We’re into 2019 now. It's time to take stock
of new beers brought out in 2019 by the four major breweries in Japan: Asahi,
Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory. I'll discuss them each in a separate post. I'll
also give the current RateBeer weighted average score and my own rating score
(both scores out of a possible total of five), keeping in mind that most of
these newer brews have fewer than ten ratings.
Now, let’s have a look at Sapporo’s new
offerings in 2019:
Two very limited-edition beers, each with hops from a single producer:
Sapporo
Seven Premium Kamifurano Oosumi-san no Hoppu Batake Kara
Pale Lager - Intl / Premium / 5% /My Rating
3.1 / RateBeer Avg: 2.96
What a weird name. Did they really get ALL the
hops from that one guy's hop field? Thick fruity nose, some grass and hay.
Bright clear gold color, thick sponge-like head. Ripe stone fruit, thin
bitterness. Flavors fade after mid palate. Thin body. Hmm... certainly has some
decent hop aroma, but flavor is thin and disappointing. This one will not be
around very long, I'm sure.
Sapporo
Seven Premium Aomori Takko-machi Tanuma-san no Hoppu Batake Kara
Pale Lager - Intl / Premium / 5% / My Rating 3
/ RateBeer Avg: 2.91
7-11 limited brew. Nose of grain and a pungent
sort of grassiness. Medium gold color and a quickly dissipating head. Flavors
of grain, punchy fruity hops with moderate bitterness, and a light peppery
finish. Thin-medium body. Pretty malty, with some tangy hoppiness,..... but
anyway....
Four new beers in the Yebisu line:
Sapporo
Yebisu Shizuku
Helles / Dortmunder Export / 6% / My Rating
3.3 / RateBeer Avg: 2.94
Thin malty aroma, fine noble hop nose, all
very fresh. Medium gold color, with a thin creamy white head. Smooth malty
initial, rich in mid palate. Goes a bit spicy and peppery with hops, Mild
bitterness and a thin dryish finish. A pleasant variation on the standard
Yebisu, with a little more richness and punch to it.
Sapporo
Yebisu Joel Robuchon French Pils (2019)
Pilsener / Pils / Pilsner / 5.5% / My Rating: 3.40
/ RateBeer Avg: 3.09
Sweet delicate malty aroma, with citrus and
grapes. Bright gold color. Smooth malty initial, some citrus tang, grape juice
or wine, and a light metallic note in the finish. Medium body, a little heavy
for the style, and some fuzzy carbonation tingle on the tongue. Champagne malt (whatever
that is) and two kinds of hops. The grape / wine note makes it feel a bit more
alcoholic than it really is. Almost seems like a hybrid. This is the seventh,
and the last, beer that Joel Robuchon supervised for Sapporo before he died in
August of 2018.
Sapporo
Yebisu Premium Ale
Red Ale / Intl Amber Ale / 5.5% / My Rating:
3.3 / RateBeer Avg: 3.15
Can. Light spicy nose, with berries, and mild
stone fruit. Deep copper/brown color, moderate head. Fruity flavor, with mild
caramel. Bitterness hits pretty hard in mid palate and extends through to the
finish. Thin-medium body. Interesting mix of flavors (for a Yebisu). Nose isn't
much. Bitterness quite strong.
Sapporo
Fukkoku Tokusei Yebisu
Helles / Dortmunder Export / 5% / My Rating:
3.4 / RateBeer Avg: 3.09
Malty nose, with lightly pungent grassy notes
and all a bit fuzzy on the sinuses. Bright gold color, thin white head. Thick
malty initial, heavy and bready in mid palate, with a surprisingly sharp
bitterness near finish. Medium body. Nose is "Yebisu," but the flavor
incorporates more bitterness than most beers in the Yebisu line. The body is
heavier as well
Sapporo
Hokkaido Nama Beer
Pale Lager - North Am. / Light / 5.5% / My
Rating: 3.2 / RateBeer Avg: 2.91
Can. Light malty nose, some grass. Medium gold
color. Mild bready malt, pleasant gentle bittering, then a bit sweetish, and a
fairly bland finish. Thin-medium body. Okay. Nothing really special or
"Hokkaido" about this one.
