Miscellaneous: Too Many Kinds of Beer?

Buying beer used to be so much easier. This is a view of about half of the beer selection at my local supermarket.

Beers I'm Drinking: Beers to Compete with Coedo's "Kyara" (June 12, 2012)

I recently wrote about the delicious "Kyara" beer from Coedo Brewery in Japan. I wish I could afford to drink it whenever beer seems appropriate (that is, on hot summer days like today), but it's rather pricey. I stopped in at Trader Joe's yesterday and I got to talking about beer with one of the guys working in the beverages department. I tried to describe Coedo's "Kyara" to him and he recommended a few beers he thought might be similar but less expensive. I bought three as a start. I tasted them together yesterday, along with a bottle of the Coedo "Kyara" as a point of reference. I tasted the "Breckle's Brown" from Anchor Steam in San Francisco, "Bitter American" from 21st Amendment Brewery, in Cold Springs, Minnesota, and "Back in Black," also from 21st Amendment Brewery. Brief tasting notes follow.

Anchor Steam "Breckle's Brown" (6% alcohol): Attractive copper color. Fairly strong hoppy scent with suggestions of wood and chrysanthemums. At first, seemed a typical, overly hoppy California beer, but it proved quite dry on the palate and the hoppy element wasn't overdone. Nice, lingering bitterness that was pronounced, but not excessive. After the Coedo "Kyara," I liked this beer best of the bunch. Recommended. Seems to strike a nice balance between hoppy and malty flavors, although it doesn't quite achieve the wonderful balancing act of the "Kyara," a beer that is rich and malty without being heavy or sweet and that has refreshing, vibrant carbonation.

21st Amendment Brewery "Bitter American" (4.4% alcohol): This came highly recommended at Trader Joe's. The woman at the checkout counter confirmed that it was very popular among the male staff members. I was less impressed--which is not to say that this is a bad beer. It's just not what I was looking for--a Coedo "Kyara" substitute. Golden Lager color. Floral scents. Sweet scents. Not very hoppy on the nose. Seems flat after the Anchor Steam beer--probably because it's considerably lower in alcohol and it has a finer, creamier head. Rather strong, hoppy aftertaste. Seems thin on the mid-palate and lacking in body. Having said that, not bad, just not "Kyara" and I preferred the "Breckle's Brown.

21st Amendment Brewery "Back in Black" (6.8% alcohol): Dark chestnut brown. Fairly unassuming nose. On the palate, suggests chocolate and coffee, particularly coffee, with a flat, creamy foam reminiscent of English dark beers--which is not a bad thing, but, again, not what I was looking for here. Slightly sweet on the finish. Less hoppy than the first two beers.

Coedo Brewery "Kyara" (5% alcohol):  What makes this beer so appealing to me is its subtle balance of body, flavor, and texture, with the crispness and refreshingly bright characteristics of a lager. Pretty amber color. Malty nose. Good body and with more presence than the alcohol content would suggest. Crisp, with moderately fine, bright foam that's substantial without being heavy or too creamy. Dry but not overly hoppy. Again, "Kyara" seems perfectly balanced to me. Delicious. Highly recommended. Just wish it weren't so expensive.

In conclusion, I liked the "Kyara" best, followed fairly closely by the Anchor Steam "Breckle's Brown,"a beer I'll probably buy again, then by "Back in Black" and finally the "Bitter American." Despite the enthusiasm at Trader Joe's, I probably won't go back for more of the 21st Amendment Brewery beers, although they were tasty enough. Obviously, personal preference has a great deal to do with the decisions we make about what to buy and what to drink. I was looking for a beer with presence, good malty flavors, and hops--but not excessively hoppy--that also has crisp, refreshing carbonation: Coedo's "Kyara" seems to get this combination just right. The Anchor Steam "Breckle's Brown"is close to this view of an ideal beer as well.

As an appendix of sorts, I also tried the 21st Amendment Brewery "Brew Free or Die IPA" (7%).  I must say, I rather liked it. No longer thinking about the Coedo "Kyara," I took it slowly and on its own terms. An attractive coppery gold with a creamy but persistent head. Hints of hops and molasses on the nose. Very flavorful. Has good body--reflective of its comparatively high alcohol content. Good hoppy taste, without being too hoppy and without the harsh bitter aftertaste of a more heavily hopped beer. Good, extended finish that was nicely balanced between hops and a very faint sweetness.

Beers I'm Drinking: Coedo Brewery, Japan

I don't have an appropriate category for a post about beer ("Food I'm Eating/Wine I'm Drinking" will have to do), but I recently had the opportunity to attend a restaurant trade show in San Francisco sponsored by N.A. Sales Co., a company that mainly trades in supplies for Japanese restaurants. I sampled food and many different types of sake and beer. I was impressed by some of the beers coming out of a number of small breweries represented, but particularly by the five offerings from Coedo Brewery, one such brewery in Kawagoe, about half an hour north of the northern part of Tokyo. Known sometimes as Ko-Edo, or "little Tokyo" (hence the beer's name), Kawagoe is famous for the many examples of Edo-period warehouse architecture that remain in its old commercial district and also for its sweet potatoes.

Good beer, like good wine, should be distinctive, and enthusiastic people in love with the product they make always seem to enhance the experience. Coedo has got both. I spent a pleasant fifteen minutes talking with Coedo president and CEO, Shigeharu Asagiri, who led me through a tasting. The blue-labeled Ruri (the word means "lapis" in Japanese: All of the beers are named after something Japanese associated with the beer by color) is a pilsener type (5% alcohol). Kyara (a yellow-brown traditional dye) is a lager (5%). Shikkoku (black) is a dark Schwarzbier (5%). Beniaka (red) is a barley lager (7%) that also uses the local sweet potatoes. Shiro (white) is a non-filtered hefeweizen, or wheat beer (5.5%). I enjoyed them all, but particularly Kyara, which had a clean, refreshing taste but not at the expense of flavor and body. Kyara has a rich malty aspect but manages to be quite crisp and dry at the same time--wonderfully balanced. These beers were a welcome change from the often overly hoppy local beers of northern California. Recommended--I just wish the stuff weren't so expensive.

[Update: More about Koedo beer.]