Minamishinshu Ki no Sato is 4.5% golden / blonde ale from Minamishinshu Beer Company, based in Nagano, Japan. It’s part of their spring seasonal lineup and can usually be found on sale from April onwards. The “gimmick”, which seems a bit strange, is that Minamishinshu Ki no Sato is brewed in a special place of Japan that experiences zero magnetic field due to the plate tectonics in the area. At the time of writing, this beer can be found in both bottles and on tap.
A neutrally charged beer.
Minamishinshu Ki no Sato Aroma and Taste
The first thing I noticed about Minamishinshu Ki no Sato was the lack of actual golden colour – if you’re going to make a beer that is deemed to be a golden, at least make sure it looks close or similar to the colour it should be. It had a muted citrus aroma of lemons and pineapples, with a meagre amount of malts thrown in there as well. There was a muted hint of caramel and honey going on in the mix as well. Nothing too spectacular or outstanding really for a golden ale.
Drinking Minamishinshu Ki no Sato initially got me thinking if this was the Minamishinshu Golden Ale but watered down somewhat. It had a very light body compared to their golden ale, thought the malts dominated the flavour profile this time around, rather than the hops. It had a large amount of carbonation, which gave Minamishinshu Ki no Sato a creamy mouthfeel to it. It finished off having a slightly bitter kick, though that did fade fairly quickly.
Minamishinshu Ki no Sato The Bottom Line
Minamishinshu Ki no Sato isn’t going to win awards soon for being a golden ale and in the end, comes across more of a gimmicky beer.
Where to Buy Minamishinshu Ki no Sato
Minamishinshu Ki no Sato can be bought online at the following places:
- Craftbeers.jp
- Don’t
