The Tasting Panel magazine

May 2010

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YOUR REVIEWER CAN SEE NOH EVIL IN THESE JAPANESE BEERS, ESPECIALLY WHEN PAIRED WITH SOME FAVORITE FLICKS Sixpack Gadd’s Asahi Super Dry A recent encounter with this super pils at a popu- lar local sushi den reaffirmed that there’s no quaff better suited to sashimi or eggplant dengaku. The bead of this champagne of canned beers is insistent, consistent, persistent and damn near irresistible when there’s food on the table. Even when there isn’t, it’s a class act that shoots straight and hits the bulls-eye every time. Movie suggestion: Tampopo. ASAHI USA Asahi Black This was Asahi’s original beer, a different brew altogether from the pilsner that mainly represents the brand today. The black-as-a-jack color will attract fans of Irish stouts, and they won’t be sorry. The taste is as pliant and accommodating as a geisha and as enveloping as night itself, the hours when this beer is at its best. As the label suggests: Relax and enjoy. Movie sugges- tion: In the Realm of the Senses. ASAHI USA Sapporo Premium Sapporo has been brewing this lager since 1876, making it the oldest Japanese beer brand, but our version is made in Canada today, for better or worse. Delicate, lovely white fruit notes hang like cherry blossoms on a medium body, made more appealing by the absolutely transparent yellow color. Not the most serious beer, but engaging for an evening. Movie suggestion: Lost in Translation. SAPPORO USA Kirin Ichiban Kirin—named for a mythical creature, part horse, part deer, part dragon—was originally brewed in Yokohama by gaijin brewers, who purchased a financially- strapped local brewery and launched 72 / the tasting panel / may 2010 their German-style lager in 1888. The upscale Ichiban (“first,” for the first-pressing of the malt) expression was created in 1990. Ours is now brewed by Anheuser-Busch and, like its Western cousin, claims to have no bitter aftertaste. True enough. Movie suggestion: Mothra vs. Godzilla. KIRIN BREWERY OF AMERICA Hitachino Nest White Ale A citrusy Belgian-inspired ale with just a hint of souring brettanomyces, from Kiuchi Brewery, which makes traditional sakés and sochu and only started brewing beer in 1996. Key lime, Meyer lemon, Mandarin orange flavors and a slight touch of bitter pith and, on the other end of the spectrum, a fruit-sweet aftertaste. Hauntingly complex and multifaceted. Movie suggestion: Rashomon. B. UNITED INTERNATIONAL Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale “The head rises like a mushroom cloud over Nagasaki.” Or so I first wrote, being smart- assed and American and all. Then, out of nowhere, the sweet-grainy nose struck me like a squadron of kamikazes, so devastating in its attack that I had to pour myself a control glass just to double- check the flak that had hit my senso- rium: bubblegum with baseball cards, open sacks of feed-store provender, a healthy dose of Yokohama back-street trouble, a few drops of samurai sweat and rancio-like movie popcorn slath- ered with weeks-old butter. The crushed velvet mouthfeel brings on even more devastating flavors: sumptuous grand cru white Burgundy, licorice, spear- mint, grainy-sweet malt and complex IPA-level hops, masterfully controlled. About as good as beer ever gets. Movie suggestion: Tora! Tora! Tora! B. UNITED INTERNATIONAL

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