Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA, or #113 Virgin Trip IPA to give it its official designation, is a 7.2% American IPA brewed by Ushitora Brewing, based on Tochigi, Japan. Like pretty much the rest of the Ushitora Brewing range, trying to find any information about their beer is next to impossible, and like the rest of the batches brewed by them, Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA is more than likely going to be a one-off batch.
Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA
Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA Aroma and Taste
Having no background information about Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA meant I was in for an interesting time. Even the menu at Bakushuan Ebisu had nothing about it besides some random blurb – why oh why can’t breweries list their ingredients somewhere?!
Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA came up a light straw colour with the faintest amount of soapy white head on top, that dissipated fairly quickly. It had a rich pungency of citrus fruits: grapefruit, lemons, and pineapple, along with some residual sweetness from the malts in the beer. Not too dissimilar to your usual American IPA. The aromas didn’t open up either during warming up, so be prepared to face the same aroma throughout drinking.
It had a pleasant crisp bite from the first sip to the last one. The bitterness in Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA was evident from the start and was fairly well-balanced with the malts, with just a hint of sweetness lying in the mix. The citrus flavours of grapefruit and lemon were the strongest ones I noted from the hops. The only down point to Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA is the slightly abrasive finish from the hops – it felt a bit rough around the edges when it had warmed up.
Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a decent American IPA, then Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA could be the right choice. It isn’t the best in Japan, but it’s a solid IPA that has drinkability.
