Shikkoku
Coedo Brewery (Kyodo Shoji Koedo Brewery)

hk117 from Hong Kong

3.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle - deep roasted smell and flavour of a stout but the mouth feel and carbonation of a lager. Interesting but would likely prefer a good stout or a good lager over this depending on the day.

Aug 05, 2020

flyingpig from Scotland

3.71/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

333ml bottle from Beers of Europe (£3.79):
Opaque black with a foamy, tan brown head that's just under 1cm tall & fades after a minute or so. It's quite dark & roasted on the nose without being too strong; hints of coffee & an earthy bitterness follows with burnt notes to finish. The taste is similar, the coffee & earthy malt bitterness lead the way with some hints of chocolate sweetness & a grainy, almost oak taste to finish. The body is semi-dry & fairly smooth, sitting around medium but well-balanced & quite easy to drink too.

Jun 03, 2020

JonnoWillsteed from England

3.8/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

L- Jet black, zero light gets through the glass, even the edges, when held up right next to a halogen lamp. 5mm pale tan ultra-fine bubble head.
S- Coffee and toasty.
T- Coffee, quite light tasting ABV (blind-tasted I'd guess 4.8%). Nice balance, zero wrong to note.
F- Quite deep, versus refreshing, winter beer. Would go well with food. Rather light feel versus the prominent flavour.
O- Nice flavour, though the relatively low ABV% for the style doesn't bring the body to balance it. I'd love to try say a 6-6.5% version of this, I expect it'd come over very differently and reward better.

Feb 11, 2020

VoxRationis from New York

4.25/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Served from a 11.26 oz (333 ml) bottle into a Teku glass at Kabooki Sushi in Orlando, Florida; bottled on 11/12/18.
A: Pours a very dark brown almost black color with mahogany highlights, a one to two finger, fluffy brown head, solid retention beyond a cap, and more modest lacing.
S: Aromas of chocolate, molasses, toffee and caramel.
T: More semisweet than semidry. Flavor palate follows the nose. Bitterness light with crisp, clean finish.
M: Light to medium bodied with strong carbonation. Creamy and smooth.
O: A delicious, richly flavorful example of the style.

Oct 22, 2019

flagmantho from Washington

3.96/5  rDev +10%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from 330mL bottle into a tulip. Bottled 9/4/17, which is not fresh, per se, but is probably fine for a schwarzbier.

Appearance: rich, very dark-brown hue with a thin layer of tan foam atop. Head doesn't have much staying power, but the color is great.

Smell: nicely malty with a light roast character and some elements of toffee and caramel. I find it quite delightful.

Taste: a light roastiness and good, complex toffee-like flavors really shine through. The flavor is clean and crisp; a great example of a schwarzbier.

Mouthfeel: light body with a good carbonation and decent creaminess.

Overall: age does not appear to have affected this guy at all. It's a great example of the style.

Sep 07, 2019

Parmesan from Colorado

3.51/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

L: Pours a dark brownish back with a small creamy white head and no lacing.

S: Slight char and smoke mixed with toasted grain, some chocolate, slight note of sweet cherry. Aroma is fairly light.

T: Toasted grain, some smoke and ash, bittersweet chocolate, a light mineral note, some slight cherry.

F: Creamy and smooth.

O: Aroma is a little light but this is a decent beer.

Jul 07, 2018

chinchill from South Carolina

3.4/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

333 ml stubby brown bottle with a BB date stamp of 24 Sept. 2018..
Pours clear but very dark brown-black in color with a thin tan head that has weak retention.
Aroma: dominated by dark roasted malts with some alcohol esters.
Flavor: Some spicy hops appear in addition to the roasted malts, It also has hints of dark chocolate and light coffee. High bitterness for style.
Feel: smooth, full body with light carbonation.

Jun 05, 2018

beergoot from Colorado

3.84/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Dark mahogany body; nice head. Fine charred grain aroma; some bitter chocolate. Mildly sweet milk chocolate taste; roasted grain. Medium body; smooth and lush; silky.

A solid, tasty dark lager, smooth and satisfying.

