While in Japan my girlfriend and I (along with both her parents and my parents) took a day trip the seaside town of Kamakura, just outside of Tokyo. We did a little hike which ended at a temple famous for it’s particularly large Buddha statue. Any temple of repute, of course, has it’s own gift shop selling all manner of thing but most importantly selling the local craft beer. My girlfriend promptly bought this beer for me, I put it in the fridge to have in the evening, completely forgot about it and subsequently had to drink at 9:30am as we were leaving the country that day.

Enough backstory on the purchase of the beer, you are here to read what it is and what it tastes like. Kamakura Moon is an Altbier brewed Kamakura Beer in the city of the same name. What I found incredibly interesting about this beer is the style itself. An Altbier is a traditional style of German beer predominantly only brewed in and around the Dusseldorf region known for their fruity, malty and almost lager-like flavour. So to see a brewery Japan in have this niche style as one of it’s flagship beers certainly took me by surprise

The beer pours the colour you would expect from an Altbier, clear copper brown with a slightly off white head that didn’t stick around for too long. The aroma was full of raisins and prunes with a subtle sweetness to it as well. The flavour was big and bold with the same fruity aromas coming through. There is also a slight caramel like flavour but overall is not overtly sweet and maintains a refreshing quality to it.

A quick note on the bottle art: I quite like the design of the label which strikes a balance of traditional and modern in my eyes. The motif of the bird at the top is also featured in the logo of the brewery and the overall label design is shared with their two other core beers, albeit with different colour schemes.

To be completely truthful, I didn’t actually know this was going to be an Altbier when I cracked the bottle and took my first sip. A shared the beer with my Dad (made the early morning drinking feel more respectable) and after our first taste we both agreed that it was a cracker. Incredibly easy drinking while having all the fruity, malty and toasty characteristics you’d expect in an Altbier. It didn’t hang around long and I would have loved to bring back an extra bottle or two or gotten a chance to try some of Kamakura’s other beers. I’m not sure what German Beer Traditionalists would make of it but considering it won the 2010 WBA for the Altbier category, it’s probably doing a good job! Highly recommend people try if they ever get the chance

Score: 9/10

Thanks for taking the time to read this review! If you’ve had this beer, or are a fan of Altbiers in general, please drop a comment! I would love to know your thoughts! Cheers!

Additional Information:

Style: Altbier

Hops: Not Available

Malt: Not Available

IBU: Not Available

ABV: 6%

Gluten Free: No

Vegan: Not Available

Location: A Japanese Supermarket

Price: Approx 650Yen (Roughly £3.50)