Kirin Toretate Hop
Kirin Brewery Company, Limited

Kirin Toretate HopKirin Toretate Hop
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From:
Kirin Brewery Company, Limited
 
Japan
Style:
American Lager
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
76
Avg:
2.98 | pDev: 15.77%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
16
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 14, 2017
Added:
Oct 27, 2005
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Ratings by samparkique4:
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Rated by samparkique4 from England

3.75/5  rDev +25.8%

Jan 25, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.84 by monkist from Hungary

May 14, 2017
 
Rated: 3.37 by UniversitateaDeBere from Romania

Jul 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.27 by dcmchew from Romania

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 2.5 by Rickus from Taiwan

Sep 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by SD0430

Aug 20, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by Waltherpk380 from Florida

Jul 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by YamagamiTravis from Canada (BC)

Feb 18, 2013
Photo of johnnnniee
Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire

3.28/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
Another can smuggled in country by my sister in law, thanks Terry!
Pours a deep clear golden color with a nice bubbly bone white head that slowly recedes after sticking some lace. The aroma is very weak. Faint grain with sweet malt and floral hop and skunk. Taste is sweet and grainy with a hint of spicy earthy hops. Light honey and green apple flavors in there as well. Light body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet watery mouthfeel. This one is actually not to bad. A bit thin and lacking pizazz but I actually tasted hops for a second there and that can't be a bad thing.
Feb 12, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by shigg85 from Japan

Jan 31, 2012
Photo of shivtim
Reviewed by shivtim from Georgia

2.25/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
I believe the full name of this beer is Ichiban Shibori Toretate Hop ("ichiban shibori" refers to the brewing method).

I found a can of the 2011 vintage, which uses hops harvested from Tohoku. From what I can find online, it was brewed at the Sendai brewery. Apparently this is the first batch of beer brewed in Sendai after the earthquake/tsunami.

Poured from the can, it's a clear yellow color, with a foamy short-lived white head.

Nose is corn, rice, metal... typical Japanese canned lager.

Taste is OK... the hops come through just a bit, with a hint of sweet stickyness, but it's mostly more adjunct flavor. Lots of rice/grain malty taste.

Overall this was a dud. Don't let the hoppy appearance of the can fool you.
Nov 23, 2011
Photo of snogglethorpe
Reviewed by snogglethorpe from Japan

2.7/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
A name guaranteed to appeal to any craft beer lover -- "fresh hop" -- but I suppose as one might expect, it fails to really live up to the name.

A very pale straw color, with a big but short-lived head. Smell is not particularly noteworthy.

The taste is very weak and watery -- far more so than Kirin's "normal" beer. Despite the name, there's no obvious hop taste, and if anything, it seems less bitter (than their flagship)! Where are those hops...?!

The one interesting thing about the flavor is a sort of subtle fruitiness that isn't typical for Japanese macros, but it's short-lived on the edges of the tongue, quickly replaced by a watered-down sensation.

Mouthfeel is decent, crisp, a very slight thickness.

A disappointment, but a nice name, and an attractive label... :/

(note -- this beer seems to be mis-categorized, as the can says "100% malt")
Dec 09, 2010
Photo of SargeC
Reviewed by SargeC from California

3.83/5  rDev +28.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
2009 edition

Appearance: Clear, pale straw yellow beer with a foamy white head.

Smell: Crisp, butter and pine aroma with hints of citrus.

Taste: Nice and crisp malt flavor paves way for the hops. Good use of fresh hops.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body. Clean.

Drinkablity: A step up for Kirin. Not overly hopped, but a good increase from regular Kirin.
Dec 20, 2009
Photo of Healfdene
Reviewed by Healfdene from Japan

2.41/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
Smells like wet dog. Tastes...a little like wet dog. Little bit of laundry soap going on there. Slightly more bitter and hoppier than the normal Japanese rice lager, but not necessarily in a good way. Medium yellow hue, strong carbonation as-per-usual. I always "Oooh" when I see a new beer with hops on the label at the 7-11, but I am always, always let down. When will I learn?
Oct 23, 2006
Photo of Naerhu
Reviewed by Naerhu from Japan

2.48/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Apparently all of the hops used in this beer are from Iwate Prefecture, here in Japan.

Big white head on a deeply yellow body with carbonation visable.
Light leafy aroma over the standard rice lager aroma.
Tastes like any rice lager with a pronounced dryness and bitterness. Having an extremely short finish (called, "Kire") is a very highly prized aspect of Japanese macro beer, but leafy hop flavors "ruins" the kire.
Like all rice lagers, a bit too overcarbonated, but not too bad.
Definately not my cup of tea. I mean beer. I am going to go wash my mouth out with some Jever.
Oct 28, 2005
Photo of thesilverhand
Reviewed by thesilverhand from Canada (BC)

2.7/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Pale straw yellow, with a weak, foamy white head that didn't last long before dissipating almost completely. Lacklustre.

Mild maltiness, slightly grainy. Very little aroma, actually.

Certainly more bitter than a typical Japanese macro lager. There is little to no hop flavour or aroma, though, so I'm (not surprisingly) unconvinced by of the can's assertion that it's a "pleasing harmony of fresh-picked hops and first wort." First wort? WTF? Are they suggesting they reuse dregs from the wort of this beer to make a "second wort?" So this is the extra-virgin olive oil of the Kirin family?

But I digress. Back to the beer. It's actually not terrible. The additional bitterness balances what would otherwise be a typically sweet Japanese lager, and makes it quite pleasantly drinkable. It's a bit overcarbonated, and quite dry in the finish.

Honestly, it's not bad, for what it is -- a pale lager offering from one of Japan's largest macro brewers. That said, I doubt I'll be rushing out to get another any time soon.
Oct 27, 2005
Kirin Toretate Hop from Kirin Brewery Company, Limited
Beer rating: 76 out of 100 with 16 ratings