I was shopping in on of the Japanese supermarket in San Mateo and spotted a brand I had never seen before, Coedo. Though a little pricey, I picked a few bottles of this brew which had a special label on it claiming to have won many awards. Coedo is a small brewery in Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan and produces mostly lager style beer but does have one wheat beer style.

Ruri is a pilsener style beer and the brewery describes Ruri as follows:

With the stark contrast of its clear golden hues and fluffy pure white head, this premium pilsener boasts a crisp refreshing taste. The name “Ruri” is Japanese for the gemstone Lapis, representing the pure clarity this beer abounds in.

Where I Found It. Suruki Grocery in San Mateo, CA.

Date Reviewed. September 21, 2009.

Serving Type. Bottle to glass.

Appearance. The color of Ruri is yellow straw with a hint of gold amber and a crystal clear opacity. You can clearly see all of the tiny bubbles floating to the top. The head is white  and foamy with loose bubbles that leave a thin film on the glass. It must be nicely carbonated because the head stays as a thin layer on top.

Smell. The bouquet of this beer is slightly coppery, a little spicy, a little earthy but also green and a little floral. It is not citrusy. The aroma sweet malty, a little bisquity, and has grain attributes as well.

Taste. Ruri is malty sweet balanced by a touch of smooth hop bitterness to help balance the flavor. For some reason, however, it doesn’t seem quite bitter enough. It seems to be missing a bit of the crisp bite that I was expected from the smell. The sweetness, however, adds a nice complexity to the beer that give it a very mild fruity flavor while still maintaining a flavor of fresh grains..

Mouthfeel. This beer is medium to light bodied with a normal to lighter-than-average level of carbonation.

Drinkability. This beer is smooth and easy to drink but does not lack flavor. After a couple of these you would not be bored of it.

Rating.

• Appearance (20%): 3.5
• Smell (20%): 4.0
• Taste (40%): 3.0
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 4.0
• Overall: 3.45

Information

• Style: pilsener
• Brewery: Coedo Brewery
• Alcohol by volume: 5.0%
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.43 (as of May 2, 2010)

Other Reviews

• Japan Lines – Beer Review 4: Coedo Ruri
• Brew Review – Coedo Ruri
• MoIppai – Coedo Ruri
• Outdoor Japan – Coedo Beer
• Beer Advocate – Coedo Ruri
• Rate Beer – Coedo Ruri

I had been casually searching for this beer ever since July and in November 2008 I discovered City Beer Store in San Francisco, CA and that they carried several of the Hitachino Nest beers. One of those beers that I picked up was the Real Ginger Brew.

Unfortunately, there is no information on the Kiuchi Brewery website about this beer. It is a very unique beer and it would by nice to know a little background information about it.

It looks like this beer is bottle conditioned so I might try to harvest some of the yeast the next time that I try one of the Hitachino Nest beers.

Where I Found It. City Beer Store in San Francisco, CA.

Serving Type. Poured a 330ml bottle into a glass.

Appearance. This beer has a foamy but not frothy yellow-white head and does not leave much foam on the glass. A small layer of head remains on top. This beer is hazy, which might be expected of an herb/spice beer, and has an amber or dark honey color.

Smell. Real Ginger Brew has a ginger aroma like that of ginger ale or ginger beer, which is a sweet smooth ginger smell. In fact the smell is almost indistinguishable from ginger ale or ginger beer. The bouquet is spicy with a bit of cloves and is enhanced by the ginger while accompanied by a light fruitiness. The hops are not pronounced and the malt only seems to be a vehicle to deliver the sweet ginger-ale-like smell. There is also a slight bready or yeast aroma present. I enjoy the ginger aroma but the yeast detracts from it a little bit.

