Premium Red Ale
Echigo Beer Company Limited

Dont hate it but I dont love it either.

Poured from a 350mL can into a Duralex tumbler.

Clear crimson body with coral highlights and a low stand of cosmic latte foam. Average retention; fine, sandy lacing.

Gently floral aroma with some caramel malt and bubblegum in the mix.

Light malt complexity on the palate with red currants, toast, and burnt sugar. Low bitterness with a clean, grassy, not-quite-earthy hop presence. Finishes medium to medium-dry, perhaps with some residual esters.

Medium-light bodied but chewy with some light astringency.

A decent albeit restrained take on the style.

Pours an effervescent copper/scarlet with one finger of tan head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Toasty, a little caramel. Caramel picks up a little as the beer warms through

T: Follows the nose, a little dry, woody hops up front. More caramel, toastyness & leafy hops once warmer. Finishes toasty with a little caramel sweetness & woody hops

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation. Lack of carbonation didn't help the cause

This one seems a little tired but can't decode the lot number & I am too lazy to do so now. Had higher hopes, drinks alright, one & done

Poured from bottle to ice cold glass at Hanasaki Sushi Bar in SCV.

Beautiful bottle art of two cranes dancing around with light pink cherry blossom silhouettes in the background. Nice pour with a dark amber color and khaki head.

Aroma of whole bread crust and malt barley.

Same notes on the palate. Surprisingly dry, with an acidic hop profile.

The mouthfeel is very similar to an Irish red or dry stout.

Overall an interesting and pretty good beer. But nothing impressive.

72 C-

 

 

 

 

 

From a can best by 2024-04-25. Reddish brown color. Caramel malt and floral aroma. Medium body with moderate carbonation. Red malt flavor with a dry floral finish. Nice

 

My second Echigo beer today, this one features Amarillo hops in a red ale... Pours a clear amber-red with a pale head a finger or two high... Citrusy aromas, with a bit of pine shellac underscoring... A little bland on the palate, but I don't know the bottling date - got it and their stout at a Food Bazaar - it's a chain of stores with a focus on fresh, organic, artisanal stuff, and they have a dedicated craft beer aisle, so it could go either way: fresh or old...

Anyways, the citrus gets a leathery shellac on the palate, mildly sweet, mildly bitter... Smooth enough and amply carbonated, but nothing particularly exceptional about it... I wouldn't recommend it or return to it, but it isn't necessarily a bad beer...

 

 

Echigo Premium Red Ale is crystal clear and ruby red with brownish highlights. Minimal CO2 supports a dense, cream colored head with decent retention.
At first blush, the aroma is malty full of rich caramel sweetness combined with cocoa powder and what could be toasted white bread. Hints of fruit esters come out in the center, smelling something like ripe berries. Aroma swiftly moves back into that caramel malt backbone before moving swiftly into a finish that is gently earthy with the barest hints of peppery, European hops.
On the tongue, Premium Red Ale is smooth, medium bodied and initially well rounded in its mouthfeel. Flavors of caramel, nuttiness, and cocoa powder combine to give a rich, malty flavor profile. As the flavors move across my tongue, the mouthfeel becomes slightly oily in nature. The finish is slightly dry and not very lasting.
Echigo's Premium Red Ale in my opinion is pretty close to being a genuinely decent beer. A few minor issues keep me from giving this a higher score. The mouthfeel for instance is a little fuller and oilier than I would like personally. I also wouldn't mind some lighter fruit esters in the flavor and maybe a little more bitterness in the finish.

Look: Reddish amber and crystal clear. Two fingers of thick white head with excellent retention.

Smell: Spicy and resinous malt, slight sweetness.

Taste: Mild and generally sweet, with a light piney hop flavor coming in at the back. Mildly metallic taste on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Full and chewy, with high carbonation.

Overall: A decent red ale that doesn't stand out.

I bought a bottle in a Japanese specialty food store and had it in a shaker pint glass.

The color was a beautiful brownish-red, more red than brown. The odor had some fruit, but surprisingly was more the toasty caramel smell that you might find in a porter.

The taste followed the smell; perhaps I'm not familiar with Japanese red ales - I had never seen this one before - but it reminded me a lot of a porter, though it lacked the richer taste of a porter and had a thinner mouth feel. Not much hop presence, though. Certainly not bad.

Nice can design. Tastes okay but nothing worth going out of your way for

350 ml can with a June 2020 BB date stamp in Kyoto.
This red ale pours with a clear, dark reddish-brown colored body topped with a decent off-white head.
Aroma: slightly spicy aroma with caramel and brown sugar.
The flavor is way less sweet than the aroma suggests and has a mildly bitter finish.
Overall: Distinctive yet well balanced version of the style.

Really enjoyed this. Wonderful malt gives way to smokey, complex character with hints of vanilla. Good thick mouth feel like a red should have. Worth seeking out for red ale lovers.