Uchu Brewing (うちゅうブルーイング ) "Antares (#295/296)" DDH Triple IPA

Name: Antares (#295/296)
Brewer: Uchu Brewing うちゅうブルーイング (Japan)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA)
ABV: 10%
Review Year: 2021

Antares is a double dry-hopped (DDH) Triple IPA brewed by one of Japan’s most sought-after craft breweries, Uchu Brewing. This superbly juicy and hazy Triple IPA was brewed with Citra, Citra Incognito, and Cryo Citra hops.

Uchu Brewing is a space-themed craft brewery in Hokuto City, Yamanashi, and was founded by Masahiro Kusunose and Rumiko Suzuki in 2018. Head brewer Kasunose skipped high school to become a bassist in a hardcore punk band and, has, interestingly, only started drinking craft beer in 2016. Before brewing on his own, Kasunose spent two months in 2017 at Outsider Brewing in Kofu mentored by Satoshi Niwa. The other half of Uchu is Suzuki who traded in her Osaka city life for the quiet farm life in Kochi after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. She is currently in charge of the brewery’s marketing, creative direction, and events. The two crossed paths as Kasunose and Suzuki became involved in environmental activism in which they practice strongly with their brewery.

STYLE GUIDELINES

This beer is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (34B) with the Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.

As of this writing, the “Triple IPA” is not an official and explicit style in the BJCP; thus, these beers still lack a comprehensive set of style guidelines. For the hazy and juicy variants, these Triple IPAs could simply be bigger-than-double versions of a New England IPA or Hazy IPA with an ABV of around 10%.

TASTING NOTES

Hazy straw color like mango juice; well-formed white head. Explosive hoppy aromas primarily of ripe mango, guyabano/ soursop, and peach; accentuated by hints of resin, lemon peel, and pepper. Medium-full-bodied, medium carbonation with a viscous and creamy mouthfeel. Like the aroma, the flavor unleashed waves of rich, ripe mango, peach, and piney notes; medium-low spice and peppery accents in the background. Supportive malt and fermentation characteristics; bitterness perceived as resiny and was a notch above medium. Finished on the sweet side; aftertaste of the familiar ripe mango and lemon peel.

THE VERDICT

Outstanding. As mentioned, the hazy Triple IPAs still lack a comprehensive set of formal guidelines, but we think Antares is a strong contender as a benchmark of the said style. It’s a massively hop-forward beer that brought to the table very dense hop aroma and flavor profiles balancing ripe fruits with hop bitterness. In other words, it’s a big, very fragrant, and superbly juicy brew with enough bitterness to remind you it’s still beer. Enjoy outdoors over a bountiful feast.

Recommended Readings