Taste. The most pronounced taste of this beer is sweet malty ginger. It is almost as if this is a ginger beer made with malt, instead of cane sugar, and contains alcohol. It actually contains 7% alcohol but the astringent alcohol flavor is masked completely by the other flavors. Backing the ginger beer flavor is a sweet maltiness that is complemented with a touch of smooth hop bitterness. As you drink more of this brew the spiciness of the ginger builds but not so much that is it overpowering. All of these aspects combine to produce a crisp and refreshing flavor.

Mouthfeel. Real Ginger Brew is well carbonated, which adds to the comparison to ginger ale, and is a medium-light bodied beer. The taste of the ginger lingers just for a bit and fades nicely.

Drinkability. This beer is strong in alcohol content and strong in ginger flavor. On one hand it is crisp and refreshing like a ginger ale but also like a ginger ale I rarely want more than one. I would drink this again but I would not want more than one at a time. All in all it is an enjoyable beer.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 3.5
• Smell (20%): 3.5
• Taste (40%): 3.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 3.0
• Overall: 3.45

Caption on the Bottle

The following caption is found on the back of the beer bottles of Real Ginger Brew:

Fresh ginger roots aded to the brewkettle create and intriguing balance of ginger-spicy, sweet-malty and hoppy-dry flavors and aromas.

Information

• Style: Herb Spice Ale
• Brewery: Kiuchi Brewery
• Alcohol by volume: 7.0%
• Other ingredients: ginger
• Bottle conditioned
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.69 (as of April 1, 2009)

Other Reviews

• 97 Bottles – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew by Kiuchi Brwery
• Freshly Squeezed Jew – Beer Review 5: Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• Chicagoist – Chicagoist’s “Beer of the Week”: Hitachino Nest Ginger Brew
• BrewedGirl – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• Beer & Nosh – Cardamon Cauliflower Soup with Hitachino Ginger Beer
• Thom’s Beer Blog – 364. Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale
• New York Brew – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• LivingSocial – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• Beers, Beers, Beers – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale
• Beer Advocate – Hitachino Nest Real Gingerr Brew
• Rate Beer – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale

Baird Brewing started in 2000 by Bryan and Sayuri Baird and is located at the base of My. Fuji in Numazo, Japan. The brewer’s website describes this beer as follows:

This quenching brew is crafted in the American west-coast style. It sports a beautiful soft citrus hop aroma which gives way to a round, honeyed-fruit flavor. The finish is crisp and refreshing.

Where I Found It. I found this beer at City Beer Store in San Francisco, CA.

Serving Type. I poured the contents of a 355 ml (12 oz.) bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance. The head of Rising Sun Pale Ale has the typical egg-shell white color and lasts an average amount of time. The color is a nice orange caramel color but the clarity is semi-cloudy. It was even more cloudy when I forgot to stop pouring and emptied the bottle conditioning yeast into the beer.

Smell. The hop bouquet has a nice citrus, orange, and floral smell, which is noticeable but not intense. The aroma has background hints of sweet malt and grain. There is a slight touch of vanilla and something that I can only describe as Japanese grape-flavored hard candy.

Taste. As the caption on the side of the bottle claims, this beer is well balanced. It has malty sweetness and is not too heavy on the hops and bitterness. The taste is pleasant and has a honey sweetness with a touch of hop spice. Again, I pick up on another type of sweetness in the taste that reminds me of white grape juice.

Mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is a little too watery for my preferences. The initial hop aftertaste on the tongue is pleasant and fades quickly.

Drinkability. Despite the watery nature of Rising Sun Pale Ale it is highly drinkable. It is smooth, easy to drink, and has a nice hop nose while not being huge on the hop bitterness.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 3.0
• Smell (20%): 4.0
• Taste (40%): 3.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 2.5
• Drinkability (10%): 4.0
• Overall:3.45

Caption on the Bottle

The following caption is found on the side of the bottle:

This hoppy, brisk and refreshing Pale Ale is indescribably complex, but holds tenaciously to Japan’s prime aesthetic value — supreme balance. Behold, the Zen Brewmaster’s Pale Ale, a perfect beer for drinking now, later, tomorrow, the next day, every day. “In balance there is harmony.” Kampai!