Mar 05, 2018

ordybill from Georgia

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from A 12 OZ bottle into a pint glass. The appearance is pitch black with a nice brown head. The aroma is big on roasted my. The taste is a nice traditional schwarzbier.

Jan 28, 2018

Beginner2 from Illinois

3.77/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Sweet. And I like sweet... without being too sweet.
Skikkoku Looks and Smells like a good copy of this Bavarian style. Its Taste is better than most North American renditions because the hops are more modest. (I know they are in there, but barely discernible.) Feel has modest bubbles. Medium body balanced to the end.

Sep 02, 2017

The_Beergery from Singapore

3.69/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

333 ml stubby bottle. Pours a dark brown-black in colour with a thin layer of tan froth, retention relatively poor, although the brew is well carbonated. Aromas are dominated by roasted malts mainly, reminds one of a porter or dry Irish stout.Taste is somewhat more complex, in addition to the roasted malts, there are hints of chocolate, mixed in with some sweetness and a creaminess from the carbonation, giving the relatively light body a much fuller mouthfeel. Nice, rich and satisfying, don;t let the lager label fool you into thinking this is a commercial knock-off!

Jun 24, 2017

pattysykes from Australia

2.93/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle, it has an opaque black with a fluffy, light tan head.

Aroma is sweet, malty with chocolate and some smoke.

Taste is slightly sweet, dark chocolate and dry fruit.

Full body, and some light carbonation. Dark chocolate and slight notes of spice and dried fruit in the aftertaste. Some slight hoppy bitterness too.

Overall, this is a mild, easy-to-drink lager with a good dark chocolate character.

Dec 16, 2016

Phil-Fresh from California

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Moderately low malt lightly roasted, with a dark chocolate like character, pretty clean with a light sweetness.

A: Very dark brown with a light garnet hue, almost black, clear, with a moderate tan head that has solid retention. There is some lacing in the glass.

T: Moderately light malt flavor, clean with a dark chocolate flavor, lightly bitter that lasts through the finish. Clean with a semi-dry finish.

M: Medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation, pretty smooth.

O: Pretty solid; the beer has a great dark chocolate character without being burnt and is very smooth and clean. The beer would be even better with a little more expressive malt, but the roast aroma and flavor is very clean. All in all - a very drinkable beer.

Apr 30, 2016

GrumD from Japan

3.8/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Lovely example of a black lager. Head soon goes and the nose is earthy. Dark malt with a little coffee comes through and the hop bitterness is present but minimal.

Oct 24, 2015

patre_tim from Thailand

3.92/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Dark brown to almost black in colour, 2 fingers of beige head. No visible carbonation.

Lightly sweet, molasses, pumpernickel.

Toasted malts, a hint of molasses, lightly sweet, almost pumpernickel.

Medium body, slightly weighty, moderate fine bubbled carbonation. Smooth texture.

Found and drank in Chiang Mai. Really well done version of this style. Coedo does it again!

Jul 31, 2015

RonaldTheriot from Louisiana

3.05/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Coedo Shikkoku has a thin, cream-colored head, a dark brown appearance, some bubbles clinging to the bottom of the glass, and a bit of lacing left behind. The aroma is of vegetable matter (spinach, celery, beet juice), dark malt, subdued sweetness, and a touch of char. Taste is of all that, with minimal bitterness. Mouthfeel is light and watery, and Coedo Shikkoku finishes wet and soupy. Overall, for a beer with a vegetable soup character, it’s drinkable.

RJT

Dec 21, 2014

UCLABrewN84 from California

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Packaged on: 6/17/14.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Thin streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, char, and cocoa aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa, char, and earth flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roast bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with solid cocoa and char qualities all around.

Serving type: bottle.

Nov 30, 2014

nychrislin from California

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Color is a dark chocolate brown, I enjoyed this beer very much, it's my favorite of the 4 coedo's I've tried. It's a rich chocolate, caramel, coffee almond taste is outstanding. no bitter aftertaste, it's a very well balanced beer. I'm still a little intrigued by the price tag of these beers, quite expensive, although this one was worth it.

