I ran out of beer, so I went to the nearby convenience store to pick up a few cans to last me until the weekend. I got a few Sapporo Black Labels, but don’t expect me to write about those – I don’t know beers enough to write meaningfully about mass-market brews. I didn’t intend to write about Grand Kirin either, but then…
I poured myself a glass of it, and the impressive grainy lager nose caught me from three miles and an inch away. It’s the grainy, sour aroma that is simply “the beer smell” to me. There is dry bitterness to it and thick malts.
It’s gold colored with a medium-sized head that disappears quite quickly, only leaving behind some minor lacing.
It’s got a smooth medium body with light carbonation. The hops’ aroma is subdued, but their bitterness is allowed space some. It’s grainy and dry. There is a thickness to it that reminds me of smoked cheese, and something like grill spice.
Its taste itself isn’t near as powerful as the nose would suggest, which was quite a letdown.
I used to be an Asahi guy because they spnreoosd an organization I belonged to, but since I’ve been back in the States this year I’ve found I prefer Sapporo. The Asahi here tastes just a little bit different maybe a hint of honey? and I feel like the recipe might be a bit different for the North American market. Could just be the water. Do you know of any differences elsewhere outside of Japan?I’m looking forward to getting back this summer to re-sample and see which I prefer after all.And Yebisu Gold is great, but whenever I’m arguing beers with friends we put that one on another level from Super Dry Premium Malts is somewhere in between.
If you want good beer, just get craft. Large-scale craft like Yo-Ho is available even in convenience stores nowadays, and even those are waaaay better than anything Kirin or especially Suntory has put out so far. I must say Suntory’s “craft” lineup is outright abysmal.
There are also lots of stores that stock local/famous craft. If you need directions, I’ll gladly give you some tips.