Otaru Beer. Remember that? Was it a book that Luke had or a book back in Cadillac? I just remember a crazy looking bottle and an exotic name. (Not that Otaru sounds so exotic anymore. The city of Otaru is about as far from Tomo's hometown as Alpena is from Cadillac. But I guess when I think about it Alpena sounds pretty exotic to me now.)

And here it is. Not in a crazy bottle, but most definitely Otaru Beer. The bottle with the orange label is an ale and the green is a lager. I actually preferred the latter. Budweiser and Miller have done lagers no favors and most folks associate the word lager with mass-market watery concoctions lacking in flavor and character. Not this Otaru lager. It's light, to be sure, but light in the way Darjeeling tea is light, or Mozart. I can't say much about oak undertones or hints of cherry. I can't really describe the flavor at all. It tastes like...good beer.