Dec 07, 2013

Hoppsbabo from England

3.88/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A: Looks flat and oily as it pours out of the bottle. Leaves a bubbly, beige head which dissipates but levels off at one finger. The body is black as coal.

S: Smells great, more like fudge at first, but as it warms I get more coffee and chocolate.

T: Mmm, refreshing. Coffee and a touch of liquorice. It's dry but has a kind of sweet fudge finish which I'm sure comes from the hops. Slightly metallic and papery/cardboard-like. There's a bit of gingery prickliness as it warms. Getting some of that fudge-like hopiness in the aftertaste. Has the restorative properties of an autumn beer.

M: A bit on the oily side. Medium level of fizz.

O: A friendly but mediocre beer, but then it's a mediocre beer style.

Oct 11, 2013

puboflyons from New Hampshire

3.86/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

From the 350 ml. bottle with a little Japanese script on it. Sampled on July 29, 2013.

This pour is a very dark brown to near black color with a head that sits there for a bit but eventually dissolves completely.

The aroma is nice and malty as the style should be with a decent sweetness and maybe molasses but nearly no hop esters. Maybe even some molasses.

The body does have a nice creamy texture but otherwise falls into the medium range.

Like the aroma the taste is sweet and malty with some vague molasses and little to no hop bitterness at the finale. Sweet is the catch word for this one.

Jul 29, 2013

TokyoCO from Colorado

3.82/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Bottle bought in Japan, poured into a goblet.

A: Dark black, slight amber color on the edges. Small head that dissipated quickly.

S: Roasted malts, coffee, slight hint of citrus and hops. Sweet chocolate is also present.

T: Starts off sweet and mild. The coffee, bitter chocolate and hop bitterness then packs quite a punch in the middle and it finishes with bitter/burnt chocolate and black coffee. The finish stays in my mouth for a surprisingly long time!

M: Light, slightly creamy and a little tingle from the hops.

O: This is quite unique. It seemed like it would be a light easy drinking black lager, but the unexpectedly long and bitter coffee finish was awesome!

Jun 01, 2013

solid98 from Oregon

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

¼ finger head and slight ringing start the show, some interesting residual foam that give the beer a ‘marbled’ look along the top like high quality beef. Interestingly, the nose seems to take its cues from this, starting off sweet-yet-musky, smokey and meaty. Quite a lot reminiscent of real barbacue here. The low carbonation and malt flavors create a pleasant, smoky and silky mouth feel. Quite tasty indeed. Slight hop bitterness builds up as you take a few drinks, adding balance to the beer. This beer tastes like barbecue, and I want it with barbecue. Again, another Coedo beer that seemed better than the first time I had it. I suspect it was served too cold when I first had it at the Pub, and I simply didn’t wait for the thing to warm up. I have time for this beer and I’ll be having it again.

Dec 23, 2012

CrazyDavros from Australia

3.2/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours black with a quickly fading head.
Nose shows chocolate, soy sauce, roasted malt. Somehow both sweet and salty smelling...
More complexity shown in the flavours. Big cocoa and chocolate liqueur but also a bold roasted character with plastic notes.
Body seems a little watery.

Nov 25, 2012

metter98 from New York

3.33/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is very dark brown (near black) in color. It poured with a thin beige head that quickly died down, leaving a small collar around the edge of the glass.
S: There are very light aromas of dark and roasted malts in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and also has slight hints of chocolate malts and bitterness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This seems lighter bodied compared to other beers in the style. Nonetheless, it is very easy to drink.

Sep 08, 2012

dbrauneis from North Carolina

3.38/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a clear almost opaque very dark brown in color with some lighter brown near the edges when held up to the light and some light to moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a very thin beige head that quickly reduces to a very small patch of extremely thin film and a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: A very mild overall aroma with the primary smells being that of dark roasted malts.

T: Again, the taste of this beer is also pretty mild. The primary flavor is that of roasted malts with some light hints of bittersweet chocolate. There is a light amount of bitterness that fades almost immediately.

M: Medium bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin.

O: I really wish that this beer had been a little heavier in body - the flavors and the smell are good but a little understated. I would certainly have another of these beers as it is very easy to drink and enjoyable.

Sep 07, 2012