Asahi Stout

(bottle - 330 ml) Courtesy of KyotoLefty. Dark black pour with a fluffy tan head. Aroma is very sweet and malty with some hints of roasted coffee and whiskey. Flavor is smooth and roasted at the beginning with a smooth and slightly chocolaty middle. Finishes warm and roasty with a mild and sweet malt finish. Didn’t realize the alcohol was this high.

Bottled at RBJG park session. Nearly black, beige creamy head. With lots of chocolate, notes of salt and plums and solid full sized body it certainly takes me by surprise. Mild, yet warming with alcohol hidden in caramel and tar. Lingering cocoa bitterness. Why aren’t all Asahi beers this good?

From a bottle a few days past its "drink by" date. Black with a tall tan head. Appetizing. Sweet, fruity aroma, cherry, something sour, some metal, chocolate. Sweet-and-sour flavor with raisins, coffee, bitter chocolate, lots of burnt malt. Has a bit of a wild-yeast, sour flavor as well. Complex, but I think this bottle is showing its age. I’ll go for the draught for the re-rating. Nice stuff from this big brewer. Wish all their beers were this good.

Muted smell of slight roasted malted milk balls. Oily mouthfeel and light/med bodies, but there is some interesting flavours here. Rummy raisin, cherry coke, chocolate covered berries, and a certain kind of Bailey’s creaminess. Considering this comes from one of Japan’s big boys, this is not a bad brew.

My Bottom Line:
Candied berries and roastiness align right before they leave room for a lightly bitter and softly tart finish to create even more interest. A well-done Foreign Stout from a macrobrewery? Pinch me.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam looks into the brown-sleeved black.
-The baccate fruitiness recalls blackberries and cherries.
-Roasted malts leave some bitterness for the end, which is somewhat marred by a lightly mineral personality.
-Caramel and chocolate team up to provide a sweet base on which the fruitiness can dally.

On tap at Popeye’s.

Poured deep ruby/brown with a nice tan head. Aroma is roasted malts, whiskey, caramel, and chocolate. Body is a little thin for my tastes. Deeply roasted flavor. Sweet, coffee, bitter sweet chocolate, and a bit of alcohol though the 8% is pretty well hidden. the whiskey is noticeable in the finish along with a nice bitter end. I’m impressed, and would drink this again.

Pours a dark chestnut...with a cloudy mocha head. Aroma is grass, milk chocolate, vanilla, and some caramel malt. Flavor is a bit acidic...with chocolate and strawberries...kind of like a less intense foriegn stout...this isn’t bad at all...and i disagree with those that think the kirin is better. and whoever gave it a .5 was off his rocker. Mouthfeel is kind of watery, but it has a oily slickness that makes it acceptable.

Bottle. Pours reddish dark brown, tan head. Aroma is toffee, caramel, vanilla; sweet. Flavor is caramel, chocolate, earth, molasses, vanilla, earthy aftertaste.