We’re into the new year now. It's time to look around and
take stock of new beers brought out in 2015 by the four major breweries in
Japan: Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo, and Suntory. I'll discuss them each in a separate
post. I'll also give the style, the alcohol percentage, and my rating score,
and the current RateBeer weighted average score (both scores out of a possible
total score of 5), keeping in mind that most of them have fewer than ten
ratings.
In the previous three posts, we looked at Kirin, Asahi, and
Sapporo. Now let’s see what Suntory Liquors Limited brought out.
Suntory debuted their Craft Select line with the following
brews:
(Amber Ale)
5.5% Rating: 2.2 RB Avg. Rating: 2.72
Aromas of yeast, caramel, light spice note, and boiled cola
drink. Flavors of very thin caramel, light berries, mild hopping, and it all
floats away to nearly nothing in the finish. Thin body, watery. Has a modicum
of flavor notes, but it’s really dull -- even for this ordinarily dull style.
Suntory Craft Select Brown Ale
(Brown Ale) 5% Rating: 3
RB Avg. Rating: 2.94
A light roast nose, medium dark fruit, light sugar. Pretty
reddish color, thin off-white head, sloppy lace. Malty initial, light and
toasty, moderate hop balance, thin lightly sweet finish. Some metallic notes,
unfortunately. Medium thin body. Fairly tasty but very tame.
Suntory Craft Select Golden Ale
(Golden Ale/Blond Ale)
5 % Rating: 3.3 RB Avg. Rating: 2.97
Getting a bit better now. This one has a sweet fruity nose,
butter cookies, grassy hops. Rather malty opening flavors, and then a mild mid-palate
carbonation burst with grain and rich cereal. Decent bitter tracks in the
finish. Medium body, with tingly pin pricks of carbonation in mid palate. The
aroma hopping is pleasant. But the mid-palate thing is a bit jarring, in what
should be a fairly gentle style. There is really nothing
"reminiscent" of white wine, as the label would have us believe.
(Stout) 6% Rating: 2.8
RB Avg. Rating: 2.85
A gentle dark roast malty nose. Roast malt, light chocolate,
a bit of a cola note, some strange dark fruit, and slips of bitterness in mid
and final. Medium body. A bit overcarbonated for a stout. Very tame and
under-hopped stuff. Not bad, but certainly not an imperial stout.
Suntory Craft Select IPA
(India Pale Ale) 6.5% Rating: 2.5
RB Avg. Rating: 2.53
A little yeast and some light citrus in the nose. Malty
initial, harsh piney hop notes, overripe peaches. The rough hopping diminishes
a bit in late mid and final, but it’s not enough to save this beer. Thin body.
Maybe more malt needed. The elevated alcohol level and the bad hopping make it a
bit hard to drink. Not really a terrible beer -- just not a very good IPA.
(Oktoberfest/Märzen)
5.5% Rating: 2.8 RB
Avg. Rating: 2.69
A light roast nose, sweet malt, and powdered sugar. Mild
roast initial, sweet streams of caramel, sugar, and very tiny bittering in mid
and final. Thin-medium body. Okay, but the sweetness is a touch overdone.
Suntory Craft Select Pale Ale
(American Pale Ale) 5% Rating: 3.1
RB Avg. Rating: 2.97
Ripe fruity aromas that blossom a bit after a swirl in the
glass. Mild fruity initial flavor, light hopping in mid, and a slow fade out.
Smooth stuff, medium body, and clean. Balanced, overall, with a slight sweet
edge. Just a bit dull, though, through mid and final.
Suntory Craft Select Special Bitter
(Premium Bitter/ESB)
5% Rating: 3 RB Avg. Rating: 3.05
Some citrus and grass in the nose. Pleasant initial fruity
sweetness, and then a quick hit of bittering which dominates through the
finish. Medium body. Fairly clean. Okay, but they took the "bitter"
part too literally.
(Spice/Herb/Vegetable)
5% Rating: 2.4 RB
Avg. Rating: 2.47
The first of two pumpkin beers Suntory produced, it has a thin
roast malt nose, with small sugary fruit, vanilla, very mild chocolate candy. Very
light roast malt initial, and then a kind of sticky and somewhat unpleasant
fruitiness in mid palate. Some perfume or cologne-like character (if one were
to drink them). Minimal hopping in finish. The pumpkin doesn’t really emerge as
a distinct flavor. Maybe better to dab this one behind the ears or on the
wrist. Feel like I got tricked rather than treated. Boo!
Suntory also extended their Craftman’s series with five more
styles:
Suntory Craftman’s Beer Vol. 2 Enjuku no Umami Marzen
(Oktoberfest/Märzen)
5.5% Rating: 3.3 RB Avg. Rating: 2.99
A decent caramel nose, with some yeast. It begins with light
toasty malt, sweetens up in mid, and then the caramel reasserts itself along
with light bitterness in final. Thin-medium body, soft carbonation. Very
pleasant. Delicate flavor changes across the palate.
Suntory Craftman’s Beer Vol. 3 Kasshoku no Yoin Brown Ale
(Brown Ale) 5% Rating: 2.8
RB Avg. Rating: 2.93y
This one comes with an extract-like nose, quite sugary, with
light caramel and roast malt. Thin roast initial. Mid palate goes back to the
extract thing. Gentle hopping in finish. Light body, a bit fizzy. Thin and
rather weak, even for a brown ale.
