The Altered Reality of Rape-Beer

So the other day we wanted to get out of the house and take a scenic drive next to the ocean. I decided on heading north up Route 338. It was very nice and we got out along the way several times to soak up what's left of the warm Summer rays with the added bonus of cool breezes off the ocean. We continued north until we hit Mutsu Bay, then headed west through Yokohama Town, which likes to be famous for rape. I guess a better way to say it is Nanohana. Remember the Tasty Rape Cream Post from last October? Nanohana means rape blossom, the flower of rapeseed, which is a major ingredient in vegetable oil and canola oil. Well, they're making their own beer from rape, so I bought two bottles, here they are, each around $4 a piece. Glad they came as singles!


The one on the left is an "Alt" and the one on the right, a "Kolsch." Although I've drank plenty of beer, I had no idea what these terms were, so a severe googling was in order. Here's what I found:

Alt- Altbier (often abbreviated to Alt) is the name given to a form of pale ale that originated in Düsseldorf and the Rhineland region in Germany.
Kolsch- Kölsch is a local beer speciality, brewed in Cologne, Germany. It is a clear beer with a bright straw yellow hue, and it has a prominent, but not extreme, hoppiness.

But how did they taste? Here were my results: They were both tasty, the Alt being more of an amber-ish beer. I liked the Alt better. But why was the Alt an amber beer when an Alt is supposed to be more of a pale ale? Hmmm...

Further inspection of the back of the bottle, with lots of help from Mrs. Slim, revealed this beer did not contain Nanohana, was not brewed using water from Yokohama Town, and was not even brewed in Yokohama Town. It was brewed in Senboku, the prefecture south-west of Yokohama Town. So what the hell was going on here?

Well, you can buy a souvenir anywhere, with that town, or state, or zoo, or prison's name on it, but most likely, the shit was made in Hong Kong. This, from what I can tell, was a way to get tourists to buy some beer with a cool label and a not so cool price. It was very good beer, but I would not get it again; too expensive and not really all that special.

By the way, before I see the question in your comments, yes, I felt raped on the price and sincerity of this beer. Photo by Tokyo Slim.