Miyoshi Becken Beer Reviews

PubKeep62	2.5 Miyoshi Becken Pilsner Friday, March 20, 2020
maekchu	3.4 Becken Dunkel Bock Draught at Beer Belly during Strong Beer Week (from tasting notes). Some banana, and spice (not quite coriander), and fresh choco aromas. Flavors of old, burnt coffee with a moderate hop bitterness. Clean finish. Not too exciting, thin in the mid palate, and fades out quickly. Weak for a bock, but okay. Tuesday, February 26, 2013
KyotoLefty	3.6 Miyoshi Becken Dunkle Weizen Bock Bottle. Banana and chocolate aroma. Very dark brown with a rather low head. Fragrance and richness slightly lacking; no big punch. Decent but not great, and doesn’t live up to their beers over the last year. Tuesday, December 29, 2009
rolickstamp293	3.6 Miyoshi Becken Wiezen Bock Botella. Hazy deep golden orange colour with a nice big head. Aroma id fruity and sweet. Flavour is rather sweet with fruits and a good maltiness. Thursday, September 24, 2009
rolickstamp293	3.5 Becken Weizen Botella as Miyoshi Becken Shimanami Weizen. Hazy deep golden collour, nice white head. Fruity banana wheat bit sweet aroma. Good mouthfeel. Flavour of fruits and wheat, pleasant soft sweetness, light spice and some bitterness. Thursday, September 24, 2009
rolickstamp293	3.6 Miyoshi Becken Dunkle Weizen Bock Botella. Deep dark brown colour. Sweet roasty chocolate aroma. Sweet roasty malty and chocolate flavour with a pleasant bitterness. Thursday, September 24, 2009
rolickstamp293	3.4 Miyoshi Becken Pilsner Botella. Unclear deep golden. Medium short head. Mild aroma of malt, mouthfeel: rather flat. Flavour of some malt with hops. 5.3.5.2.11:2.6 Also tasted as Miyoshi Becken Onomichi: Unclear deep golden. Fruity hoppy and malty pleasant aroma. Good mouthfeel. Fruity and malty flavour, bit sweet, pleasant bitterness. Thursday, September 24, 2009
KyotoLefty	3.7 Miyoshi Becken Wiezen Bock Bottle. 2009 version. Deep orange color with a huge white fine head. Fragrant aroma of banana, a touch of citrus. Clean and crisp for its strength. Very spicy, fruity, and quite sweet flavor. Thick, yeasty body. Very nice. Sweet, balanced by alcohol. Strong and sweet. Wednesday, September 23, 2009
osu97gp	3.6 Miyoshi Becken Dunkle Weizen Bock Pours a dark red-brown with a minimal head. Aroma of chocolate along with some banana. Flavor matches the aroma with a very smooth finish. Decent. Sunday, September 6, 2009
Lowe1983	3.5 Miyoshi Becken Dunkle Weizen Bock Pours brown color with a tan head. Aroma is pretty strong of the chocolate malts and dark fruits. Light roasted malts with some caramel as well. Flavor is full of choclate with some roasted and caramel malts. Light sweetness, from the banana perhaps, not much of a lingering flavor. Sunday, September 6, 2009
omhper	4.2 Miyoshi Becken Dunkle Weizen Bock Bottled. Mahogany colour, small head. Rich chocolatey banana aroma. Medium sweet with near full body. Wonderfully soft with rich, deep flavour of chocolate and banana. Lovely combination of roastiness and esters. One of the best weizenbocks anywhere! Tuesday, June 2, 2009
omhper	3.4 Miyoshi Becken Pilsner Bottled. Clear deep golden, small head. Light oily saaz aroma. Dairly sweet with rounded mouthfeel and solid body. With it’s size it feels like a 13% Czech pils, although perhaps on the cleaner side. Finishes with significant bitterness. Monday, June 1, 2009
TimE	3.6 Becken Hidamari Cloudy brown color. Huge nutty, caramel, milk chocolate nose. Slightly sour. Lots of milk chocolate and nuttiness going on in the mouth with a touch of cherries and brandy. Slight alcoholic finish - surprising given that this is only 5%. I didn’t like this beer the first couple sips, but then I really warmed up to it. Lovely. Tuesday, May 19, 2009
omhper	3.7 Becken Dunkel Bottled, from Yamaoka Sake Shop, Kyoto. Mahogany colour, small head. Roasty and nutty. Fairly dry with mild, well developed malt character. Fairly light bodied with notes of butter, toffee chocolate and tobacco. The chocolate grows to dominate the silk smooth finish. Another superbly crafted lager from Miyoshi Becken. Tuesday, May 19, 2009
