Asahi Winter Gift
Asahi Breweries Ltd

 

 

 

 

 

Coming in a 500ml can, this beer seems to be brewed/fortified with some certain “barley-based spirit” (not too sure what exactly, as this is the translation from the Chinese translation of Japanese…); produced in 09/2011, BB 05/2012, served chilled in a slim pilsner glass.

A: pours a light straw colour, coming with abundant carbonation mixed of huge and small bubbles, while the white beer head retains well.
S: the aroma upfront is like a mass-produced lager beer, featuring lightly sweet lager malts, grainy-ish even, while the fruitiness is mixed with a lightly sour-doughy note albeit quite restrained; a swirl would bring out more assertive sour edge from the maize-adjunct, as well as an interesting dry-ish smell that is definitely common in Asahi’s flagship product “Super Dry”. Not very special but not unpleasant.
T: quite sour from the start, very strange in taste, seemingly diluted or complicated with some un-beer-like elements…?! This observation stands valid even without reading the special barley spirit in the ingredients beforehand, for, the lager base itself really is not with itself, with a very weird edge of sourness I’ve not come across before. Also, due to the messed-up sour feature against a timid flavour profile, somehow the alc. level feels far higher than 5%abv. would normally present… Does the “spirit” contribute to this bizarre profile? Very likely. The finish is bland, without noticeable dry-ness of a Japanese rice lager nor any hop bitterness.
M&D: the carbonation level is not high but it never tastes refreshing all because of the weird taste, also the body feels far thinner due to the sharp contrast of assertive alc. and sourness-centric flavour; to be honest, I find this beer next to unbearable. For, whatever has been put into this brew, it has undoubtedly complicated a normal/standard Asahi beer in a downright negative fashion. Asahi should consider (if it hasn’t) discontinue the production, IMO.