not for me this one, but don't let that put you off, you may love it. Give it a try if you have the chance and formulate your own opinion.

N.B. The bottle I have in front of me is 9%, not 10%

Had this on tap at Popeye's in Ryogoku, Tokyo. Poured into a wide-mouthed snifter. Pitch black in hue with no head present. A bit of spicy ethanol in the aftertaste, subdued bitter roasted coffee flavor in the beginning. Not much of a smell to it. Spice as it warms like tumeric or nutmeg. Great brew from a great company. Respect Japanese brewers, people! Let's get more people on this!

A - Jet black pour into a La Guillotine snifter with a one-finger thick foamy tan head, medium retention (4)

S - Nose was dominated by grapefruits with a touch of roasted malts (4)

T - Strong citrus fruitiness, mainly grapefruits, upfront with mild sweetness and a roasted malt background. Pleasant flavors from the grapefruits but it seems a little too much for an Imperial Stout; a little weird for the style (4)

M - Medium to full bodied thickness with a creamy smooth texture; slightly high carbonation and a slight hop bite as well (4)

D - Lovely grapefruit flavors, nice smoothness and a well hidden 9% ABV lands this a very good rating for drinkability; however the pronounced grapefruit flavors versus the muted roasted malt and chocolate character, if any at all, was a little puzzling (4.5)

Good beer for drinking but a little off tangent for an Imperial Stout to be honest

Thanks for sending this one Scott! A rare live review for me....

Nothing legible (to me, at least) on the bottle except the name "Takashi Imperial Stout" and the web address. Also notes that the abv is 9.0%.

Pours into my cantillon stemware taster glass, small medium-tan head leaving some dotted lace atop a black brew. Nice retention.

Aromas are comprised of smooth roast and well integrated chocolate, pairing nicely with this 85% cocoa Alter Eco. A twinge of ethanol coming through the back, backed by a touch of fruitiness. Subtle overall, but no real flaws.

The taste, subtle as well. Good balance between a delicately bitter roast and some residual malt sweetness. It's smooth, will negligible alcohol presence, but not as huge of a mouthfeel as one might expect or desire in a RIS. Though I suppose this is toward the lower end of ABV for the style, at least of recent trends for American brewers.

A nice beer and I look forward to trying more beers from Japanese Microbrewers.

Mondiale 2009, bottled version and not the tap available later at DDC. A coffee and chocolate story. Initially a bold taste then moving into a lighter mouthfeel that was very drinkable. Good tasting RIS. Black, a little roast, smooth and nicely malted, well integrated.