There is also information about the brewery listed on the side of the bottle:

Baird Beer is brewed at the foot of Mount Fuji by Japan’s pioneering craft brewery. Lovingly and authentically crafted, it is unfiltered, re-fermented in the bottle, and naturally carbonated. Please drink contemplatively, Beer Drinker-san.

Information

• Style: Pale Ale
• Brewery: Baird Brewing Company
• Alcohol by volume: 5%
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.84 (as of March 21, 2009)

Links and Other Reviews

• Numazu Traveler – Baird Beer’s Fishmarket Taproom
• Chuwy Reviews – Baird Beer Taproom, Nakameguro
• Metropolis.co.jp – Big Taste, Small Breweries
• Beer Advocate Reviews
• RateBeer.com Reviews

The Beach Chalet describes Fleishhacker Stout as follows:

Medium-boded stout with chocolate notes & a rich, smooth finish.

This description, however, does not explain what Fleishhacker means. It turns out that Fleishhacker refers to the Fleishhacker Pool, which was the largest swimming pool in the United States located in San Francisco, CA near the zoo. With this knowledge, the beer label, which depicts a woman diving into a pool, makes more sense.

Where I Found It. I had this beer at the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant in San Francisco, CA.

Serving Type. When I sampled this brew, it it was served from the tap into a pint glass.

Appearance. The head has a cappuccino color. Although the head was nice and foamy coming out of the tap, it did not last long. This might have been because the bartender seemed a little impatient with the head settling and overfilled the glass several times. Flieshhacker Stout has a black opaque color that you would expect from a stout.

Smell. The aroma of this stout is of very dark roasted malts and chocolate. The hop bouquet is very slight and has a hint of citrus and a more faint hint of concord grape juice.

Taste. Fleishhacker Stout has a nice flavor of toasty, dark roast coffee. There is also a noticeable bitterness, which was more than I expected. The bitterness, however, is balanced well against a pleasant malty sweetness. The flavor also has a hint of chocolate.

Mouthfeel. As described by the brewery, this is a medium bodied beer and I personally prefer a stout that has a fuller and creamier body. In fact, I think the mouthfeel is a bit watery. The aftertaste has a hop bitterness that lingers on back sides of the tongue. Finally, there is a slight chalky texture to this beer, which I also do not like.

Drinkability. Fleishhacker Stout is a smooth beer that can be consumed all year round. It does not, however, give a warming feeling that a winter warmer style beer does and that’s okay.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score. The overall rating is calculated exactly the same way as Beer Advocate.

• Appearance (20%): 3.0
• Smell (20%): 3.5
• Taste (40%): 3.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 2.0
• Drinkability (10%): 3.0
• Overall: 3.2

Information

• Alcohol by volume: 5.6%
• Style: American Stout
• Brewery: Beach Chalet Brewery
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.77 (on January 24, 2009)

Other Reviews

• Beer Advocate – Fleishhacker Stout
• Rate Beer – Fleishhacker Stout from Beach Chalet Brewery
• If you review this beer on your blog, please leave a comment and I will post a link.

When tasting the beer, the herbal influence is quite evident. This beer is brewed at the end of the summer, lagered for 2 weeks, bottle conditioned, and “rested” for several months to mellow it out. The brewery also claims that it has a shelf life of 3 years. Despite my recommendation at the end of this review, it might be interesting to pick up another bottle again for the purpose of aging it.

Anker brewery is the oldest in Belgium, dating back to 1369, and has an interesting history as detailed on the Anker website. This beer in particular had not been brewed for 38 years until 2002 when Anker started brewing it again.

The bottle of Gouden Carolus Noël that I sampled was a 750ml bottle that cost about $14. I poured it directly into four glasses and shared it with friends.

Where I Found It. I picked up a 750ml at a Draeger’s Market in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Serving Type. When I sampled this brew, I poured it directly into four glasses and shared it with friends.

