Craft Select The Pumpkin
Suntory

350ml bottle. Bottled on 2015-09. Best before 2016-05.

A: Clear amber. Poured 3 fingers high of head with medium retention.
S: Pumpkin. Moderate vanilla and cinnamon.
T: Vanilla and little cinnamon. Moderate pumpkin. Dry. Low bitterness. Short finish.
M: Light body. Refreshing carbonation.
O: This is not the tradition of the style. The cinnamon and overall flavor are much lighter. But for people that don't like cinnamon it's a good alternative to enjoy pumpkin ale.

 

From a 350 ml can purchased in Japan in October (2015). I poured this into a a flute style glass.

Look: The beer pours completely transparent and has a deep copper, caramel, almost orange color. A good head of fine white bubbles springs up about an inch deep, leaves no lacing on the glass, but maintains a continuous film on the beer. A healthy amount of carbonation keeps a steady stream of bubbles towards the top.

Smell: Smells very sweet and of caramel, almost like candy sugar. Very reminiscent of a caramelized pumpkin dessert. Ha! I just remembered this smell and its the smell of artificial roasted sweet potato that is part of the display at grocery stores in Japan. Not unpleasant, but definitely something that was added purposefully.

Taste: A slight twang of something bitter, maybe hops or possibly a component of the malt. A cloying sweetness pervades all with an artificial sweet potato taste.

Feel: A little bit of astringency present, the beer itself is smooth and the carbonation silky. The tongue feels a bit fuzzy after a swig of the beer.

Overall: This beer starts off looking good, but starts to drop off with the artificial smell, and more so with the taste. The "Craft Select" label gave me some higher expectations, but I can imagine this beer is essentially the basic lager mixed with some coloring and an aroma/flavor additive. Too artificial.