Smoky, flavorful, a little flat

Yebisu Creative Brew Ibushi

Brand: Sapporo Breweries

Price: 250 yen

Place of purchase: Belx Supermarket

Rating:

Yebisu Creative Brew continues to release interesting beers that riff on the craft beer movement. This time, it's Ibushi, meaning smoked. This 5.5% alcohol beer which resembles an amber ale in color, is a recipe formulated by Sapporo's young brewers. They're a little experimental. Ibushi has a slightly smoky, fragrant taste, achieved by using some malt smoked with beechwood. It's brewed at high temperatures for a short time to release the flavor of the malt. It has a smoky, malty aroma and the flavor persists.

The Yebisu Creative Brew is certainly a great experiment from a major brewery. This beer, Ibushi, has a distinct flavor from the addition of smoked malt. It's pretty good. The label doesn't indicate what style of beer this is and doesn't say what kind of malt is used. It's weird that Sapporo overlooks these profiles, as that's what attracts beer nerds. The beer is strangely flat and as you can see, the head disappeared. It's still carbonated, but not as pronounced as typical beers. However, the smoky flavor stays to the last drop.