Appearance. This beer had a amber color that was lighter than I was expecting and was extremely clear. The head had a nice mocha color. Gouden Carolus Noël is a bottle conditioned beer, therefore there is yeast at the bottom of the bottle so pour carefully.

Smell. The bouquet was that of fresh clove spice and a hint of other herbs, possibly anise or even tarragon. This is probably due to both the Belgian yeast as well as the herb adjuncts. The aroma was like a dark sweet malt and burnt sugar but not like caramel. The aroma also had a hint of sarsaparilla.

Taste. The flavor of this beer was malty and roasty but not chocolaty. The typical Belgian yeast flavors, which are described by some as banana and cloves, were subdued. It also had a a medicinal quality to it like an herbal cough syrup or Ricola. Needless to say, the 10.5% alcohol was present in each sip. On top of that, there were flavors of an espresso shot loaded with sugar. The taste was quite complex.

Mouthfeel. Goulden Carolus Noël might seem like a full bodied beer. However, I was very surprised to find that it was not as thick and syrupy as I expected. In fact, it was quite dry. The brewer claims that the wort is 22 degrees plato, which is roughly a specific gravity of 1.091. Since the alcohol content is 10.5%, then the final gravity must be about 1.012, which is in the upper range for the average pale ale. Therefore, I would claim that this is a medium to medium-light bodied beer.

Drinkability. Due to the complexity of the hops, herbs, Belgian yeast, and high alcohol content this was not a smooth beer. It was more like a scotch that you sip and enjoy slowly. Drinking Gouden Carolus Noël was an interesting experience with some pleasant and unexpected surprises. It was not as drinkable as other Belgian beers that I’ve tried. If you get a chance, however, go a ahead and try it. But next time I go for a Belgian beer I would much rather try something new, including more beer from Anker brewery.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score. The overall rating is calculated exactly the same way as Beer Advocate.

• Appearance (20%): 4.0
• Smell (20%): 3.5
• Taste (20%): 2.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 2.5
• Overall: 3.1

What Others Thought

It is always more enjoyable to share a beer with friends and family. As part of this blog I plan on not only reviewing the beer myself but also gathering feedback from others. Below is what Liz, Erin, and Patrick thought about the beer. As reflected below, this was not  a Belgian beer drinking crowd.

Liz

• Appearance. Dark.
• Smell. Licorice candy.
• Taste. Medicinal, fermented roasted beer. Prominent alcohol taste.
  
• Drinkability. Not delicious. Would not drink it again.

Erin

• Appearance. Dark.
• Smell. Root beer but hoppy.
• Taste. Tasted like hard alcohol. Root beer with hops and spiciness. Prune juice. The after taste was like Jägermeister.

Patrick

• Appearance. Dark.
• Smell. Bubblegum and bananas.
• Taste. Bubblegum and cardamom.

Caption from the Bottle

The following caption is found on the side of the bottle:

Gouden Carolus Noel brewed exceptionally for Christmas by the Anker brewery, established in Mechelen since 1369, and one of the classic Belgian breweries. This very special Belgian ale is brewed using traditional methods and a recipe with top fermentation. Its high gravity gives this ale its warmth and body. It improves with age and will charm you with its warm, coppery colour and its rich bouquet.

Refermented in the bottle.

Information

• Alcohol content: 10.5% ABV
• Hops: Three types of “only Belgian hops”
• Original gravity: 1.091 or 22 degrees Plato
• Lagering: 2 weeks
• Fermentation: high fermentation and refermentation in the bottle
• Style: Belgian dark strong ale
• Brewery: Anker brewery (Brouwerij Het Anker)
• Beer Advocate rating: 4.14

• Beer Advocate – Gouden Carolus Noël / Christmas
• Barley Blog — 2006 Gouden Carolus Noel
• Year of Beer — #102 – Gouden Carolus – Noel
• A Jigger of Blog — Review: Gouden Carolus Noel