Gaijin Dream
Stickmen Brewing Company

 

 

draught
Rather thin, white head. Medium golden amber appearance. A small amount of very light toasted grain and a bit of light toasted malt, for the aroma. Subtle, very lightly toasted malt and grain flavor, with a very slight herbal and mineral like tinge, which lasts to the finish.

Very nice golden color, not too light. Slightly fruity aroma, almost smells like a sour with nice fermented notes. Wow, flavor is very complex-- slight metallic note at the beginning threw me off for a bit, but it turns into a rich, grainy, nutty, slightly sweet, slightly sour. Well balanced despite having so much going on. No bitterness, excellent aftertaste. Good body, slight astringency. Overall would love to get this one again.

While Gaijin achieves the Japanese quality of being a dry lager, I'm not sure it yet makes it on the quality scale.
While it is clear until the last pour, it really needs more foam... which I read as a live beer. Smells are slightly above average as I'm getting some decent spicing to make up for the blandness of rice. But Tastes are both malty sweet and, then, over-balanced with the flavor of hops; creating a long and lasting dryness. Light to medium in the mouth, there are bubbles but not enough life to bring me back.

For my mini-review, I conclude that Stickmen with two brewpubs and production sites in only six years is a successful business and has made it through Covid and is adding to the culture of this ex-urban area of Oregon. All that is good, but how much better is the key question. Stickmen may not have the diversity and depth to get much better, but at least they are doing good enough what they now do best.