Rating: 3.5/5

Stout by Ise Kadoya/Nikenjayamochi Kadoya Honten is a 5% ABV Japanese Stout. This beer is the the second in line that I have tried from Japanese craft beers. The last one I tried was the IPA which was more of a delicious barley wine. This beer is quite different than other stouts. It has some roasted malt character which gives off a little dark chocolate and coffee. It has more like a licorice and some minor sour wine notes that remind me of the Madrugada sour stout but to a more lighter degree of flavor and and alcohol. There is some smokey vanilla on there as well. I guess if you come into this one looking for a stout, you will be surprised. Because it does remind me of Madrugada, I will give it some good credit. The beer taste better than it smells as the sourness does smell alittle like old soy sauce. Although soy sauce is good and in the past, this company used to make soy sauces and would only make small batches of beer on occasion. A nice ale over all.