Abashiri Hamanasu Draft is a 5% fruit beer from Abashiri Beer, makes of the famous Abashiri Okhotsk Blue Ryuhyo Draft, a beer so loved and cherished by us at BeerTengoku Towers. I was stuck in a hotel overnight and this was on sale in the shop, so what the heck. The beer contains rose hip, or hamanasu, that impart their colour and flavour in the beer. Normally I would leave it to Joe to review these kinds of beers; however, I took one for the team so to speak.
Abashiri Hamanasu Draft Aroma and Taste
Abashiri Brewery is not one that is held in high esteem and with good reason – it’s tough, nay, impossible to like any of their beers unless you have no taste buds or are just trying to get drunk and have lots of money to spend. In that case, it would be best to buy any other beer that costs a fortune. Saying that, every beer deserves a chance to be loved and drunk.
Most of the time when I write a review, I start out with fleshing the introduction and where to buy the beer from before finishing up with the main part, the aroma and taste. It’s quite fun researching and doing some translation from Japanese to English as in the process you often find out more information about breweries and the beers they make. Moreover, I then get distracted and end up buying more beers, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering better half and much to the mirth of my friends who comment about why I need so many beers.
With Abashiri Hamanasu Draft, I’m going to keep it short and sweet. Why? Because it’s a bloody awful beer. I don’t like hating on a beer but with Abashiri Hamanasu Draft, it deserves EVERY little bit of criticism it gets. It smells like roses but with such a chemically aroma it’s offensive. It looks pink, wow, but so does a grapefruit. Then it hits you. Some weird offensive smell that can only be described as rancid, fermented petals.
For some reason, I decided to drink Abashiri Hamanasu Draft but one gulp was enough. It had a harshness to it – perhaps they had used the thorns of the rose hips rather than the delicate petals themselves? The over-the-top sweetness combined with the harshness means this is a tough beer to drink, let alone enjoy.
Abashiri Hamanasu Draft One Line Review
Sod it – I’m leaving the rest of the Abashiri Brewery range to Joe to try. As for this? Leave it well alone. Leave it on the shelf. Just leave it alone.
Where to Buy Abashiri Hamanasu Draft
I’m not telling where to buy Abashiri Hamanasu Draft as I don’t want you to suffer from this miserable mess of a beer.
1 comment
Now, now, now. Readers of this weblog deserve your true impression of this beer. 😉