Westmalle Tripel is a classic Trappist ale, and certainly one of the best tripels made anywhere.
HERE is my YouTube review.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #178 -- Westmalle Tripel
Westmalle Tripel is a classic Trappist ale, and certainly one of the best tripels made anywhere.
HERE is my YouTube review.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #177 -- St-Feuillien Grand Cru
St-Feuillien Grand Cru is a wonderfully complex tripel (or strong blonde ale).
Click HERE to see my YouTube review.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #176 -- Minoh W-IPA
Minoh W-IPA is a pleasant departure from the fairly tame beers in Minoh's regular lineup.
Click HERE to see my YouTube review.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #175 -- Minoh Stout.
They tout Minoh Stout as the "World's Best," but it is, alas, only pretty good.
Click HERE to watch my YouTube review.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #173 -- Minoh Pilsner
Minoh Pilsner is a decent, if unexciting, example of the Czech pils style.
Click HERE for my YouTube review.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #172 -- Minoh Pale Ale
Minoh Pale Ale is a respectable member of the brewery's main lineup.
Click HERE to see my YouTube review.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #171 -- Shiga Kogen / Pipworks UFO
Shiga Kogen / Pipeworks UFO is an interesting collaboration brew, packed with blueberries, raspberries, and coffee.
Click HERE to see my YouTube review.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #170 -- Shiga Kogen 一石三鳥 / Isseki Sancho
Shiga Kogen 一石三鳥 / Isseki Sancho (2019 version) ... a supreme collaboration with Dieu de Ciel. It's rich, warming, and full of complex flavors. Barrel-aged in Ichiro's Malt whiskey barrels.
Click HERE for my YouTube review.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #169 -- Shiga Kogen Takashi Imperial Stout
Shiga Kogen Takashi Imperial Stout is named for an office chief at the brewery. Great stuff!
HERE is my YouTube review.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Monday, February 17, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #167 -- Shiga Kogen 一切皆苦 / Issai Kaiku / IPA for a Beautiful Day
Shiga Kogen 一切皆苦 / Issai Kaiku / IPA for a Beautiful Day -- their 15th anniversary beer.
Click HERE to watch my YouTube review.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #166 -- Shiga Kogen 其の十 / NO.10 Anniversary IPA
Shiga Kogen 其の十 / NO.10 Anniversary IPA is absolutely one of the finest IPAs made in Japan.
Click HERE to watch my YouTube review.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #165 -- Shiga Kogen Porter
Shiga Kogen Porter offers a smooth balance between chocolate sweetness and hop bitterness.
Click HERE to watch my YouTube review.
Friday, February 14, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #164 -- Shiga Kogen House IPA
Shiga Kogen House IPA is an amped-up version of the regular. In my opinion, this Double IPA really put Shiga Kogen on the craft beer map.
Click HERE for my YouTube review.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #162 -- Shiga Kogen Indian Summer Saison
Shiga Kogen Indian Summer Saison is a treat any time of the year.
Click HERE to see my YouTube review.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #161 -- Shiga Kogen Baby Blonde Miyama
Shiga Kogen Baby Blonde Miyama is a hybrid of saison and blonde ale styles, lighter and less bitter than the regular Miyama Blonde.
Click HERE to watch my YouTube review.
Monday, February 10, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #160 -- Shiga Kogen Miyama Blonde
Shiga Kogen Miyama Blonde provides a Japanese take on the style, as it contains Miyama Nishi sake rice.
Click HERE for my YouTube review.
Friday, February 7, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #159 -- Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale
Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale is actually a session IPA, a lower-alcohol hop bomb.
Click right HERE for my YouTube review.
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #158 -- Shiga Kogen Pale Ale
Shiga Kogen Pale Ale: the flagship beer from one of the very best craft breweries in Japan.
Click HERE for my YouTube review.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #156 -- Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen is full of smoky, umami aromas and flavors.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Beering in Mind YouTube Channel Beer Review #155 -- Sapporo Yebisu Shizuku
Sapporo Yebisu Shizuku is a slightly richer and more full-bodied version of the regular Yebisu. It's fairly limited, so get to your local 7-11 (in Japan) to catch it before it disappears.
Click HERE for my YouTube review.
Summing Up: New Beers from the Japanese Major Brewing Companies in 2019 /日本の大手企業からの新しいビール 2019: 結語
Over the past four posts, I reviewed the majority of new
beers brought out by the four major Japanese breweries in 2019. If you like,
have a look at the posts for Asahi (HERE), Kirin, (HERE), Sapporo (HERE), and
Suntory (HERE).
The four major Japanese brewers produced 46 different beers,
down by 10 from 2018 (and by 20 from 2017).
They made 13 different styles of beer, five fewer than the
18 styles produced the year before (and nine fewer than the 22 styles made in
2017).
The most common style (26 / 56%) was, of course, pale lager,
with Asahi producing eight, Kirin three, Sapporo 10, and Suntory five
The second-most popular style (6%) was pilsner, with three,
all made by Sapporo.
The third-most popular style, at two each, were Pale Ale,
IPA, Blonde/Golden Ale, Apple Cider, Helles/Dortmunder, and Imperial Pilsner.
The biggest surprise is that Kirin came out with only six
new beers (compared to 13 in 2018).
Asahi and Suntory were also down, with only
14 new beers (18 in 2018) and nine new beers (14 in 2018), respectively.
Only
Sapporo increased their number, with 17 new beers (compared to 11 in 2018).
Judging from RateBeer average rating scores and my own
ratings (both out of a possible top score of 5.0), admittedly a limited sample,
for all 46 new beers, it seems that Kirin produced somewhat more interesting
and tastier beers, with Sapporo and Suntory not too far behind, than did Asahi
or Kirin…. and with Asahi trailing quite a bit on both accounts.
Asahi: 14 new beers
RateBeer Avg. 2.73
My Avg. 2.35
Kirin: 6 new beers
RateBeer Avg. 2.89
My Avg. 2.86
Sapporo: 14 new beers
RateBeer Avg. 2.88
My Avg. 2.75
Suntory: 9 new beers
RateBeer Avg. 2.88
My Avg. 2.82
Asahi is making weak efforts in cheapest happoshu (low-malt)
and “new genre” (no malt / fortified) styles, including their several new beers
in the Asahi Clear series and a new “crafty” line called Asahi Craft Style.
Kirin’s
Grand Kirin series, which usually has a few nice new styles each year, was
represented by a single disappointing brew: Grand Kirin Orange IPA.
Sapporo was
all over the place, with four new premium Yebisu beers and an equal number of
low-malt or no-malt brews in their Mugi to Hoppu line
To my mind, Suntory’s Premium Malt’s line continues to be
the best series of major brewery premium lagers made in Japan (especially the
four beers in the Master’s Dream series, which can be considered ultra-premium).
The Japanese beer market has been declining for
years, and the Japanese companies are looking for growth overseas. Three of the big four breweries have been purchasing
breweries outside of Japan.
In November of last year, Kirin (through its
subsidiary, Lion Little World Beverages) bought New Belgium Brewing, which is/was
the fourth-largest craft brewer in the United States.
Kirin also has a stake in
Brooklyn Brewery and bought acclaimed Fourpure Brewing Co. in 2018.
Sapporo
bought Anchor Brewing Co., an iconic brewery credited with sparking the American
craft beer scene in the 1970s.
Asahi has purchased a number of larger
international breweries in Eastern Europe and Australia.
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