Songbird Maltina is a 6.3% Belgian Bruin style beer from Songbird Brewery in Chiba. If that doesn’t sound familiar to you then good. It’s actually the first bruin, better known as an Oud bruin, that we’ve come across from a Japanese craft beer brewery. Songbird Maltina is part of Songbird Brewery’s autumn range of beers and first came out in October 2015. As it’s part of their seasonal lineup of beers, like the rest of their beers, the only identifying tag on it is the label attached to it at the neck, so make sure you get that before you pick it.
Songbird Maltina Aroma and Taste
After finding out that Songbird Maltina was a Belgian bruin, it made things so much easier to review. Other websites have stated that it is a Belgian style beer but that’s like saying Asahi Super Dry is a beer. Great detective work there as it meant lots of searching in Japanese. Rants aside, review on..
It poured out a deep brown colour with a hint of reddish to it when held up to the light. There wasn’t much of a head on Songbird Maltina with a mere ring around the edge of the glass. There was a strong yeast sourness to the it that gave way to dried fruits and some toffee aromas to it as well. I’ve been getting into my Belgian sours after a recent trip to Antenna America and sampling them with some fellow friends. This wasn’t as sour as a geuze / gose beer but it was easy on the nose.
The flavours coming through in the body of Songbird Maltina were more malty than sour, with absolutely no hops detected in the body. While present, the sourness was far more toned down than the aroma as was the yeast pungency though some esters were detected. It finished off quite sweet in the aftertaste that had a little bit of sourness to it.
Songbird Maltina One Line Review
Credit to Songbird Brewery, I liked Songbird Maltina. It’s not a game changer but I would buy it again next year, given the chance.
Where to Buy Songbird Maltina
Songbird Maltina can be bought online at the following places:
I got my bottle from Liquors Hasegawa.
