If you’ve been following BeerTengoku on Facebook or Twitter (pssst we’ve even got Instagram but we’re not hip enough to know how to use it properly), then you would have known we’ve drunk Shonan Lemongrass Hopper twice; once at Sakura Taps Craft Beer and Coffee and also at Burger Mania in Ebisu. Shonan Lemongrass Hopper is, at the time of writing, a draught-only beer that has an abv of 5% and is a spiced beer, just in case the lemon grass wasn’t a giveaway. It was first brewed in January 2014 and is generally found on sale during the summer months.
Shonan Lemongrass Hopper Aroma and Taste
The first time I tried Shonan Lemongrass Hopper was in Sakura Taps, a great little craft beer bar in Sakuragicho and I was most intrigued by the aroma of the beer. It’s partly based on the the Shonan Golden Ale according to the manager at Sakura Taps and it was possible to detect some of the wheat aromas in the smelling but the sharp lemongrass “hit” so to speak was far more prominent.
Shonan Lemongrass Hopper is a bitter beer that is going to make your face screw up but that isn’t due to hops but the potent lemongrass. I don’t know how much the brewers at Kumazawa Brewing put in but it produced an intense sharp, citrus taste in the beer that was crisp and refreshing in the late summer’s heat. The citrus flavour was the one that lingered through to the end and produced a slight bitter aftertaste on the tongue.
Shonan Lemongrass Hopper One Line Review
Shonan Lemongrass Hopper is a refreshing summer beer that is very drinkable though the intensity of the lemongrass may be off-putting for some.
