Sorry Sakura Mochi Stout
Yo-Ho Brewing Company

 

 

12 ounce can - Woodstock Beer Market in Woodstock, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown body with an inch or so of dark khaki-toned foam.

Smell: Dark maltiness, slightly sweet-scented and pretty modest hints of chocolate sauce, cola, soy. A bit more fragrant is the fruitiness within, though it's nowhere near the level delivered ultimately in its taste.

Taste: A rather sweet, chocolaty, very subtly roasty (nothing whatsoever nearing any kind of astringent, hard-kilned grain element) maltiness. Sweet red bean paste with lightly tangy, strong fruity accents akin to candyish strawberry, red cherry (like a Luden's) makes up the bulk of the flavor. This fruity, nut roll filling flavor is sustained through the sweet, smooth finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Moderately creamy mouthfeel.

Overall: I'll admit to not being overly familiar with mochi. Never too big on sweet, the desserts portion of the menu is one I simply don't bother with, be it the local sushi place or the nearby Applebee's. If someone handed this to me and said "please to be trying our cherry milk stout" I probably would've fallen for it.

The pour is quite nice, a tall, very dense tan head and dark brown liquid. Not quite “stout black”
The taste is chocolate forward, mild coffee and a light sweetness that features what I think is cherry. Not strong, but very noticeable.
The feel is silky soft, I don’t get many stouts that feel like this, not good for an RIS but for this one it works.
OA, wish I had bought more than one, live and learn, right?

11.8oz/350mL can purchased at Rocket Market, high atop Spokane's South Hill. It's a Japanese stout "brewed with mochi and natural flavors." Apparently this is brewed to resemble Sakura mochi, a traditional Japanese dessert.

Poured into a 12oz snifter, this was a dark brown color, with a large, bubbly, tan colored head.

There's a milky, almost chocolaty sweetness to the nose, along with some slightly bitter and toasty aromas typical of dark malts.

Fairly sweet, but not cloyingly so. There's a vaguely fruity element that reminds me a little of strawberry milk from my youth, along with a teensy bit of milk chocolate-like maltiness, with a very low, roasty note deep in the background.

Medium bodied, with a rather soft, creamy mouth feel.

I have no idea what Sakura Mochi is supposed to taste like, but it drinks nicely as a post-dinner dessert beer. Next time I go to a Japanese place for a meal, I'll scrutinize the menu and see if this is a dessert option, and then perhaps I'll know just how faithful of recreation of the flavor is.

 

 

Poured from 350mL can into a tulip.

Appearance: hue is dark-brown, nearing black, with a thick finger of compact, creamy tan foam atop. I think it looks quite nice.

Smell: sweet malt, a bit of chocolate, a little toffee, and perhaps a little roast. Do I actually smell cherry in there? I fancy I do, but that might just be an olfactory illusion. In any case, it's quite nice.

Taste: a bit richer than the aroma; there's definitely an umami character here, with a hint of soy sauce -- that's gotta be the mochi. The sweetness continues, for sure, as does the chocolate. Not much cherry here. It's definitely interesting, that's for sure.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a good carbonation and a nice creaminess.

Overall: I ... am not 100% sure what to think about this beer. It's unique, for sure. Perhaps I just wish there were more cherry in it.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a big, three finger light khaki head that dissipates somewhat quickly to patches with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted and biscuit malt, sweet bean cake, faint unidentifiable fruit. Flavor is mild dark toasted malt, biscuit malt, sweet rice and bean cake, mild cherry that develops into the finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp carbonation. As the name indicates, an interesting take on the sweet stout style, but apparently with mochi rice cake providing the sweetness rather than lactose. I haven't had a mochi for a long time, but the flavor does bring back long lost memories of this delicate dessert. There is a faint but distinct cherry note. A bit sweet, like a milk stout, but not as much as most pastry stouts. Flavors are nicely integrated and mellow. I liked this a lot and found that it invited repeat tasting from the glass. I like it when a brewery can come up with an interesting idea and pull it off as nicely as this. I will get this again.