I guess I’ll fill in the fourth offering from Saitama’s Coedo Brewery – the Shikkoku dark lager. The name uses the kanji for “laquer” and “black”, forming the compound “jet black”, and as is fitting to this name, this dunkel pours an almost opaque dark brown with a moderate but transient head. Although the head becomes filmy, the carbonation remains constant throughout the beer’s existence in the glass. This carbonation, along with the almost completely attenuated decoction gives this dark beer a dry bitterness with little detectable sweetness. The initial flavor is bitter from the noble hops combined with the smokiness from the darkly roasted malt. The two flavors dominate throughout, masking any cereal-malt flavor that may be there. The aroma is actually rich and warm, belying the almost two-dimentional quality of the flavor. Don’t get me wrong here – I like this beer – it’s just not a very complex mouth experience.
Recommended
Available on the JDM and certain locales on the USDM
5% ABV
Three out of four drunken monkeys
There is a “Shiro” that has yet to be tasted – hopefully I’ll get to that later on this trip.
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