Ise Kadoya Neko Nihiki New England IPA
Isekado Brewery

2025-05-30
Pint on tap at Beer Club Popeye. Menu shows it at 7%, not 8%.

Pours murky orange amber, uneven dusting of head, maybe a millimeter thick at the edges. Modest carbonation. Smell is fruity, pineapple, and orange. Taste is similar, drier and pithier than expected. Still keeps a juicy character, reminiscent of overripe fruit without the over sweet cloy. Mouthfeel is thickish, not heavy, but hefty. Nice beer.

 

Pours a hazy, deep golden amber coloration with a small, fizzy head. Smell is a little subdued, but with faint notes of tropical hops: mango, passion fruit, guava and grass coming through. Taste follows the nose, but is more assertive, with slightly sweet, juicy tropical notes dominating: mango, passion fruit, guava, but a hint of zesty citrus fruit: grapefruit, orange as well. There's also a certain herbal dankness and light doughy malt presence to this. Finishes with a very light bitterness and hop burn, with some tropical notes lingering in the aftertaste. Soft mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Quite impressive for my first Japanese NEIPA, great example of the style that absolutely manages to keep up with the greats with its sweet and juicy tropical flavor profile balanced by herbal/grassy dankness and hop burn and soft, pillowy mouthfeel.