omhper	4.2 Becken Haru Bottled at pre-RBJG festivities in Kyoto. Bright amber, small head. Buttery nose with grass and toffee coming through. Lovely deep buttery malt with cottony soft mouthfeel completely without edges. Just enough grassy hops to create a counterbalance to the malt, and to give a touch of late bitterness. A lovely beer with tremendous depth. Miyoshi Becken is one of the best brewers of lager beers outside of Europe IMO. Tuesday, May 19, 2009
omhper	3.5 Becken Weizen Draught at the flower parade, Hirsohima. Cloudy straw coour, brief head. Estery banana aroma with slight toastiness behind. Mid sweet with light spritzy mouthfeel. Plenty of banana esters. Superbly drinkable weizen. Sunday, May 17, 2009
TimE	3.9 Miyoshi Becken Dunkle Weizen Bock I was down in Hiroshima traveling around and stumbled into apparently its only beer bar, where I met the Miyoshi Becken brewer. He was in town for the Flower Festival and said there was going to be a booth at the festival with six breweries, each serving two beers. What luck! He said I had to try his chocolate banana. I ignored the sexual innuendos and assumed he was talking about his awesome new Spring seasonal. Sure enough the next day, I got to try this sumptuous dark brown brew. Massive banana split exudes from the nose. I just imagined being at Dairy Queen when I was a kid and digging in. Likewise I dug into this brew, but this was much better than what I remember Dairy Queen ever serving. Big malty mouth, bananas and chocolate jump everywhere. Perfectly balanced, moderately sweet. Goes down without the head freeze icecream can give you and leaves a slight warming finish. Perfectly executed and right on style. Beautiful. I think I will phone Dairy Queens management and get them to start serving this to parents that come in. It would be a sure fire hit on their menu. Thursday, May 14, 2009
thebeertourist	3.4 Miyoshi Becken Wiezen Bock On tap at Beer Belly, Osaka. Hazy golden with a creamy and lacing offwhite head. Fruity, orangey aroma. Good fruity flavours, quite sweet. A bit sirupy. Supposedly a bock, but more Belgian in character.Highly drinkable. Monday, April 13, 2009
TimE	4.1 Becken Haru On draft at Ushitora. Deep amber color. Nose shows huge bready malts and rich caramel. The body is med-full with a massive malt backbone, slightly sweet, rich bready and caramel notes. Lingering caramel finish with hops just giving a touch of bitterness. This is seriously a school of what a Marzen should be. Perfect in every regard for the style as far as I am concerned, though some might find it a bit too sweet. Was at Ushitora with tons of great new beer around me and I decided to drink two pints of this. Amazing stuff. Friday, March 27, 2009
TimE	3.7 Miyoshi Becken Wiezen Bock Cloves and bananas sit on top of rich malty bock character in the nose. Slightly, med-heavy body with the bock’s richness really upfront, but never cloying or over the top. No alcohol. Dangerously drinkable and delicious to the last drop. Another winner from Miyoshi. Saturday, March 21, 2009
KyotoLefty	3.7 Miyoshi Becken Pilsner Clear, golden color, medium head. Aroma of rich malt, butter, a touch of menthol. Sweet flavor, rich malt and butter. Nice hop balance as well. Decent dry bitterness at the finish. Relatively rich and creamy, satisfying mouthfeel. Great balance—very well done Bohemian style pilsner. Wednesday, February 25, 2009
KyotoLefty	4 Becken Dunkel Bock Bottle, 5 months old. Aging did wonders. Smooth, slightly vineous, with fruit and chocolate. Bit chewy caramel. Excellent. Older rating, from tap, young 7/4/7/4/14: Third bock in a year from these guys! gotta love it! Rich aroma of sweet dark caramel malts, chocolate, raisin, slightly earthy. Black with a frothy tan head. Deep chocolate and caramel flavor, rich and dark, a bit fruity, with a nice roasted, slightly bitter finish. Nice rich mouth. Tuesday, January 20, 2009
KyotoLefty	3.4 Becken Hidamari Bottle from Yamaoka. Winter 2008. They call this a dark wheat lager. It has the qualities of both a weizen and a dunkel, though less of a wheat character than a typical dunkel weizen. Muddy brown color. flavors of chocolate, caramel, bananas, raisins. A slight sour note as well. Nicely balanced, though could have more flavor over all. Rather dry finish with some hops coming through. Interesting. Sunday, December 14, 2008
