Kirin Maroyaka Kobo
Kirin Brewery Company, Limited

Kirin Maroyaka KoboKirin Maroyaka Kobo
Beer Geek Stats
From:
Kirin Brewery Company, Limited
 
Japan
Style:
American Pale Wheat Beer
ABV:
5%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.62 | pDev: 8.29%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
6
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 07, 2008
Added:
Sep 24, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by benoist:
Photo of benoist
Reviewed by benoist from Japan

3.89/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Wow. Where did this one come from? Not at all what I expected when reviewing a Kirin product. For a large-scale macrobrewery known for a rather unremarkable mainstream beer, this one's a terrific offering.

Appearance is excellent, almost shimmering and golden in the glass, with a haziness reminiscent of Unibroue's "Blanche de Chambly". The unfiltered nature of this beer really shows. Large, active, bubbly head, with some very exciting lacing. Overall, a wonderful beer to look at.

This beer's aroma is quite impressive as well, with grains and hops pervading the initial nose before giving way to a deep maltiness. Interesting.

The taste is thick, malty and sweet, but quickly dissipating to an aftertaste filled with a bouquet of fresh flowers. The aftertaste is remarkably clean, and lingers very nicely. Even by microbrewery standards, this beer has a very unique and well-crafted taste.

Overall, very drinkable and a first-class effort from a macro trying to make some inroads into the craft beer arena. Definitely worth a try!
Jan 09, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of saztheorybook
Reviewed by saztheorybook from Louisiana

3.83/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This one poured a murky gold that was kind of gorgeous, kind of gross. Definitely unfiltered, healthy, and robust. The head was white and it retained a little bit all the way through to the end, a surprise for a Japanese beer. The smell was sweet with the malts making a big appearance, but it was very syrupy. Drinking it, I thought, "Goodness, Kirin made a good beer." And I stick by that. The first set of flavors were barley and sugar. It's well balanced and not particularly bitter. Very sweet with citrusy tones.
Feb 07, 2008
Photo of soulgrowl
Reviewed by soulgrowl from England

3.15/5  rDev -13%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Pineapple juicy translucent cloudy yellow. Head is white, fair-sized and kind of unstable, breaking down into a thin, cratered film in a matter of seconds; not nearly as sexy as the head on a wheat beer should be.

Smell: Ripe banana, musky white pepper, and an oh-so-bready combination of yeast and wheat. Mildly vinous but a bit muddly and not as fruity or zesty as I'd like a wheat beer to be, but the wheat base is solid. Hops add a light citric zing in the background.

Taste: Maroyaka, indeed. A wheat beer tailor-made for the happoshu crowd, this is inoffensive and mild, a bit grainy, a bit bready, and a bit fruity but mostly bland. Hops provide a slight grassy, tangy bitterness with a hint of lemon, but otherwise this beer is all about the wheat.

Mouthfeel: Soft, smooth and well carbonated, but overly thin, which gives it a watery character that doesn't help the somewhat watery taste.

Drinkability: This is a lousy bitter but an alright wheat beer. Don't expect the fruity-spicy flavors of a traditional Hefe, but rather the refreshing lightness of an American wheat ale... and I do mean lightness.
Apr 06, 2007
Photo of shertzogovina
Reviewed by shertzogovina from New York

3.29/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A bottle brought to me by a freind of a freind who came back from Japan.
Had no idea what the style of the beer was before opening the bottle.
After opening, one thing is clear - this is no english bitter.
It had the appearance of a Witbier. Cloudy and yellow with a nice white head and lively bubbles.
The aroma though, is lager-like, with some DMS and rice and sour milk with only a bit of fruitiness and hops.
Upon tasting it seems that this was intended to be a Witbier indeed.
Tangy wheat, light citrus and some spiciness dominate.
A medium body and spritzy carbonation help with the drinkability powered by a dry finish.

Definitely a specialty brew from a macro-brewery. nice try- not bad.
Mar 25, 2006
Photo of donnebaby
Reviewed by donnebaby from North Carolina

3.69/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This is Kirin's "premium beer" using "living hops"! It comes in a bottle, a rare luxury for mainstream Japanese beer, and it's got a chic label--as well as a chic price.

This beer looked incredible in the glass. Large, slow-moving, concentrated-bubble head and a dusty-gold, cloudy color, like a duststorm in front of a late-afternoon sun...er, yeah. In fact, drinkability goes up just by looking at it. Fun lacing too, creating a maze up and down my tall glass.

The smell was sweet and malty, and the taste was flavorful grains with gracious hops. It had a neat, clean taste, yet not lacking in meatiness. The non-filtration really tells. Besides Heartland, this has to be my favorite Kirin product.
Mar 06, 2004
Photo of Naerhu
Reviewed by Naerhu from Japan

3.89/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Website claims that this is a 100 percent malt beer using both wheat and barley. I had to guess at the type of ale, all the site said is that it is a top fermented, unfiltered beer. The site also states that only aroma hops are used, which I believe considering the amazing aroma.

Amazingly active white head. Opaque yellow body. A bouquet of wild flowers jumping of this beer.
Sep 24, 2003
Kirin Maroyaka Kobo from Kirin Brewery Company, Limited
Beer rating: 3.62 out of 5 with 6 ratings