Big In Japan
MIA Beer Co.

Tap hit at MIA Beer Co., Doral FL.
Dropped flat, very little foam, zero lacing.
Smells good. Malty. I get the sake.,
Taste is challenging to nail down. Gentle pear, ripe plum, the sake yeast is well represented, and the 9% ABV well hidden. Crisp and dry finish with a tad of sweetness left to ponder.
Feel is medium-high heft and bouncy medium carbonation.
Overall, can’t go wrong here if you’re looking for a different lager experience.

Pours a cloudy, but not opaque orange color. No head to speak above beyond some spritzy white bubbles. Aroma is funky, a bit yeasty and certainly fruity. I can definitely see the sake influence here. Taste is interesting - there are some funky yeast notes, grain, sake yeast, a touch of fruitiness - but its fleeting and subtle. Feel is syrupy, fuller bodied for a lager. Sprightly carbonation. Overall it's an interesting beer.

 

 

Sake inspired ale - it definitely has a sake taste and it was weird drinking the sake-flavored beer cold - but it was still very good. No head, but appealing coloration, the smell is muted plums and pears as advertised. The same goes for the taste, with a mouthfeel that is well carbonated but the most crisp I have had in quite some time. At 9% ABV, you don't taste it, which is always a plus, but it does sneak up on you later - you have been warned.

Look: Slightly dark, clear gold. Half a finger of fizzy white head with poor retention.

Smell: The distinctive sweet fruitiness of sake. It doesn't even smell like beer.

Taste: Gentle sake fruitiness, followed by mild grains. Virtually no hop flavor and only a brief hint of bitterness at the end. Mild alcohol taste.

Mouthfeel: Slightly thin, with high carbonation.

Overall: This is one of those beers that's barely a beer. The sake yeast and rice adjunct essentially creates a strange fusion, one that works as a refreshing summer beverage despite the high alcohol.

 

Fairly nice Japanese rice lager. Interesting to compare this one to other ones from Japan. No date printed on can. Pours a slightly darker golden color with just a little white head and scant lingering lacing. Smells of some grain, corn, malt, caramel and faint yeast. Maybe some muddled fruity hops. Taste follows the nose, good balance and not overly sweet. Crisp and refreshing. Not much aftertaste. Smooth mild mouthfeel and good carbonation. High ABV is very well hidden. Quite enjoyable.

 

 

 

A: The beer is crystal clear golden yellow in color and has a slight amount of visible carbonation. It poured with just a narrow collar of white bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Light aromas of green grapes and plums are present in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of green grapes along with notes of rice and hints of plums.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and clean on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink and the fruity aromas and flavors lend some uniqueness compared to other beers in the style.

Serving type: can

 

Not a traditional beer, but very delicious. Light color, smell, and body. Taste is somewhere between a rice wine and
mead, with a honey and slight pretzel after-taste.

Nice clear, golden color with mild carbonation, but no head what so ever. Toasted grain nose; grassy and herbal. A bit medicinal and white wine flavor combination; peppermint; mild alcohol taste. Medium body; flat and watery; semi-dry finish.

A different beer from most US offerings. After two cans of this, I still can't get excited about it. The looks, especially, are a let down with no head after the pour. The smell and aroma may certainly be influenced by sake yeast and rice adjunct, but it seems more like a boozy, lightweight lager more than anything else.

 

a really neat modern colorful aesthetic on these cans. this is a neat beer too, a sake based beer, pretty interesting stuff. i like what sake yeast does over a lighter grain base like this, some white wine notes, a saison sort of estery thing, this one slightly phenolic, but its bone dry and it leaves a lot of the malt flavor intact, which is nice in something this light. there is a rice element to this, starchy for how light it is, simple and earthy, with notes of jasmine, lavender, chamomile, lemon tea, and elderflower, very springy and warm weather type vibes here, good carbonation keeps it moving too. i think this is one element away from being awesome, not sure if its fruit, a dry hopping, maybe even a little rye in the mash, its too simple to be mindblowing, but i like the yeast in here a lot and think there is a ton of potential here. i like the floral aspect of this, i like its lightness and freshness, and i like that the sake yeast has flavor, its not just here to make this dry. cool beer, not quite as refined as i hope it eventually is, but this one was somewhat inspiring. also blows my mind that its this strong! wow, it drinks incredibly light for what it is, no trace of this strength in here at all for me...

 

 

Purchased a howler from the local ABC Brew Stop.
You know you're drinking a well crafted beer. Very reminiscent of sake with the aroma, and taste. 10% abv and not a hint! Very dangerous.