Suntory Craftsman’s Beer Vol. 4 Hiiro no Hojun Alt
(Altbier) 5.5% Rating: 2.6
RB Avg. Rating: 2.94
A yeasty nose, with some light toasty maltiness. Light roast
malt flavor, and then metallic notes intrude, with a little gentle hopping, and
a tiny malty finish. Thin and watery. Very mild and uninspired stuff. Not much
to grab onto here.
Suntory Craftsman’s Beer Vol. 5 Seirei no Kohaku Dunkel
(Dunkel/Tmavý) 5.5% Rating: 3
RB Avg. Rating: 2.95
The nose has some caramel, with mild roast, sugary, a small
yeasty note. Moderate roast malt, caramel, light sweet notes of dark fruit, yet nearly candyish in mid palate and final.
Thin-medium body. Nice enough. Maybe a tad too sweet.
Suntory Craftman’s Beer Vol. 6 Senretsu no Kaori Amber Lager
(Amber Lager/Vienna)
5% Rating: 3.2 RB Avg. Rating. 3:04
Bready nose, with light caramel. Sweetish malty initial, a
bit of hop tang in mid palate, and settles into a light bready sweet finish.
Medium body. Good maltiness, but a bit heavy for a lager.
Suntory also added three new versions of their flagship
Premium Malt’s (sic) line:
Suntory The Premium Malts Kaoru Premium 2015 Hatsuzumi Hop Nouveau
(Golden Ale/Blond Ale)
6% Rating: 3.2 RB Avg. Rating: 3
Mild hop nose (doesn’t seem much like Saaz hops), some
gentle fruitiness, and apparent alcohol. Initial mild sweetness, with light tangy
citrus. Sweetness thickens a bit in mid palate and then slips away. Thin-medium
body. Not too bad, as a blond ale, but not very special as a harvest hop beer.
Fairly tasty. Such a lonnng name.
Suntory The Premium Malts 2015 Hatsuzumi Hop Nouveau
(Premium Lager)
5.5% Rating: 3.4 RB Avg. Rating: 3.03
Opens with a medium-strength Saaz-like nose, slightly stinky
and moderately bready. Smooth malty initial. Thickens a bit with a nice move to
bitterness and then balances. Medium body. Feels deeper in flavor than the
golden/blond ale version, for sure -- the hops emerge and complement the malt
base a lot better.
Suntory The Premium Malt’s Diamond Malt Hatsu Shikomi
(Pilsener) 5.5% Rating: NR
RB Avg. Rating: 3.07
I didn’t have a chance to try this one …..
(Premium Lager) 5% Rating: 2.9
RB Avg. Rating: 3.07
Thinly malty nose, a bit perfumey, with a touch of sewer.
Light roast, small tangy fruit jump in mid palate, and a bit bready. Finishes
weak and lightly sweet. Thin-medium body. 100% malt, but there are some happoshu-like characteristics.
Disappointing one, from this line of beers.
(Spice/Herb/Vegetable)
5.5% Rating: 2.3 RB Avg. Rating: 2.71
Fat candyish nose, fruit gum, vanilla, sugared cereal, and
spice. A moderate fruity initial, something very like added spirits creeps in, with
small spiciness, and mild bitter tracks. Thin-medium body. Tastes quite
artificial. Not like real pumpkin, but rather something that was developed in a
flavor lab. Trick or treat!
Suntory Radler
(Radler/Shandy) 4% Rating: 2.6
RB Avg. Rating: 2.57
A lemon spritzer aroma. Thin sugary citrus, very much like
7-Up in mid palate, with a thin sweet fruity finish. Thin body, slick, with a
sugar coating in final. Not half bad, really, for the style.
Suntory Radler Party Label-Blood Orange & Lemon
(Radler/Shandy) 4% Rating: 2.4
RB Avg. Rating: 2.78
Big fat candyish nose, with soda pop fizziness, lemony.
Flavor is mostly thick citrus, like light orange juice, and further sugary
sweetness. Thin-medium body. Kind of sticky and way sweet with artificial
flavoring.
(Oktoberfest/Märzen)
6% Rating: 1.8 RB Avg. Rating: 2.27
A very light roast nose, thin, and bit rusty or metallic.
Tiny roast malt, spirits are moderate, a bit buttery in mid palate, and
finishes with a light powder-like sweetness. Thin and watery. Not disgusting,
exactly (which, I suppose, is an achievement for this kind of thing), but very
thin flavors and a bit too alcoholic.
Suntory Fuyu no Kaori
(Pale Lager) 5% Rating: 2.2
RB Avg. Rating: 2.5
A stinky, hoppy nose, somewhat sweetish as well, with apple
juice. Thin malt initial, some overripe citrus, and spirits. Flattens out
quickly, as most happoshu does.
Medium body. Certainly has some "kaori" (aroma hops are doubled), but
it’s not really so pleasant.
(Schwarzbier) 5% Rating: 2.7
RB Avg. Rating: 2.79
Dark roast nose, with some chocolate and berries. Mild
roast, chocolate, and a hint of spirits. Thin-medium body. Starts out fine, but
the spirits deaden the flavors. The dark roast flavors are masking a lot of the
junk here.
Suntory The Brew Toushitsu 70% Off
(Pale Lager) 4% Rating: 1.4
RB Avg. Rating: 2.11
Aroma of mild cardboard, and the expected sewer notes as
well. Grain, potato peels, and a harsh mid palate of various other vegetable
scraps. Tongue-punishing spirits and carbonation. Leaves you wanting to scrape
your mouth, brush your teeth, and regret your stupid choices. This is truly
world-crass stuff.
No comments:
Post a Comment