Name: Samurai (#322)
Brewer: Uchu Brewing うちゅうブルーイング (Japan)
Style: Cold IPA
ABV: 7%
Review Year: 2021
Samurai (#322) is the first interpretation by Uchu Brewing master brewer Masahiro Kusunose of an emerging beer style dubbed the “Cold IPA.” Aside from rice and corn as adjuncts, Samurai was also brewed with malts, Simcoe and Nelson Sauvin hops and was fermented using lager yeast at ale temperature.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This “Cold IPA” is being evaluated as a Specialty IPA (21B) 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 “Cold IPA” is not yet an official/ explicit style, and, thus, lacks a comprehensive set of guidelines by the BJCP and the Brewers Association (BA). A “Cold IPA” is described informally as a cross between an India Pale Lager (IPL) and malt liquor. It is also referred to as a beer with a clean, crisp, and light hop delivery mechanism with the drinkability of a lager. This relatively new “style” can be first traced to the Relapse IPA brewed by Wayfinder Beer from Portland. According to Wayfinder brewmaster, Kevin Davey, a Cold IPA can have the following characteristics:
- Drier, crispier, more drinkable– wester than West Coast;
- Aggressively hopped with some classic C-hops;
- Grist is more like an American malt liquor (pilsner malt and rice);
- Rice and corn can be used for color as well as add a certain body and mouthfeel but also allows the beer to be dry without being naked and overly bitter;
- Fermented warm at 65°F [18°C] using a house lager strain to avoid excessive SO2 and to allow the hops to shine without a backdrop of ale yeast aromas; and
- Brewed with a process called dry-hop spund or dry hop krausen.
TASTING NOTES
Slightly hazy pale straw with a medium head; retention was fairly poor. The aroma profile was diverse and moderately high: white grapes, berries, resin, garlic, and onion leeks. Revisiting, lemon zest, passion fruit, and the noted garlic all converged at a moderate intensity. Light-medium-bodied, moderately low carbonation, with subtle chalky afterfeel. Samurai opened up initially with flavors of white grapes and passion fruit against a backdrop of lemon zest, resin, and rice tea. Bitterness was a notch below moderate, while residual sweetness was absent. In other words, Samurai is a very dry beer. The aftertaste lingered lightly with lemon zest, white grapes, and a hint of garlic.
THE VERDICT
Since the “Cold IPA” is a relatively new style, it still lacks a comprehensive/explicit set of guidelines. For us, Samurai feels like a fusion between a lemon zesty, white grape-centric New England IPA (21B) and a dry Japanese rice lager (International Pale Lager (2A)). The hop profile featured mainly white grapes and pungent sulfury garlic and onion leek characteristics. The former is attributed to the New Zealand hop Nelson Sauvin while the latter is associated with the newer American varieties like Simcoe.
As mentioned, dryness was akin to that of a Japanese rice lager, while the perceived bitterness was noted to be significantly lower than a typical New England IPA and an American IPA (21A). Samurai can also be likened to a dry India Pale Lager brewed with corn and rice.
We look forward to trying more Cold IPAs.
Recommended Readings:
What is a Cold IPA? Definition explained by Wayfinder brewmaster Kevin Davey (The New School, 2021)
Wayfinder and Great Notion Cold Krush IPA; a Socially Distant Mash-Up of Style (The New School, 2021)
Recipe: Wayfinder Relapse IPA (Craft Beer and Brewing, 2020)
Uchu brewing by Brian Kowalczyk (Japan Beer Times Issue No. 39, 2019)
Related Reviews:
Uchu Brewing
Beers From Japan
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