Akiraku
Suntory

 

Fall seasonal happoshu from Suntory. More or less designed to be a happoshu version of an Oktoberfest beer.

A: Poured from can into a pint glass. Amber-orange, medium carbonation, frothy white head that fades into a very thin lacing after 15 seconds or so.

S: Mild aroma of roasted malt, with a little caramel.

T: Taste is pretty much what you’d expect from the aroma, but with the roasted malt pleasantly more perceptible. A hint of caramel-like sweetness at first and then a very crisp, dry finish.

MF: Mouthfeel is just a bit on the thin side, but this is probably good since the roasted malt adds a bit of richness and a heavier mouthfeel would proabably result in a less drinkable beverage.

O: The roasted malt does wonders for this “happoshu” (see note below), imparting a maltier taste than most other happoshu varieties. In fact, Suntory has managed to make this taste much like an actual beer, and I prefer it to Kirin’s "real beer" fall season offering, which comes off a bit too cloyingly sweet to be enjoyed more than once in a while. Probably the best happoshu with less than 25% malt you’re likely to enjoy. Wish they’d make a real beer based on this recipe because it would probably be quite tasty.

[Note: While previous fall seasonal offerings from Suntory have generally been happoshu (primarily in that they contained less than 25% malted barley in order to fall into a cheaper bracket in the Japanese alcohol tax code), Akiraku is actually classified in the increasingly popular, though horrifically bad, “ Liqueur (carbonated type) #1” category (I guess this is what happens when you have tax accountants/bureaucrats coming up with names to categorize alcoholic beverages). These drinks fall into a tax category even cheaper than happoshu and are beverages that are essentially happoshu to which have been added a mixture of grain alcohol derived from barley or wheat and a little bit of carbonated gas.]