Sapporo Yebisu Black Beer

Brewed by Sapporo Breweries
Style: Schwarzbier
Tokyo, Japan

Draught. Pours black with a frothy tan head. Aroma of lightly toasted malt, and a similar flavor. Not a bad beer at all, especially by Japanese standards, although at the same time not *particularly* interesting either.

Can
Almost opaque black, small "coca cola head". Strong roasted malty coffee beans aroma. Light bodied. Chocolaty, roasted with late bitterness in the aftertaste. Not outstanding, but drinkable "porter" (or schwarzbier).

Very nice, great balance for a black beer at 5%. Pours dark with a fine white head and has strong coffee flavours.

From the bottle, pours chestnut brown with a creamy beige head that lasted till the end. Roasted malt and smoky coffee on the nose. Thin palate, watery finish. Still, it is by far the most interesting and flavoursome Japanese beer I have tasted, and for this reason the score gets nudged up a little.

Can... Clear, dark ruby lager with a small, creamy, beige head. Light coffee and chocolate nose. Medium malty/ lightly sweet, but well-balanced overall. A note of light molasses or black Twizzlers. Medium-bodied and silky (almost velvety) with lively carbonation. Short, crisp, chocolatey finish. Not bad at all. Kudos go out to my client, and friend, Jeff for bringing this can back from his trip to Tokyo.

Rerate 29/9/06: Good Japanese schwarzbier that I keep accidentally rebuying because I think I’ve had the other Yebisu but not this one. Wrong again. Clear Coca Cola body, with a thick cafe latte whipped cream head that fizzed and burped before settling down. No lacing. Aroma is light and spritzy but a little ill-defined. Characterised by dark malt, Bourneville chocolate, coffee grounds, licorice root and star anise. Thinnish body and a creamy mouthfeel - acceptable for the style. Minimal carbonation. Espresso notes and coffee candies in a generally mild, sweet, malty flavour profile. Some tartness in the finish. A little one-dimensional but very acceptable drinking. (Bottle, best before May 2007)

I took a shine instantly to this one before I even sat down to pour it, and wasn’t disappointed at all as it turned out to be great Black Beer. Tasted from the bottle and poured into a tall Tulip glass. The dense short tan head formed quickly, atop a clear black body with ruby sides. The head lasted until the finish and webbed well down the glass. An intense molasses, burnt sugar and Marmite aroma gave hints of the beer inside the glass. In the mouth the initial roasted coffee and grain flavours were standouts, with a mild leafy hop note to make it interesting. Dark chocolate added sweetness, liquorice added a degree of gumminess and biscuity yeast tones added smoothness. Mildly carbonated and Medium light bodied. I really enjoyed this one!!!

Near black - dark brown highlights. Thin, coffee aroma with metallic undertones. Palate has dark chocolate, some malty sweetness and cappucino notes. If it’s too cold, the sweetness will be most expressive but the coffee/chocolate comes more to the fore as it warms. Body is a little thin and fizzy but again feels a little thicker as it warms a bit and the carbo burns itself out. That said, the malts are a little weak overall. The finish is liquoricey, with hints of chocolate.