The beers of Iwakuni: Yo-ho brewing Tokyo Black [porter]

I've written on Yo-ho before, I'm a big fan of their Aooni Pale Ale. This time I finally have their porter and I'm expecting great things from my favorite Japanese craft brewer. I think I got this at the YouMe, which means this has been in my fridge for about three months. I'm currently trying to clean house as I'm only permitted to have 12 beers in the barracks and I currently have almost my max in "review beer", which means I don't have any room for "just drink it" beer. I didn't actually talk about the Yo-ho brewery itself last time as there were no resources available in English, but now there is so here you go. From the site "YO-HO BREWING COMPANY was established in 1996, as a subsidiary of Hoshino Resort CO., a Japanese leading resort management company. Its establishment was soon after the removal of the law, which prohibited the production of craft beer in Japan. Until then, Japanese people didn’t have “beer culture”. Almost all beers in Japan were “Lager beer” and people rarely knew about “Ale beer”. We started brewing “Ale” with an aim of letting Japanese people know rich and various tastes of Ale. Since then, we have been producing our ales in the town of Karuizawa, which is located in the mountainous and snowy region. Our brewery is surrounded by beautiful nature and we use natural fresh water from Mt. Asama to make our beers.16 years have passed since the establishment of YO-HO BREWING COMPANY, and now we’ve come to be known as one of the leading Japanese craft beer breweries.
In 2010, we were awarded the “Brewery of the year” (Heavy Scale Brewery Section) by Japan Craft Beer Association. And for last 5 years, we continue to increase revenue and profit. We would like to make more and more people happy by providing our tasty beers."

I really love Yoho's cans, they have full wraparound art with rich color. The mostly naked, balding Japanese man looking at the moon through the clouds is a little weird, but it's interesting and certainly a departure from the norm. Aside from the large TOKYO BLACK on the front and back, the website, and the admonition that this is a porter on the front, there is no English on the can. However, I was able to find this beer on the English version of their site. According to the Brewer:Tokyo Black
Spec:Style: Robust Porter
Original Gravity: 1.056
ABV: 5.0%
Bitterness: 34.5 IBU
Color: 215.0 EBC
Can Size: 350ml (11.8 fl oz)
Characteristic: Porter is an English traditional, dark-colored beer with roasted malt flavor. Beer of this style is popular not only in England but all over the world. We brew fresh and genuine Porter in Japan. Deep dark in color, Tokyo Black is a Porter with extremely rich taste and creamy top.
Recommended serving temperature:13℃
Award - Gold Medal: International beer competition (Robust Porter Category, 2010)
- Silver Medal: Monde Selection (Beers, Waters, Soft Drinks & Non-Alcoholic Beverages 2011)
 I have high expectations for this porter. The Aooni was probably the best Japanese beer I've ever had, and in my top 10 for IPA's. So, without further adieu.

Nose from the can is light roasted malt, and a little bit caramel. This is a jet black porter with a creamed coffee colored head. Nose from the glass is more licorice than roasted malt, but not a heavy scent. On first sip, it has a coffee, cream, and roast malt flavor. It has a very creamy mouthfeel, is upper medium bodied, and has moderate acidity. Now that I've had a little bit, I'm getting a touch of licorice flavor, mostly in aftertaste, but you can taste it in the beer itself if you look for it.

You know, seeing new people come to Japan, you always hear about one souvenir people want to bring back, and that's a Samurai sword (Usually they want Katanas, but sometimes you get the kid that pretends to know what he's talking about and wants a Wakasashi, which is actually feasable) . Well, history lesson kiddos. After WW2 the majority of Japanese swords were taken by the Allies and either brought back as souvenirs (so you kind of missed the boat on that one) or were destroyed. Only high ranking officers were allowed to keep theirs, and only a very few others escaped surrender. So actual antique swords aren't going to happen for you here (Although you can purchase a WW2 Shin Gunto in America for about $750-$900). New made traditional swords are feasible to get, but they are outlandishly expensive. A new made full size wall hangar sword (as in it isn't sharp) will cost you nearly $600, and a fully usable traditionally made sword? Almost $2000. Good news though, you can get a fully usable Wakasashi (the short sword) for about $1000. Or you can do a great deal of research, learn how to identify fakes, and get a real 400 year old sword in America for around the same price.

Final thoughts. This was a good porter. I'm glad I had this. Yo-Ho did not disappoint or fail to satisfy. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval