Yebisu Black: A religious experience September 20, 2007
Posted by beertaster in Dark lager, Japan.add a comment
Country of origin Japan Type Dark lager
Yebisu is named after the Shinto god of fun. What better to associate with such a deity than a range of alcohol?
As with other major Japanese brands such as Asahi and Kirin, Yebisu produces a range of recipes, but only its figurehead beer is typically available to the wider world.
Which is a great shame because, while standard Asahi, Kirin and Yebisu are all fine drinks, the brewers have much more to offer to the discerning palate.
Case in point: Yebisu Black. Japan is known for taking European booze (Scotch, wheat beer, etc) and often making it just as good as, and sometimes even better than, the original. Yebisu Black is their answer to Germany’s dark lager tradition, and for my money, is the best I have tasted in this alcoholic “sub-genre”.
I have never seen Yebisu Black for sale in my native UK; I discovered it on the latest of several trips I have made to Japan, and I was an instant fan. Unfortunately I was last in the Land of the Rising Sun some two years ago, and had been craving this beer ever since.
So I was a most grateful recipient when my girlfriend returned from Tokyo recently armed with a four-pack of Yebisu Black.
While a little was lost in translation by drinking it in a basement flat during a grey London autumn, rather than the intoxicating cultural experience and sweltering heat of a Tokyo summer, it was nevertheless a satisfying hit; bitter yet moreish, robust yet refreshing.
If this is a beer of the gods, as the name suggests, then this agnostic writer has been given as good an argument as any as to where and how to worship.
