Subsidiaries
6.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
2008 version. Surprisingly aroma, lighter malt, citrus and pine. Rather light malt, cereals, bittering hops, Bitter finish with little malt flavor. Very light yellow color. Rather thin in malt. Decently bitter, but not much flavor at all. Better than their regular beers but too thin. 7/2/6/2/10 2011 version had very nice, fresh, green hops, with citrus, grass, juicy and tasty. A big surprise.
Tried
on 21 Dec 2008
at 04:18
5.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle from BevMo. Bottled on 03OCT08. Gold color with a substantial white head. Aromas of honey and fruit. Near medium body with frothy carbonation. Flavor is clean with some grassy hop. That touch of honey - flavor, not sweet - stays to the end. It is just a bit bitter in the finish. AB does a great job, just not very picky about which job, but this is a good thing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Dec 2008
at 00:53
5.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 5
On tap at The Gael in Kyoto. Attractive, slightly amber-tinted golden color. Sweet, malty aroma. Not much hops in there. Sweet flavor as well, with grains and cereal. OK malt, but too sweet generally. Nothing special, but certainly better than their usual beers.
Tried
from Draft
on 07 Dec 2008
at 02:06
5.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5
From the can. An all-malt beer made with only Japanese ingredients. Hmmm, is that supposed to make it better??? Sweet, fragrant aroma, very malty. Fruity, cherries with a sweet rich malt character. Rich, but a bit too sweet. Hops lacking. Nice enough, though, and a good break from “dry.” Better than your usual large-maker’s Japanese beer.
Tried
from Can
on 01 Dec 2008
at 02:23
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Autumn seasonal dry-hopped with freshly harvested Iwate hops. Dark gold, almost a touch of amber, huge head. Big hop aroma, quite fragrant and a bit flowery, with medium malt beneath, a bit of sweetness, fruit, maybe a touch of honey. Very hoppy flavor as well (aroma, not bittering), with toasty light malts, some fruit and honey. Slightly bitter finish. Finish it a bit disappointing—should have a bit more bitterness to go with the aroma. Not at all bad, though. Great nose on this. Decent enough, the fresh hops adding an aroma lacking in their regular beers.
Tried
on 27 Nov 2008
at 04:28
5.5/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
bottle, carrefour, mallorca, spain. as "japan’s prime brew kirin beer" aroma slight fruity, other than that any ordinary ale, appears clear yellow, small white head, flavor is sugar, malts, slight hops (spicy, good), great for the style.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Nov 2008
at 15:14
3.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 2
Texture 4
Overall 2.5
12oz bottle-pours a dissipating white head and yellow color. Aroma is grain/husky, rice? Taste is grain/husky, rice/adjuncts for sure, cardboard, slight hops. 2.0 That was when it was cold. As it warms, its less palatable. Final 1.6
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Oct 2008
at 20:24
5.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Can. A deep red beer with a lazing beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of caramel. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel as well as light notes of roasted malt and hints of alcohol, inspite of the body being thin.
Tried
from Can
on 19 Oct 2008
at 07:41
6.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Kirin’s newest and most ambitious “chilled beer.” An ale with 4 malts, including both wheat and barley, and cascade hops. Deep copper / orange color with a medium to tall white head. Reasonably fragrant aroma of fruit, hops, malt. Can’t tell if there is wheat in there too??? Rather rich malt taste, caramel, fruit, some darkish fruits as well. Medium to better hop bitterness, as well as a dab of hops aroma—could use a bit more of that, can’t really tell it’s Cascade in there. Relatively well-balanced and definitely hoppy for a mainstream beer. Probably based on their grand ale but with much better malt and complexity. Good, worth drinking, though not really a craft beer—and not all that special, but near the top of what the majors make.
Tried
from Can
on 16 Oct 2008
at 01:14
5.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
A bottom-fermented stout, from the can. Pitch black, tall tan head. Draught in Umeda. A decent dark, chocolately, slightly roasted aroma, with a flavor pretty much the same, although after the 4th sip it started to lose interest for me. Not bad at all, for a cheaper major brew, but not special and not near as nice as their stronger stout. Slightly better on tap.
Tried
from Can
on 16 Oct 2008
at 00:39