After a great weekend, we are back. My entire body hurts from boarding in Gifu and that means I need to go snowboarding more than once a season. I'm sad to say I didn't find any Takayama beer on the trip, but I do have plenty to write about. My girlfriend came back from Kyoto with all of the ji-beer that she could carry, and as can see from the pics from Friday's post--Sapporo's limited edition Chocolat Brewery 'Beers' arrived. Of course I say 'beers' becuase Chocolat Brewery actually falls into the happoshu category...
For starters, this beer is chocolatey. I mean as soon as you crack the top, the whole room smells like chocolate. I will be the first to tell you that I am not a big chocolate fan...well, what I mean is that I'm not a sweet chocolate fan. A chocolate stout that derives its flavor from roasted malt is fine. Hershey Kisses--not so much.
This beer tastes like Japanese nama-chocolate, and Michi loved it. She's not a fan of other 'dark' beers, but this one was different. She loves all things chocolate and this was no exception. I thought it was good, and a novelty--but nothing amazing. I am worried that if Nate tastes it he will compare it to Chocola, becuase you can pick up on cocoa taste.
All in all, it's a novelty and for that it's great. It arrived just in time for Valentine's Day and served its purpose. This beer isn't going to be your favorite and it's not going to win any awards. But then, that wasn't the point was it? It would be good to drink with vanilla ice cream as a dessert. At a grill-out? Not so much.
I do have several more left, and I think I'll save 'em for when friends come and visit. I'll let you know the verdict.
Check back often this week as Nate has TONS of beer news to tell from his weekend in Tokyo and I'll be reviewing some Kyoto beers. Next weekend we have plans to head to Mie to drink some ji-beer and continue the quest to visit every microbrewery in Honshu. You gotta have goals people.
5 comments:
Good goals!
I just picked up a bottle of regular Sapporo. Haven't had it yet, though. I don't know about chocolate beer, but I always thought cheap beer like Miller Lite tasted pretty good if you took a bite of chocolate and chased it with the beer. I agree, though, it's too sweet to regularly drink a whole beer like that.
Ethan, the stuff there is made under agreement and supervision of a domestic brewer..it's been so long since I have had it there--Let us know what you think! And you are right, you just can't relax drinking a sweet brew. Give me an IPA any day of the week!
Yeah, I noticed Ichiban (i think that's right) is brewed under supervision by AB. Can't remember the Sapporo. I'll let you know what I think of it.
The Sapporo here is made by the Sapporo brewing company of Ontario. It was really good. Oddly, I thought it tasted a little like Heineken. I would think the real question would be if Sapporo NY and Sapporo Japan get their hops from the same place. Either way, it was a tasty brew for dinner.
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