Asahi Black (Kuronama)

Brewed by Asahi Breweries
Style: Schwarzbier
Tokyo, Japan

Pours black with a small beige head. Mild aroma of lightly roasted malt and cocoa. That’s how it tastes too, with a little hazelnut in the slightly oily body. Easily the best Japanese beer I’ve had.

Pours very dark brown with copper highlights and a small tan creamy head. Soft, sweet aroma of roasted barley, tar, and faint hints of cocoa. Other than that, very clean. First up in the flavour department is some toasty and bready sweet malt, before a moderately roasty note kicks in along with some chocolate hints, with support the gently bitter finish. Carbonation is much too high, and the body is very watery.

Bottle. Very dark pour, almost black but with ruby / brown highlights, and a frothy beige head that doesn’t last long. Light, slightly roasty aroma has notes of caramel, chocolate, coffee and oaky vanilla. Flavour is pretty much identical to the aroma. Creamy, smooth mouthfeel with moderate carbonation and a lingering finish that starts bitter and ends sweet. Quite nice if a little two-dimensional but still a pleasant surprise for an Asahi beer.

A: The pour is a dark brown color with a lot of red highlights. The head is off-white and dissipates quickly. S: A decent enough nose on this one, mostly roasted malt with a slight coffee aroma. T: This beer has an interesting flavor to it. There is certainly the roasted malt flavor, but also a touch of coffee and even a bit of what I would describe as cola. M: The body is medium and surprisingly creamy with plenty of carbonation. D: I’m not generally expecting a lot when I order one of the Japanese beers, but this one was quite good. I would definitely do so again if I see it on a menu at a Japanese restaurant.

11.2 ounce bottle - $2.49 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia. Appearance: Pours out a very dark walnut brown body with a beige-colored frothing of a head. Smell: While it comes up a bit short of being either truly roasty or chocolaty, those are the initial impressions I get from smelling this one. Also presents are notes of dark bread, caramel, with a dark fruitiness smelling of prunes. Taste: Mild coffee and dark chocolate flavors with a taste of coarse pumpernickel bread splashed with a bit of sweet cola. Hint of sweet caramel as well. Slight dark fruitiness. Scant hop presence, though some bitterness is provided and more than welcome. Finishes relatively clean with only a small touch of bitterness at the tail end. Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A "Munich-Type" beer according to the bottle cap. Japanese brewing know-how teamed up with a German-style recipe, it’s good to see those two countries coming together for something other than world domination. Though still a lager brewed with both rice and corn, it at least offers something a bit different from Asahi.

This is a fairly decent schwarzbier. The flavor is a little bit fruity, banana? but also has a decent amount of roast. Pretty malty, but certainly the best asahi beer I’ve had.

Live rate bitches!! Dark brown. Light head. Roasted malt, grain and hints of coffee. Flavor has coffee, roast, and light smoke. Good with sushi.

smoke malt,black, cloudy, brown foam, light sweetness, lightly bitter, smoke taste,medium body, oily feel. A good beer