Takau Litchi Beer
Takau Brewery

Courtesy of Takau's brewer, Barley Chung. Coming in a 350ml can, unfiltered and unpasteurised; canned on 18/10/2007, BB 18/12/2007, served chilled in a straight pint glass. The beer label says this beer uses genuine litchi juice sourced locally in Taiwan in addition to 1:1 barley- and wheat-malts (both fm. Germany).

A: murkey dark tawny in colour, topped with a fast-dissipating white foam and pretty quiet carbonation; looking like a real fruit-witbier~~
S: a light fruity note of raw-ish litchis fills the nostrils, really like the semi-ripe, fat juicy litchis that we Taiwanese enjoy in abundance here... However, the fruitiness comes somewhat overly assertive at the expense of complexities provided by other ingredients; the nose is still very refreshing and enjoyable, w/o a trace of artificial fruitiness.
T: the taste is almost the same as the aroma, where litchi's juicy flavour is well underlined by the witbier base, not too sweet nor sour. The main flavour leads quickly towards a short finish where the lightly sour edge of fresh litchi fruits still rules, while the finish has more wheat-ish flavour with a faint yeasty touch.
M&D: although the body is light, the texture comes a bit flat and not refreshing enough. That said, I'm sure another can might show a different (better) mouthfeel, as the canning process seems to be a bit inconsistent for all Takau's products. All in all, this is the first Taiwanese beer using genuine local fruits that I've ever tried. Even for the sake of innovation, I eagerly await Barley's experimental brews using many other Taiwanese fruits to make a real difference from Belgian fruity-stuffs!