Nikko Premium Beer
Nikko Brewing

Drank this blind. Thanks lacqueredmouse for sharing the bottle.

Pours a burnished orangey colour with very fine but steady bead up the middle. Head was modest at first and now just a film. Lacing is something else though - thick and sticky as semen. I'd have to say pretty good overall.

Nose is very malty, with a lot of rich sweetness coming off of that. Molasses thickness with currants, baked pear and a light cinnamon edge, slight milky vanilla aroma as well. Maybe a slight hint of west coast American hops, but not much. More would blow me the fuck away, but as it is the nose is just very sweet and syrupy. Nice, but overdone.

Taste is again very sweet and quite thick and syrupy. Malt is prevalent with a caramelly edge throughout, light toastedness on there but not a great deal. Hops are noticeable but take on a lightly spicy edge for the finish, with a mint and anise character providing a bit of freshness and a bit of bite. Hops do also add a slight tart edge to the mid-palate which tempers the sweetness a bit. Ultimately though the sweetness wins out, but slightly weaker than in your average malt-bomb.

I said this was thick, but that was a flavour reference. Mouthfeel is actually disappointingly watery, which makes me suspect that this is not all that alcomoholic, in spite of full maltiness.

Nicely drinkable though, with good mild crispness just to tame the sweetness at the end.

EDIT: Tasting this blind as I was, I never guessed for a minute that this was a Japanese beer. A very, very fine effort indeed.

Gushes when I open, but settles down pretty quickly. Pours a pleasant reddish copper colour, with a filmy head of yellowish-white foam. Lacing is pretty good. It's a shame the head collapses so comprehensively, but the colour is very nice, and overall it's a pretty nice looking beer.

Fair bit of sweetness and a dank must grain character on the nose. Certainly it seems like rice plays a part, the sweetness is testament to that, but it's not overdone, and not sickly. It comes across as rather like a sweet malty English pale. Not a lot to it, but not unpleasant either.

Again, the taste isn't too bad either, and I was expecting something substantially worse. There's a grainy crispness on the back which counteracts the front palate hint of rice sweetness. Some lingering bitterness, and quite a pleasant, smooth mouthfeel. There's not a huge amount of character to it, but it's really quite drinkable.

You know, I wasn't impressed with their other beers, but to my mind, this one is worthy of the Premium label they attach to it. Pleasant drinking, smooth, and without any offensive characters, this one's a smooth sessioner. Good for you, Nikko.