Sado Land: Ondeko IPA (Japan: IPA: 6% ABV)
Visual: Apricot skin coloured body with a browned touch. Thin white head, lots of small bubbled carbonation.
Nose: Pink grapefruit. Caramel. Custard/ Vanilla fudge. Pineapple. Bubblegum.
Body: Pink grapefruit. Tart gooseberries. Charred bitterness. Muted caramel. Apples. Slight chalk. Treacle pudding.
Finish: Apples. Charred bitterness and high hop character. Lemongrass. Pink grapefruit. Gooseberry. Slightly chalky. Greenery.
Conclusion: This is an interesting mix of IPA styles and flavours. The aroma kicks it off with a very fresh, and lesser seen, pink grapefruit style. It is tart in a way that reminds me of NZ hops but distinctly different to the grapefruit style they express. Against that though is a very east coast style sweetness with lots of caramel, custard and vanilla notes. Enticing me in, but at this point it left me unsure of exactly what I was going to get with that first sip.
The body is quite tart, still with a hint of a sweet undertone – muted in flavor now but stickier, giving grip to the moderate bitterness and charred hop character that starts to show itself. Then this becomes a more powerful growling bitterness in the finish. A greenery touched hop bitterness, but still brushed by that tartness that came before to give some release from the bitterness.
Amongst that are some fresh apple notes and a hint of bubblegum and lemongrass which may be psychosomatic as I tend to associate those flavours with Japanese beers due to Sorachi Ace hops – or maybe it is there? Always hard to tell where your expectations are influencing you.
It doesn’t always hang together – the malt backing can seem a tad watery in the middle, leaving the hops a bit charred and harsh with nothing to counter them, or letting through a chalky edge, but generally it is fine. It is fun, different and interesting.
Not a must have but I’m appreciating the mix of characteristics, flawed as it may be.
Background: Sado Island, a lesser visited place by tourists in Japan, so when we spent a few nights there and I saw this lovely local brewery bottle I decided to grab it to do notes. Helped that it is another west coast IPAs, one of my favorite styles. Ondeko refers to the mask on the bottle – a demon mask used in local Sado Island dances used to drive away bad luck and such. I have probably butchered a complex local art, but hopefully you get the idea. Sado Island in general is a fascinating place and so utterly different to the images people get from the more popular Tokyo and Kyoto – well worth a visit if you get the chance.
