Hakodate Shacho No Yoku Nomu Biiru

Brewed by Hakodate Beer
Style: Barley Wine
Hakodate, Japan

On tap at the brewpub. Dark colour and creamy head visible in the keg. Nice raisiny fruit aroma. sweet raisins flavours that has still got appropriate bitterness to balance it somewhat. The name means: the everyday beer of the CEO. I can understand him~this is by far the best of the Hakodate beer range.

Draught at the brewery, Oct 2007. Ceramic cup. Darkish brown with almost no head. A bit of lace. Aroma of dark fruits and malt, raisins, alcohol. Good nose! Tastes strongly of alcohol, portish. Fruity, hot, sweet, but balanced. Strong carbonation for the type. Berries and alcohol are strongest. Nice enough. Nothing bad to say, though a bit simple. Very winey or aperitif-like. Smooth for its strength, and very drinkable. Nice strong stuff with good hops.

I struggled with this one. It just was a big, sweet malty mess, though the alcohol was really well hidden. No balance or real direction in the beer. I hope the President doesn’t drink this too often it might kill his palate.

My Bottom Line:
French toast whiffs and diluted caramel whip up a portly body where alcohol generously flows. This Barley Wine with Malt Liquor leanings remains classy enough to warrant serious sipping, but its lack of depth and worrisome future are soon revealed. This cannot be an allegory for any presidency, right?

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam sits atop the glowing hazy amber.
-The finish is severely underhopped, even though this bottle is very young for the style.
-Carbonation is quite smooth, which serves the round maltiness quite well.
-It’s cleanly brewed and well rounded, but it ultimately disappoints as the brewery’s "luxury" product.
-I believe the malt liquor component will develop even more as it ages; in any case, it doesn’t have enough substance to age into anything pleasant.
-A lot of brewer’s sugar seems to be used...or some other added sugar.

Bottled on July 7th, 2007.