Japanese Craft Beer Series: Visiting Monster Island with Kaibutsu-jima Beer (かいぶつ島ビール)!

 Ever want to visit to an island full of monsters without leaving your house or the bar?  Tsurumi Brewing (鶴見酒造) from Tsushima, Aichi, Japan has the answer for you with their Kaibutsu-shima Beer (かいぶつ島ビール).  Tsurumi Brewing has been operating since 1873 as primarily as a rice wine (日本酒 nihonshu or sake to those people living outside of Japan) brewer.  In the recent years, this brewer has been branching out with different products such as this beer, shochu, mirin (sweet rice wine that is used primarily for cooking). 

On a recent trip to my local liquor store near my work, I was looking for something to get the night start on the right foot.  When looking through the beer case, I found this beer.  I was intrigued by it at first because I have never seen before.  Then, I looked at the label to find out where this beer was from.  I was surprised to learn that the beer was brewed in Tsushima.  I did not even know that Tsushima had a brewery.  I was very curious to find out how this beer tasted.  So, I decided to buy it.  I am always looking for a new beer to try especially from the local area. 

When I got home, I took out my favorite beer glass and proceed to open this beer into my glass.  I discovered the following things.  The nose of this beer is malty and full of bread and slight caramel notes. The head of the bread is a thick tan colored head.  The beer has a dark brown color to it.  This beer is very malty in taste.  If you are fan of vintage or strong ales, this beer would perfect for you.  I noticed that some local beers tend to be the same style.  It is easy to drink.  Typically malty beverages have a strong taste.  Initially, the beer follows the same characteristics of a malt beverage, but it quickly fades away.  This is not your typically Japanese beer like Sapporo or Asahi.

I give a lot of credit to Tsurumi Brewing for releasing this beer to the public.  I am always trying to find beers from small breweries as opposed to those released from the major breweries.  If you can find this beer, give it a try.  It is a decent beer. 

For more information regarding Tsurumi Brewing, check out http://www.tsurumi-jp.com/index.html