Kure Ginjo Beer by Kure Beer

Kure Ginjo Beer is a dunkler bock style beer from from Kure Beer, based in Hiroshima, Japan. It’s a spring seasonal with an abv of 7% and is on sale from mid-February onwards. It’s unique in that it is first brewed using German yeast in the primary fermentation stages and then has ginjo sake yeast added in the secondary fermentation.

I don’t know why I put this in an IPA glass. Logic failed me this day.

Kure Ginjo Beer Aroma and Taste

Let me get this out of the way – I don’t know why I decided to put Kure Ginjo Beer into an IPA glass. Perhaps the hot summer had taken its toll on me and left me reeling from dehydration and desperation. Perhaps, I was just being stupid and didn’t know what to do. Anyway, it was too late to do anything about it once the beer had been poured besides drink up and write about it. But then doing this gave me an idea for a soapbox article.

Kure Ginjo Beer had a bright golden colour to the body and unfortunately a large amount of head on top, but I’m going to scratch that up to the IPA glass inducing the carbonation to produce it out of revenge for putting it in the wrong glass. The aroma was something different – herbal with lashings of caramel floating around there too along with what could only be described as umeshu – plum wine / spirits. Not to say that it was bad but very peculiar, I guess down to the ginjo sake yeast.

Again, drinking Kure Ginjo Beer was just as a peculiar experience as smelling it was. It started off warming and caramelly before moving onto the umeshu flavour and texture, a syrupy gloopy like consistency. It was almost as if it were trying to be a barley wine but stopping right at the vital moment to keep the fruity flavours in there. The aftertaste was sweet and sticky and lingered for a long time on the tongue.

Kure Ginjo Beer One Line Review

Kure Ginjo Beer is a peculiar beer that confuses me into what it is trying to be. Weird is perhaps the only word I can describe it with.

Where to Buy Kure Ginjo Beer

Kure Ginjo Beer can be bought at the following places:

• World Beer Market