Sapporo Yebisu Silk

Brewed by Sapporo Breweries
Style: Premium Lager
Tokyo, Japan

Serve in Lager glass

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Aroma: earthy hop, malt, grain, floral note. Palate: complete mouth feel gives it extra points. Flavor: earthy, malt, grain, moderately sweet malt with a smooth, medium bitterness that lingers on the finish. Comment: fine balance and mouth feel. Some of the commercial premium beers are showing promise.

November 18th, 2010 - My first review while living abroad in Tokyo is the Yebisu Silk, a choice without any reason or rationale. The first time a grocery shopper comes across the beer section of his local Japanese grocer, or steps into any one of the convenience stores that light and guide our lives in Japan (well, my life) he’s hit with the sight of an aluminum wall filled with beer and choices. If you’re Japanese reading comprehension is low it’s even harder to pick out what to drink. It may not even be readily apparent what is beer and what isn’t. Having no way to discern one from another, I chose to find a can with a clean Japanese aesthetic. The Yebisu, with a nice, uncrowded metal jacket and the image of a smiling mini-deity of fortune and plenty was the most appealing bait, and I took it. And it was here that I learned that buying beer might be engaging in the wrong drinking habit in Japan. The Yebisu Silk does indeed have a smooth and silky mouthfeel, but this doesn’t remedy the issue of its flavor - cheap lager, bad beer, whatever you want to call it. What Yebisu has brewed is a Japanese analogue to the American pale lager. Granted, this style has its place next to fried foods or pizzas or even on Game Day with the extended family, but in Japan I’m paying a premium for this flavor with the added benefit of a smoother palate than what most pale lagers provide. Furthermore, this brew adumbrated a long period of a beer dark age for me - cheap brew after cheap brew until I started to learn to buy inexpensive sake.

Can from local Sake Marche. Malty aroma, with a touch of wheat (banana) and some yeastiness. Gold, a bit of carbonation visible, thin white head. Very pleasant malt flavors, with slightly sweet aftertaste. Smoother mouth feel than the regular Yebisu. And overall, less substantial in both nose and flavors. But, you know, the differences between these varieties of Yebisu (regular, The Hop, and Silk) are fairly minimal.

pours golden yellow again, small head, smaller than above CO2, less CO2 streams, ringed retention again, same stickyish lacing. A bit sweeter nose and clean honey. Tastes 6/10 sweet (sweeter than #1), very very mild bitterness, crisp, almost no bitter finish, slight gumminess. Mild hops, hints of bitter lemon peel and aranciata. Low-medium depth, low-medium complexity, medium length, okay carry. A much "cleaner" finish with a creamier backdrop. More enjoyable than the gold can.

Can bought in beer shop Kagurazaka. Pours pale yellow. Nose is very sweet barley and wheat grain malt. An almost white sugary quality to the sweetness. Also a lactic creaminess in there. Taste is also malty sweet and sugary with a lactic creaminess. Body is quite watery and very light.

From a can. Golden coloured with frothy white head. Aroma is grainy, bit creamy with very slight citrus element. Taste is slightly bitter and plenty of malty cereal. Pretty fizzy in the mouth. Light caramel element in the aftertaste and towards the end tasted some apple juice like elements bizarrely.

Golden with frothy white head. Minor lacing. Mild grain and lemon hop aroma. Lite body with lemony hop finish.

Can, Light gold colour. Hop and Malt smell. Medium Body. Wheat malt feel adn a bitter aftertaste. Feels processed and chemically. Definatly not as good as the other Yebisu drinks.

Can 350 ml
Aroma ordinary grainy nose with dusty malts , slight fruity tones behind.
Appearance pours as amber gold with frisky carbonation and medium white top.
Taste/Body/Palate Medium light bodied. Soft grainy character with slight hint of hop. Mid body felt even lighter , soft palate helps neutralize its high carbonation. Bland and uninspiring.

Can, arigatou Tori! Clear yellow colour with a small white head. Grainish mild herbish aroma with a light flowery touch. Thin mouthfeel. Flavour: mild wheaty, herbish, bit grain and mild flower.