Daisen G Imperial Stout
Daisen G Beer

Sampling at a craft beer shop in the Kyoto Shinkansen station.
Pours a fork mahèwith a thin tan head.
Smells of dark roasted malt, cocoa.
Nice smooth mouth feel.
Full stout taste ˆ cocoa, coffee.

Pours a pitch black coloration with a medium, frothy head. Smell is dominated by a mild tart cherry aroma, with underlying notes of roasted malt and chocolate. Taste follows the nose, with that tart cherry note being a little too present despite lighter notes of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee and a certain light herbal/earthy hoppiness. Finishes with a light bitterness and that tart cherry note lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Based on the other reviews, I'm gonna go ahead and call this one infected, although it's really not *that* bad. That tart cherry note is not unbearable if you can appreciate a tart cherry/raspberry porter and there are still some underlying roasted malt and chocolate/coffee notes that prevent this from being a total drainpour, but yeah, there is clearly something wrong with this.

 

 

Thanks to Sean for sharing. This was the Valentine Black version. I'm not totally clear on why there are different labels as I don't speak Japanese, but Ratebeer says the two are the same. Served in a Cigar City snifter. Best before 2012 - this bottle clocked in at 9%.

A - Pours with a finger of tan foam that settles to a thick collar and wisp of hazy bubbles, but not lace. The body is a dark brown color that is reddish at the fringes. Should be darker for an RIS.

S - Very weird. Smells like a mix of Fritos, wood chips, and onions. Not much in the way of stout flavors. No alcohol is a good thing - I guess?

T - The taste is a bit better, but still on very typical Some molasses, light roasted malt, and a strange bitter finish that is neither hop nor espresso-based.

M - Gritty medium body, low carbonation, a touch of alcohol warmth.

D - This is just bad, and it can't be due to age. I'd be willing to try this once more just to make sure that it wasn't a bottle-specific problem. However, I can't recommend this in the slightest based on my experience.

Deep black with some ruby edges. Nose is a little weak, offering some milk chocolate and a bit of roasted coffee but not much else. Pleasantly smooth roasty bitterness. Not at all aggressive. Very easy drinking for an Impy with the alcohol well hidden. A fairly safe take on a RIS.

Appearance: Baker's chocolate brown-black, not opaque but just about, with a cafe latte-colored head with fair retention.

Smell: Mmmmm. Complex and enticing: dark chocolate ganache, cheap milk chocolate, herbal and vanilla-y root beer, cherry cordials, Kahlúa, dark rum, espresso, burnt sugar, and citric and floral hops.

Taste: Yum. Not the thickest or the boldest imperial stout, but very good nonetheless, with a very contained and balanced flavor. Quite malty and sweet with a lot of dark rum, burnt sugar, roasted nuts, coffee liqueur and cherry liqueur, bitter cacaomass, and red wine. Just a pinch of citric and lightly floral hops bring some semblance of balance to the mix; they may be too delicate for the beer's own good. Still, it's a nice flavor as it is.

Mouthfeel: Not quite full-bodied but almost there, and wonderfully smooth and slick. Feels feathery soft like an oatmeal stout, with very fine carbonation.

Drinkability: This is pretty much the only imperial stout I can get here in Japan, and I will be sure to get it again. A very good dessert beer, almost barleywine-like in its sweetness, that has satisfied my craving for bigness in a country where most beers are understated and bland.