Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale is Baird Beer’s take on a fruit beer that is made using locally sourced mikans from the Shizuoka area. Shizuoka isn’t just famous for tea, with the mikan industry also providing Japan with succulent, juicy mikans. It’s got an abv of 6.7% and was first made by hand with the staff at Baird Beer peeling the mikans by hand and pressing the juice themselves. With the move to the new Shuzenji factory, it’s unknown whether that is still done by hand but the thought of Bryan, Chris and co. still doing that makes us smile. Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale is a spring seasonal, on sale annually from January 21st or thereabouts.
Full of mikans, hops, and malt.
Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale Aroma and Taste
If you ever get the chance to go mandarin or tangerines picking, or mikangari (みかん狩り) as it’s known in Japan then the first thing you smell from afar is the pungency of the oranges. Fresh tangerines are either sweet and juicy or sour and juicy with no way of knowing what you are going to get. I’m a big fan of the sour ones and I was pleased that the initial aroma of Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale was of a sour note, in a good way of course. The zesty orange notes followed through quickly enough along with a citrus hop aroma too that could have been mistaken for an orangey IPA. The big fluffy head lasted for ages, sitting upon a copper orange body.
With the addition of two kinds of hops: Cenntential and Cascade, it was hard to shake that Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale had its base as an IPA. The malts provided a strong backbone to it, bringing along some caramel bite that wasn’t overpowering nor did it dominate over the orange zing and the hoppy bite to it. The flavours worked well in Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale and it felt very refreshing and was great to consumer on the first 30ºc day of the year.
Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale One Line Review
Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale is a great fruit beer that comes without the chemically taste other fruit-infused beers have. Find it, chill it, drink it.
Where to Buy Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale
Baird Carpenter’s Mikan Ale can be bought from the following places from mid-January
- Baird Beer Online Store Yahoo・Rakuten
- Craftbeers
- Goodbeer
1 comment
I drank one yesterday, fresh from the shop. I thought it was too hoppy, and the mikan taste was not there, the hops were overpowering. You are right to say that there is no chemical taste (but I wouldn’t expect this with Baird beers anyway), but then, where was the mikan taste? Maybe I have to keep it a bit longer, but my wife always gets angry if there are too many beer bottles in the fridge, so I have to trink fast… As I read your review, I realize that the base is an IPA, but I would have prefered a little bit less hops and a bit more mikan.