Sapporo
Beer Surprise Shifuku no Kaori
Pilsener / Pils / Pilsner / 5% / My Rating:
3.3 / RateBeer Avg: 3.14
Nose is herbal, with plenty of citrus and
noble hops. Bright gold color. Smooth fruity flavors, lightly bready, and has
rather sharp bittering from mid palate onward. Thin-medium body, very light hop
burn. The sharp bitterness is similar to that in other beers is this series.
“Beer Surprise” – such a wonderful name....;((
Sapporo
Honkaku Karakuchi
Pale Lager - North Am. / Light/ 5% / My Rating
2.1 / RateBeer Avg: 2.49
Nose of spirits, grain, some grass, and light
alc. fumes. Medium gold color. Mild malt, spirits emerge pretty quickly, light
sugars, and a thin touch of bitterness. Thin-medium boy. Pretty not good.
Sapporo
Mugi to Hoppu So no Kaori
Pale Lager - North Am. / Light / 5% / My
Rating: 2.5 / RateBeer Avg: 2.79
Can. Fuzzy citrus nose, light grass. Medium
gold color. Mild stone fruit flavor, with light apple and pear notes. Tiny
bitterness. Has some of the requisite spirits presence but not too much.
Thin-medium body. Not terrible.
Sapporo
Mugi to Hoppu Natsudzumi
Pale Lager - North Am. / Light / 5% / My
Rating: 2 / RateBeer Avg: 2.70
Thin floury malt aroma, mild spirits + hop
mixture. Bright medium gold color, with a spongy off-white head, and lazy
carbonation. Fruity initial, then grain spirits slip in, and then a mild hop
bitterness. Thin-medium body. Nothing special or even summery about this one.
Sapporo
Mugi to Hoppu Hon Juku
Pale Lager - North Am. / Light / 6% / My
Rating: 2.4 / RateBeer Avg: 2.72
Overripe stone fruit nose, mosquito spray,
spirits. Clear bright gold color. Thick stone fruit extract, spirits. The
spirits flavor extend to the finish, along with a mild hop bitterness. Medium
body. Covers up the junky aspects somewhat. Not the worst turd in the Mugi to
Hoppu punch bowl, but not worth purchasing
Sapporo
Mugi to Hoppu Tohoku No Kaori
Pale Lager - North Am. / Light 5% / RateBeer
Avg: 2.79
No chance to try this one
Sapporo
Hokkaido Off No Gochisou
Pale Lager - Intl / Premium / 5% / RateBeer
Avg: 2.89
No chance to try this one
Sapporo
Mega Lager
Pale Lager – Strong / 6% / My Rating 1.8 /
RateBeer Avg: 2.68
Can. Nose of sewer pipe, and crushed rotten
fruit. Clear medium gold color. Harsh fruity flavors, rough sweet and sour
stuff. Big carbonation jump in mid palate. Ouch! Yuck! Label says "beer
taste" – Oh, yeah? Well, hardly, says I. Herkules hops -- so what? Avoid
this one.
Sapporo
Innovative Brewer Sorachi 1984
Blonde Ale / Golden Ale / 5.5% / My Rating:
2.8 / RateBeer Avg: 3.01
Aromas of stone fruit, soap, some sort of
wine, and lemons fried up in butter. Dark gold color. Flavors of stone fruit,
apples, light citrus, green onions, dill, mint, and more soap. Thin-medium
body. Flavors are certainly unusual. Sorachi Ace seems a bit too strong to be
used as a single hop. Hard to drink at first, and then the palate gets
(somewhat) used to it.
Sapporo
Innovative Brewer Sky Pils
Pilsener / Pils / Pilsner / 5% / RateBeer Avg:
2.76
No chance to try this one
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