Ushitora Okaeri Pils is a 5.5% pilsner brewed by Ushitora Brewing, based in Tochigi. It’s #119 in the ever expanding list of Uetake-san’s beers – surely someone must have a personal favourite there by now?! 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 Okaeri Pils is more than likely going to be a one-off batch.
Ushitora Okaeri Pils – welcome home.
Ushitora Okaeri Pils Aroma and Taste
Without knowing if this was a German pilsner, a Czech pilsner, or perhaps even an American inspired pilsner – which I wouldn’t put it past the people at Ushitora Brewing, the trusty phone came out for some research. And ended up blank. Nothing. Nada. Not a single piece of background about the beer.
It had a subtle noble aroma with a light sweetness behind it – a nice crisp biting aroma to it. I can see why it’s called Okaeri – which means welcome home and is often said to those returning home – as I would be happy to get this when I get home. It’s golden straw-like colour was not too dissimilar to Pilsner Urquell, that famous Czech pilsner, though I would have liked just a meagre amount of head to remain – what I got disappeared quickly, much too quick for me to take a picture of, though it was a crisp, white colour.
Ushitora Okaeri Pils had a smooth initial taste to it, with a mild level of sweetness from the malts, along with a subtle floral bite to the undertaste of it. It’s an easy-drinking beer when served chilled. So much so that before I knew it, half of it had been consumed. It also had a soft lightness to it – far softer than the Ushitora Virgin Trip IPA I had before. There was a crisp sweetness to the aftertaste of Ushitora Okaeri Pils.
Ushitora Okaeri Pils The Bottom Line
Ushitora Okaeri Pils is a pretty good pilsner that I would drink again if I found it. Though at the rate Ushitora Brewing are going at, it could be a one-off.
