Beer Review - Suntory Kin no Biru

For my second beer review, I'm taking a look at, and a swig of, Suntory kin no biru premium all malt. This is a slightly stronger beer at 6.5% and it comes in a glorious gold can with windswept wheat emblazoned on the front. It is pretty nice, malty as you'd expect. Funnily enough it reminds of a luxurious version of special brew. Refreshing, not too challenging and pretty good for a warm Japanese autumn evening.

Like many of the new wave of interesting supermarket beers it does seem as if it has been flavoured rather than having flavor, possibly with an additive or two. Still, I did enjoy it.

Beer Review - Grand Kirin Galaxy Hop

With the craft beer revolution in full swing, the big breweries are trying to cash in on the action. How are they doing? The jury is still out on that one, but it's certainly nice to see a steady stream of new beers appearing in my local convenience store.

For my first beer review, I'm taking a look at Galaxy Hop, which I've tried a few times and is probably the pick of the bunch so far.

As the name suggests it is strongly hoppy, but not overpoweringly so. It has a nice nose, goes down smoothly and has more flavour than the standard Japanese McPint. That being said, it doesn't quite have the depth of flavour or character one expects of craft beer.

A bit of a halfway house really, enjoyable but could be better. A good attempt by one of the big boys at adding a bit of quality to their usual line up and certainly more enjoyable than your typical can of supermarket ale.