Sapporo Yebisu

Brewed by Sapporo Breweries
Style: Pale Lager
Tokyo, Japan

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

This tastes just like a dodgy pale lager, with none of the bready malt that I would expect from a Dortmunder. It was malty, but it was all sweet and hollow and a bit sickly. Some harsh bitterness, again with no real depth to support it. Rather unimpressive.

Bottled, sampled at Haket, Göteborg. Pale golden colour. Creamy white head. Rich malty nose, along with pooh. Light malty in flavour, with some sweetness and low bitterness. Not very nice, hence the pooh in the background.

(Bottle) Pours golden. Sweet and grainy aroma with tones of rice and some wet mash. Sweet and light hoppy flavour with notes of grass and rice. Light bitter with a dry ending. Some honey tones both in the aroma and in the flavour. Light bodied.

It is interesting, and somewhat incongruous I think that Japanese restaurants don’t serve finer beers than this. Alas, until the early 1990s microbrewing beer in Japan was all but prohibited. So, we get the "Big 4": Suntory, Kirin, Asahi, and Sapporo-- lagers all. I miss ale. That said, these, lighter beers still seem very heavy alongside most Japanese cuisine. With sashimi and sushi, I think that sake is almost always a better bet than beer. This beer was on tap at a restaurant in Kyoto which served excellent Japanese food, but I have to admit the beer just didn’t fit the bill. Compared to the rest of the Japanese macro lager cosmos, however, this is probably near the top. It is crisp with a lively palate the hops come with a little sour tinge which is unattractive.

Light golden with a weak head. The aroma has notes of malt and grain and the flavour is very malty/grainy, slightly sweet and sour and not much other than that. It has a very light bitterness and is very boring. 2368

Bottled. Pale golden. Brief, white head. Some faint grassy aroma overwhelmed by sour rice/maize. Light bitterness and a bit malty flavour.

Bottle, 50 cl, bought at Haket, Göteborg, Sweden. Clear yellow, medium flat head. Odd malt aroma, with clear notes of rice, and some touch of rubber. I could also sense some alcohol and was surprised when I realized that the abv is just 5 %. Light to medium bodied, quite smooth. Decent balance with a fairly long finish. Overall a not very good beer.

Bottle at Haket-Göteborg: Clear yellow colour,flat head. Aroma of rice(?),grazy,hay,citric,and grainy and a dry hopy/sweet ending. Flavor is almost the same here.Thin watery mouth feeling.Thin body,and short finish.