Name: THE FAR EAST (2020)
Brewer: Tamamura Honten Co. (Japan)
Style: Specialty Wood-Aged Beer (Base Style: American Strong Ale)
ABV: 15%
Review Year: 2020
THE FAR EAST is an “Imperial House IPA” (15% ABV) of the Nagano-based Tamamura Honten Co. aged in barrels that housed formerly Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The Floor Malted.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Specialty Wood-Aged Beer (33B) with the American Strong Ale (22B) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
Recommended Reading: Understanding Whiskey in Barrel-Aged Beer (The Beer Connoisseur, 2020)
TASTING NOTES
THE FAR EAST pours a clear amber-brown beer with a very thin head. The aroma blends Chocnut candy with alcohol and caramel syrup. Palate attributes include a medium-full body, low carbonation, and an oily mouthfeel. This beer exhibits prominent flavors of nuts, sugar, caramel, and cacao nibs. A notable black pepper heat was also noted, while pears and grapes surfaced secondarily. The aftertaste lingers with the familiar nut- and sugar-like flavors.
THE VERDICT
THE FAR EAST gave us an impression of a once hop-driven strong ale that mellowed down due to the barrel-aging process. The nose revealed hints of alcohol, but it would be difficult to attribute this solely to the barrel conditioning given that this beer already weighs in at 15% ABV. This ABV percentage is also way beyond the upper-bounds of 10% for both the Double IPA and the American Strong Ale, and 12% for the American Barleywine. While the palate is free from any harsh or hot alcoholic characters, the presence of the whisky and wood did not surface explicitly. The whisky and wood influences could have either integrated with the malt characters revealing the flavors noted or were simply overpowered. While we do not have the details to fully benchmark THE FAR EAST, we still think this barrel-aged beer from Tamamura Honten Co., is a highly-potent concoction that exhibits very unique malt-driven aromas and flavors.
To those who were able to try this beer, do you think it is a Double IPA, an American Strong Ale, an American Barleywine, or something else? Does it even matter to you? Feel free to type your comments below!
