What Ginga Kogen Does Best

I don’t want any Good Beer Country Boys readers to have a bad impression of Ginga Kogen after DH’s pale ale review. It’s true that I don’t like their pale ale either, but the Good Beer Country Boys are American. You say pale ale, I think Sierra Nevada. I think of a beer with some body and some Cascade hop flavor and aroma. Ginga Kogen is working inside the English Pale Ale definition. I don’t want to offend, but I think that definition is something like “Pale Ale before America made it badass”. Our friend Tom is Welsh and Whales (sp?), being closer to England than America, is a better vantage point from which to view this beer. Tom, if you are reading this, what do you think?

What Ginga Kogen does best is make a Belgian-style White Ale and Weizen that are damn good. Especially the White Ale. If you are in Japan and you like white ales, say Hoegarrrrrden (how many r's?), you could spend 350 to 400 yen for an imported bottle that was brewed sometime in the last year (we hope). Or, you could grab a 260 to 299 yen bottle of Ginga Kogen. It is sweeter than hoegarrden which could be a plus or minus considering your taste, but, it is so much fresher being made on the island, rather than around the world.

The best Ginga Kogen to drink comes in a uniquely shaped blue glass 330ml bottle and has the words 'silver bottle' on the label. The same beer is to be found in this can (the picture of the single can). Both are good choices but, as we all know, beer tastes better out of glass. And the pop top bottles are resuable for all you home brewers out there! I know I reuse them. The Weizen is also good and is pretty similar in taste, sans the coriander and orange peel. It comes in a glass bottle that says 'star bottle' and a can that is a little deeper blue than the other one (check the picture).

Usually I say that beer is always better on tap. Usually. The Nagoya area restaurant chain, Yamachan's, keeps Ginga Kogen on tap. Yamachan's is the Japanese version of BW3's minus the heat for all you wing lovers out there. When considering their draft Ginga Kogen, be careful. Different Yamachan's have different draft system cleaning regulations thant range from 'clean' to 'makes-beer-taste-like-shit'. At a Yamachan's with the latter, Miyuki and I received a flat pitcher of this otherwise delicious beer. There are sins and then there are unforgivable sins. God bless.