Sapporo Edel Pils

Brewed by Sapporo Breweries
Style: Pilsener
Tokyo, Japan

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

canned. glad to try a japanese beer with some hop character. clear golden, tangy, menthol hop aroma, some apricot sweetness and crisp bitterness. one of the better canned japanese macros

A new beer in Japan and I must say i was particularly impressed with the can design. I thought excitedly to myself that this could be the beer that completely changes my opinion of Japanese macro breweries; and with a name like Edelpils you can imagine my pulse was racing. i couldn’t wait to get back home and crack this little puppy open. And then the anvil dropped on wild E coyotes head. Okay, so the colour was initially pleasing, a deep amber, traffic light even, but there wasn’t much aroma to discern from the glass and i started to panic; perhaps a hint of the noble hops celebrated on the can . Another lifeless, tasteless addition to the already innumeral nondescript beers in Japans lineup. Then comes the kicker. Super duper strong taste of hops. In the same vein as Becks and other German beers of the same ilk that do nothing for me. Reminded me a little of Schuttinger. Druncan would probably love this stuff. It was like drinking a box of cornflakes without milk and sugar. I’m trying to find nice things to say about this beer and all I can think of it that it had an initial freshness, but the wheat field soon assaults your buds like some kind of beer drinkers children of the corn nightmare. I think this is Sapporo’s attempt at producing a beer without removing every ounce of flavour but it just runs wild. Its like having a barn full of hay rammed down your throat. I guess people who like that style of beer would love this. But certaintly not my cup of tea.

On tap at 2007 Yokohama Oktoberfest. Clear golden with a good sized head. Light hops, earth tones, and some citrus as well. Crisp, refreshing body. A nice light bitterness, earth, and citrus make up most of hte flavor. Enjoyable and refreshing, I wish it was easier to find.

Tap @ Brewery Museum Sapporo: A very nice approach to this style with a toasted walnut nose, some bright but gentle hop bitterness that follows through in the flavor. Not as malty in the mouthfeel as I like, but it did quite well for a pilsner, especially for a brewer of this size. The bitterness was bulls on though, and it was pretty tasty.

My Bottom Line:
This hop-heavy Pilsener’s herbal and citrusy rays shine brightly through the crunchy haystack, leaving plenty of their savoury bitterness to make you long for more. Oh, if all macros brewed beers like this!!!

Further Personal Perceptions:
-Creamy foam protects the clear pale blond.
-The lengthy herbal hop bitterness is just gorgeous.
-Prickly carbonation fits the style.
-Either this beer’s been rated by a few guys who really don’t appreciate the style, or this beer’s just not consistent.

On tap at Towers, Tokyo.

tim let me try his at our dinner spot in tokyo. didnt really do much for me. average in crisp bright kinda way. slight cereal feel. easy to drink.

Not the world’s best beer, but pretty radical by the "stick with the crowd" style of most Japanese brewers. Pretty dry finish which I like a lot. Available on tap at the Shinjuku branch of Dubliner’s pub.

UPDATED: FEB 20, 2008 On tap at the Sapporo Beer Garden. Pours light golden with a bit of head, like nearly everything they make. Very weak aroma, with a hint of hops possibly detectable. Flavor is mostly nondescript as well, but there is some generic bitterness in the finish, which is a bit unusual for Japanese beer. Not a particularly good beer, though.