Nikko: The Nikko Monkeys Premium Lager (Japan: Pale Lager: 5% ABV)
Visual: Pale yellow. Moderate white creamy head that leaves lace. Some small bubbled carbonation.
Nose: Ginger. Light sulphurous bread. Orange skin.
Body: Sherbety lemon. Lime zest. Moderate thickness mouthfeel for a lager. Popcorn. Slight gritty bitterness. Soft orange.
Finish: Lime zestiness. Moderate hop feel. Popcorn bitterness. Slight sulfur. Brown bread. Slight peppery. Slight gritty. Dry.
Conclusion: This is a tad thicker than your usual lager, not massively so, but has closer to a pale ale weight and attenuated dryness than you would expect for a lager, instead of that more refreshing clean lager base.
The aroma provides something a bit interesting, with a touch of ginger spiciness, along with a more craft beer lager style citrus. Though on the down side a mild sulphurous character starts to come out as well which does not bode well for the rest of the beer.
The body is initially quite bright, with the citrus showing as familiar lemon and lime, though over time it mellows as a softer orange note merges with it. It doesn’t really feel very largeesque and like many a craft lager, feels like it is trying to use the hops to make it more into a pale ale territory. Something that seems familiar as a lot of lagers did in early craft beers day as they tried to make the lager more ale like rather than show off what a lager could do that was special.
The weakest part is up next, the finish, which is mainly peppery, with that slight sulfur returning and just slightly rough in its bitterness usage. Not that it has high bitterness, just that it comes across as slightly gritty.
It is a bit of a mixed up thing, not playing to the strengths of a lager, a tad rough around the edges, not actively bad but not one I see a reason to hunt out.
Background: This beer was one of the first things I saw in Nikko after getting off the train – it being in the fridge in a shop attached to the station. It made me realize how much craft beer has boomed in Japan in the last decade since I visited, there were at least 4 breweries in Nikko and nearly everywhere we visited had their own local brewery, which I often tried to grab a sample of. The Nikko Monkeys is a reference to the fact that Nikko claims that the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” three monkeys originates in the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine in the area. A shrine which is ridiculously funeral bling by the way – incredibly pretty and ornate. Anyway, yeah I grabbed their lager as I hadn’t tried doing notes on one on the trip yet, and with lager as some of the most drunk beers in the world, I figured I had best give at least a few a go here. Incidentally I only had an overnight bag in Nikko and my bottle opener was packed in my main bag so I was forced to resort to more improvised bottle opening methods involving door locks that are remarkably bottle opener shaped.