KyotoLefty	3.5 Becken Dunkel Bottle from Yamaoka, Kyoto. A rich, rather dry dunkel. Almost black, but with some orange-red tints. Almost no head. Big chocolatey aroma; slightly nutty and grainy. Deep, rich malt flavor: chocolate, caramel, nuts, a touch of dark fruits. Rich and tasty without being too sweet. Slightly port-like. Very nicely done. Friday, December 12, 2008
KyotoLefty	2.9 Miyoshi Becken Hotaru Tried on tap at GJBF, Osaka 2008. The brewer told me it was a wheat lager, a pilsner style, bottom fermented lager made with 50% wheat malt. Very interesting in concept and flavor. Buttery, hoppy flavor of a Bohemian pilsner, with clear wheat malt flavor in it as well. Not particularly well done, but interesting and could be worked on. Hope they fix it up. Friday, December 12, 2008
KyotoLefty	3.9 Miyoshi Becken Strong Dark Bottle from Yamaoka in Kyoto. This beer was brewed to commemorate the legalization of micro brewing in Japan. Dark brown with a touch of red. Medium off-white head. Sweet, creamy, rich malt aroma. Caramel, chocolate. Sweet, strong, rich malt flavor, creamy and chocolatey. Caramel. Dark fruits, cherries, honey. Very complex. Much like a doppelbock but a bit lighter. Ice cream-like. Very nice. Hope they make it again. Friday, December 12, 2008
KyotoLefty	4.1 Becken Haru Bottle from Yamaoka in Kyoto. Spring beer, a Wiener maerzen. Lovely amber color, with a tall off-white head. Orange tints. Rich malty aroma, with chocolate, nuts, cereals, caramel. Slightly sweet, but not overboard. Rich flavor, not quite as malty as the aroma. Nutty, grainy, biscuity. Not very sweet at all. Hops also held back, with just a touch of bitterness. Well balanced. Nice and very drinkable. Smooth, dryish finish. Very well done. Friday, December 12, 2008
TimE	3.9 Miyoshi Becken Houjyou Autumn color. Cherries, oranges, bready, milk chocolate dance all around. Full bodied with a huge, smooth, malt backbone. Mildly sweet. Alcohol is well hidden. Lingering oranges, chocolate, cherries in the finish. It didn’t do much for me at the start, but on my second pint of this, it really started to grow on me. Great beer. Monday, December 1, 2008
buzzoven	3.8 Miyoshi Becken Houjyou Bottle from Tanakaya. This was a surprise. Heavy orange syrupy pour with a beautiful strong tan head. Smell of caramel, hops, cookie dough, malt. Mouthfeel very pleasant and well-rounded. Lots of flavours here, sugar, anise, carrot, pumpkin pie, a hint of ginger, plus a nice oak-like aged earthiness that wasn’t overly funky. Well crafted beer, here. Sunday, October 5, 2008
KyotoLefty	3.9 Miyoshi Becken Houjyou Bottle from Yamaoka. 2008 Version. Medium to dark amber color with lots of orange and a tall off-white head. Sweetish, complex aroma, port, caramel, honey, spices, raisins. Fruity flavor with cherries, raisins, plums, as well as caramel, honey, and a bit of alcohol burn. Sweet, but well balanced by alcohol and hops so that it ends quite dry. Well-balanced and rich, with a medium mouth feel, actually lighter than expected for a bock. Good stuff. (I had this on tap at Beer Belly last year, and swear it was a Heller bock then!) Monday, September 22, 2008
KyotoLefty	3.6 Becken Weizen From the bottle. Cloudy, pale yellow-orange. Fine head, lots of bubbles. Fragrant banana and spice aroma. Fruity, but not overly sweet. Clean, brisk taste, rather lightish in body, slight sour/citrus flavor, with banana and clove, medium wheat malt. Very good balance between light clean style and rich sweet style. Finish is a bit bitter. A very nice summer weizen. Friday, August 29, 2008
TimE	2.3 Miyoshi Becken Hotaru Light beer which was a cross between a pils and weizen, though I think it is supposed to be the latter. Lots of diactyles. Unpleasent and a let down from a decent brewery. Sunday, August 24, 2008
TimE	3.4 Becken Weizen Thick white head, hazy amber color, solid clovey, banana nose. Full bodied bananas in the mouth with some tropical fruit. Clovey finish Tuesday, August 7, 2007
MartinT	3.4 Becken Weizen My Bottom Line: The union of banana esters, spicy hops and bready yeast in this Hefeweizen is wisely served through a soft mouthfeel that ensures the highest quaffability. Further Personal Perceptions: -A veil of foam tops the cloudy apple juice yellow. -The soft prickling of carbonation doesn’t bother the balanced flavor profile. -All flavors play equal in this Weizen, even in the finish. On tap at Ushitora. Thursday, August 2, 2007