Nikko Beer

Brewed by Nikko Brewing
Style: Pale Lager
Nikko, Japan

Hazy golden. Very hoppy and grassy aroma. Clean and really dry hoppy flavour of wet grass. A really good pilsner!.

Tried from bottle in Nikko, 26/09/2005, a lovely area about 1.5 hours north of Tokyo. This beer was a most welcome divergence from other non-offensive Japanese macro-brews. Real grassy tones to it with a good balanced fruity taste. For me it is more in the style of a Pilsner, similar to a DAB. Beer suits the cooler climate and earthy nature of the area.

Bottled, thanks IslandHaole! Hazy golden, grassy nose. Very dry and solidly malty. Coarse malt character and really bitter finish. Not overly complex, but still good, and strikingly similar to Jever.

Straw colour with a lifeless, fading head. Grassy-fruity hop aroma with bready notes underneath. Full body for style. Abundant bready malt character with grassy back notes. Not very bitter, but hugely spicy in the finish (hop spicy, that is). Stylish, offbeat lager.

Cloudy yellow. Smooth with a light orangish taste. Sister brought this back from Japan for me. Pleasently surprised.

I rated this beer in comparison to other Japanese beers (thats all I’ve had for the past while). It had a very wide range of flavors, while still maintaining the simple, crispness that most beers of Japan have. It was also fairly hoppy, which was quite a surprise.

Bottled. Slightly hazy golden coloured. Aroma of green apples. Some plastic notes, but in the nice way. Fruity and light. Slightly thin.

A ddep golden color with a thick cream colored head. A soft sweet malt scent, reminds me of a Bohemian Pils. Initially sweet with a bitter middle, a mild mixed peppercorn aftertaste. I’m sure this would be an excellent pairing with sushi. I’m not a huge lager/pilsner fan but this is good! A note of interest, the water for this brewery comes from an aquifer 40 meters underground. Nikko park is beautiful and should be a stop on your visit here!