We’re well into 2018 now. It's time to
take stock of new beers brought out in 2017 by the four major breweries in
Japan: Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory. I'll discuss them each in a separate
post. I'll give a general evaluation (from tasting notes), my rating score, and the current RateBeer weighted average
score (both scores out of a possible total of 5), keeping in mind that most of
these newer brews have fewer than ten ratings.
Let’s start with Asahi Breweries:
Asahi Breweries – 14 new beers in 2017
Three new varieties in the Asahi Clear
series:
Asahi Clear Black
Dunkel/Tmavý / 5.0%
/ RateBeer Avg. 2.7 / My
Rating 2.4
Thin aromas of roast malt, dark sugar,
and very light chocolate. Dark translucent brown. Dark roast, traces of dark
fruit and chocolate, and a small bit of spirits. Thin body, a bit watery. Not
so good, but does cover up the added spirits fairly well (if that's a plus).
Asahi Clear Natsu no Suzumi
Spice/Herb/Vegetable / 5.0%
RateBer Avg. 2.69 / My
Rating 2.4
Thin citrus aroma with very light
coriander and slightly stinky barley spirits. Medium gold straw with a fluffy
white head. Very dull malty initial, small citrus note, and some spirits. Thin
body. Has the adjuncts of a witbier but in a wheat-less lager-like beer.
Asahi Clear Aki no Zen
Oktoberfest/Märzen / 6.0% /
RateBeer Avg. 2.76 / My Rating 2.6
Light roast nose, a little caramel.
Light copper color, with a quickly dissipating white head. Thin caramel flavor,
with mild spirits, raisins. A bit metallic with thin sweetness and very low
bittering. Thin-medium body. A bit rough, overall.
Asahi Clear Zeitaku Zero
Pale Lager /
6.0% / RateBeer Avg. 2.53 / My
Rating 1.8
Thin sickly stone fruit aroma, with wet
paper. Dull watery amber color. Rough extract-like malt, spirits notes in mid
palate. Thin body, fizzy. Junk. It even includes caramel coloring as an
ingredient.
And seven new Asashi Houjou beers, several
with rather limited hop varieties in their World Hop Selection series:
Asahi Dry Premium Houjou Extra
Pale Lager / 5.5% /
RateBeer Avg. 2.89 / My Rating 2.8
Thin sweet malty nose, mild grassy hop,
and slightly stale overall. Medium gold color. Gentle malty sweetness, which
increases throughout the palate. Thin fruitiness and mild final bitterness.
Nothing really much "extra" about this. Pretty sweet, though. The
label touts the Spalter Select hops, but they don't make much of an appearance.
Asahi Dry Premium Houjou Mandarina
Bavaria
Pale Lager /
6.0% / RateBeer Avg. 2.87 / My
Rating 3.1
Grainy aroma, along with fruity hops.
Bright clear gold color, thin head. Flavors of grain, light peaches and pears.
A prickly bitterness creeps in at mid palate, and it intensifies a bit, lasting
through to the finish. With most of the beers in this "World Hop Selection"
Dry Premium Houjou series, the hops are not much in evidence. Here, they
definitely are, especially in the flavor. If they ditched the rice and starch,
this one might be a decent premium lager.
Asahi Dry Premium Houjou Bobek
Pale Lager / 6.0% / RateBeer
Avg. 2.84 / My Rating 2.7
Light sugary nose, small fruit, grass,
and some apple. Medium gold color. Thin sweet malt, grain, moderate bittering
mid palate. Then some sugary note, and a thin bitter finish. Thin-medium body.
Okay. Would probably be better without the added rice and corn starch....
Asahi Dry Premium Houjou Spalter Select
Pale Lager / 6.0% /
RateBeer Avg. 2.94 / My Rating 2.9
Light spicy hop nose, something like
rusty nails in water, and some citrus undertones. Medium gold color. Thin malty
initial, mild and sweet fruitiness in mid palate, small flowery and weedy
hopping. Medium body (a bit heavy for the style). Very gentle all around.
Asahi Dry Premium Houjou Motueka
Pale Lager / 6.0% /
RateBeer Avg. 2.98 / My Rating 3.2
Grassy nose, with some mild tropical
fruit, and citrus. Medium gold, fine head. Sweetish. malty initial, mixed with
citrus. Decent mid palate hop hits. Goes a little buttery (but not
unpleasantly). Thin bitter finish. Thin-medium body. Has a bit more character
and hop-forwardness than others in the Houjou series. But do they need to
include corn starch and rice in these ones?
Asahi Dry Premium Houjou Kaori Zeitaku
Bitter
Pale Lager /
6.0% / RateBeer Avg. 2.9 / My
Rating 2.8
Ripe fruity nose, light grassy hops.
Clear medium gold color. Flavors of grain (fairly rich), slight spicy or herbal
note in.mid palate, a touch of citrus, and alcohol intrudes a bit as well.
Thin-medium body. Not terrible, especially not for something made with rice and
corn starch.
Asahi Dry Premium Houjou Baisen-jitate
Imperial Pils/Strong Pale Lager /
6.5% / RateBeer Avg. 2.86 / My
Rating 2.7
Nose is quite fruity, with overripe
orange, small stone fruit, light toast, and a small peppery note. Deep gold
color, thin white head. Light roast, mild sweet fruitiness. After the adjuncts
kick in, it goes downhill. Thin-medium body. Pretty much par for the course in
this "premium" series, with a bit more fruitiness and higher alcohol
level.
And finally, three new ones in the Asahi
Super Dry series:
Asahi Super Dry Japan Special
Pale Lager 5.5% /
RateBeer Average 2.72 / My Rating 2.4
Nose of grain, some rough citrus, and
alcohol. Clear gold straw color, fluffy white head. Light graininess, slightly
harsh fruit, some mid palate bitterness, alcohol, and thinned-out stone fruit
skin. Thin body. Not so good.
Asahi Super Dry Shunrei Karakuchi
Pale Lager /
5.0% / RateBeer Avg. 2.76 / My
Rating 2.8
A pale malt nose, with a few leaves of
grass stirring in the air. Light pale straw color. Light fruit, grain, a bit of
citrus, small bitterness, mid palate sweetness, and a moderately dry finish.
Thin body, good carbonation. Not terrible. Better than regular Super Dry, for
sure. But also not particularly karakuchi (sharp and dry), either.
Asahi Super Dry Extra Hard
Pale Lager /
5.5% / RateBeer Avg. 2.46 / My
Rating 2.4
Nose of slight sewer, grass, and some
citrus. Clear gold color, fluffy head. Thin, lightly rasty maltiness, grain.
Smooths out a bit in mid palate. Bit of grass. Light bitter tracks in finish.
Thin body. Contains no spirits... but it sure seems to be channeling happoshu junk.
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