Goya Dry is Helios Brewery’s souvenir beer. It’s a dry lager made with goya (bitter melon in English), and can be found in every single goddamn souvenir shop in Okinawa, it seems.
Goya champloo. Goya something. Now Goya beer.
Goya Dry Aroma and Taste
It looks like a vile, villainous happoshu and initially smells like it as well. My temples are throbbing. Regular happoshu started giving me diabolical headaches about four years ago after years of faithful service. We know that the “happoshu” label is just a technicality in the craft beer world, though. Fruit beers, Belgian whites, and any beers with added ingredients fall under this legal classification, which is based on malt content.
So, happoshu does not equal bad quality in every case, especially if it’s craft beer. However, Goya Dry’s taste might make you call it “happoshu” in the pejorative sense. This thing is not great.
Ugh, this aftertaste. It’s ruining my life. What’s the opposite of an aftertaste? A foretaste? Just regular old “taste”? Whatever. At first, this tastes like cardboard (seriously, actual cardboard. Wet paper, even). After a big swig, though, the bitter vegetable juice flavour hits you and although it goes well with the dry lager, the combined taste does not equal a nice beer. It’s a cynical and sad beer, an afterthought or a cheap tourist gimmick. Avoid this. It’s the reason why “craft beer” and “lager” are not often seen in the same sentence.
Goya Dry One-Line Review
I like to joke that the best Goya Champloo is the one where you can’t taste the goya in it. The theory holds true here as well. If you’re in Okinawa, get a better souvenir beer, like Aoi Sora To Umi No Beer or Shikawasa White Ale.
Where to Buy Goya Dry
Goya Dry can be bought at convinis in Okinawa and souvenir shops that stock Okinawan goods. But why would you?
Goya Dry Second Opinion (By Rob)
Someone, who shall remain nameless, gave me a can of this as a souvenir and I was quite happy to get it. A craft beer from Okinawa, lucky me. I opened it up and the waft of some foul, bitter, stinky liquid put me off but I persevered and drank some. How I wish I hadn’t. Just avoid this beer and spend your money on something else. It is foul. The nameless person and I are no longer friends now.
