Brown Beer Fest, 14-15 April, The List in English

Big tip of the hat to my friend, Tod, who translated most of the Japanese descriptions. We had fun with some of them, and used executive licence on more than one occasion. So, the list is below. If you want some more intro and the Japanese, it is here and the original festival announcement is here:

EASY-DRINKING SESSION BEERS

1. John Smith Extra Smooth Bitter, 3.8%.
World's no. 1 selling English ale with creamy head, bitter mouthfeel, and fruity aftertaste.

2. Kilkenny Irish Red Ale, 4.4%
Kilkenny is named after the town in the suburbs of Dublin in Ireland in which it was originally made, in a church no less.

3. Bass Pale Ale, 5.1%
Characteristically thick yet refreshing flavor from top fermentation, fine head, and abundance of rich, spicy aroma and flavors. (This is Bass we are talking about, right? Ed.)

4. Hideji Beer Smoking Mole Ale, 4.2%
Portrayed as a jolly mole puffing on a fat cigar, this ale has a rich taste and aroma. Made with fresh hops and malt, the flavor and aroma mellow after a month of conditioning. (methinks somebody’s been reading Wind in the Willows, Ed.)

5. Iwate Kura Red Ale, 5%
A deep reddish-brown Scotch ale. With a distinctive slight sweetness, this is a lightly bitter beer that goes down easily.

6. Baird Beer's The Professor Munchner Dunkel, 4.9%
This classic dark lager is brewed in the tradition of Munich Dunkel lager beers and is inspired by a Professor of German history who loves passionately the city of Munich. Brewed with German Munich, Pilsner, Vienna, Carared and Melanoidan malts.

7. Baeren Bitter, 4.5%
A florid hop aroma, easygoing mouthfeel and refreshing aftertaste make this an authentic English beer. The only light ale brewed in Baeren (i.e., Baeren, Morioka, Ed.).

8. Sanktgallen Pale Ale
A refreshing beer with a strong hop flavor. A product of the American craft beer boom, American pale ales are a new style enjoyed by beer enthusiasts around the world. Their hallmark is the use of potent American hops and strong bitterness.

9. Hakusekikan Pale Ale, 5％
A beermaker's beer, with an attendant bitterness. The blend of malts gives this beer a spicy body and a judicious bitterness to whet the appetite.

10. Ishikawa Pale Ale, 5%
A top-fermenting beer with a distinctive fruity aroma.

11. Shonan Beer Altbier, 5%
Altbier is a dark-colored style that originates in Düsseldorf. Evocative of a Shonan sunset, this top-fermented beer has a fruity aroma and light taste. It makes a great accompaniment to a meal.

12. Aizu Beer Amber Ale, 4.5%
This amber ale features a restrained hop bitterness, a malt sweetness and a refreshing aftertaste.

MID STRENGTH, FULLER-FLAVORED BEERS

13. Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier Dunkel, 5.3%
From the famous state-owned Bavarian brewery. Although it is the longest continuously-operating brewery in the world, the equipment is state of the art. This beer is a darker, maltier version of the typically fruity Weizen style.

14. Shigakougen IPA, 6%
With forthright hop aroma and bitterness, this beer has a flavorful impact that makes it a perfect match for spicy foods. Highly distinctive and habit-forming.

15. Leffe Brune, 6.5%
Roast malt gives this beer its deep brown color. It is full-bodied with a delicate fruity aroma.

16. Fujizakura Rauchbier, 5.5%
Rauchbier, or "smoked beer," is the local specialty of Bamberg, Germany. The malt is smoked during kilning to give this beer its distinctive flavor and aroma.

17. Nest Beer Japanese Classic Ale, 6%
An IPA fermented in cedar barrels for export to the United States, this beer is modeled on the first Japanese beer, brewed in 1853.

18. Liefmans Oud Bruin (Belgian Brown Ale), 6%
Fermented in open vats with a yeast strain passed down from the Rodenbach brewery.

19. Ozeno Yukidoke Brown Wiezen, 5％
This elegant brown beer made from roasted wheat malt and dark barley malt has a rich, mellow flavor and a smoky aroma of spices.

20. Minami Shinshu IPA, 6％
Made at the Komagatake brewery with the snowmelts of the Japan Alps. The generous use of aromatic hops lends it a refreshing bitterness.

21. Echigo IPA
A markedly bitter beer made with large amounts of hops.

22. Ishikawa Munich Dark Lager, 5%
Blackish brown in color, this is a bottom-fermenting (lager type) beer of rich flavor.

23. Swan Lake Brown Ale, 5%
A pleasant, refreshing beer with mellow malt notes and citrus highlights from its American hops.

24. Aizu Beer Beethoven Marzen, 6%
In late 2004 the Aizu Symphony Orchestra celebrated the tenth anniversary of the local Fugado Hall with a rendition of Beethoven's Ninth, and the Minami Aizu Brewery celebrated that performance with this Marzen, a Viennese dark lager. Originally a limited edition beer, it proved so popular it was added to the regular product line.

STRONG, ROBUST BEERS FOR THE FIRESIDE

25. Minoh Double IPA, 9%
A seasonal beer of limited availability. Offering more than a bitter flavor, this double IPA should be savored at length for its depth and aroma.

26. Fujizakura Doppelbock, 8%
Made with twice as much malt as regular beers and given a long lagering, this full-bodied Doppelbock has a good balance of sweetness, bitterness and fragrance.

27. Nest Beer Belgian Dark Strong, 8%
This high-alcohol XH (extra high) beer is matured two months in oak barrels.

28. Queue de Charrue Bruin (Belgian Red Ale), 5.4%
A Belgian red ale produced at the Verhaeghe brewery, this beer is fermented for a little under one year in the best oak barrels to lend it a distinctive light sourness and grape-like sweetness.

29. St.Bernardus Abt 12, 10%
The Sixtus Abbey beers from Belgium were until 1992 brewed under license from the Trappist monastery St. Sixtus, brewer of Westvleteren Abt, which is considered the best beer in the world. The beers formerly brewed under license are now sold simply as St. Bernados, and this Abt 12 version has dark chocolate and aniseed flavors with mild roastiness in superb balance.

30. Rogue Dead Guy Ale, 6.5%
Silver medalist at the 2005 World Beer Championships, this superb example of a German Maibock is made with Rogue's own PacMan yeast and has a bitterness level of 40 IBUs. (Editorial Note: IBUs: means international bittering units. Most mass lagers have IBUs of 11 to 14, 25 is considered hoppy, 40 is somewhat bitter, but some IPAs and other bitter beers come in at 60+, while extreme beers can be 80+.)