Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale is a 5% fruit beer from Aoi Brewing, based in Shizuoka, Japan. It’s part of their spring seasonal lineup and first came out in bottles in April 2017, though it has been served on draft since 2015. Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale is brewed using German Pilsner, and German wheat malt, along with Belgium Aroma 150, US Cascade, German Sapphire, and German Hallertau Blanc hops, and uses dry English ale yeast, and locally sourced Harumi mikans, or satsumas / tangerines in English, from the Shizuoka area, with both the juice and flesh being used to flavour the beer. It’s unknown whether Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale is a one off or an annual appearance.
No chance of seeing through Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale.
Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale Aroma and Taste
If you had poured Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale out for me, from first appearances, I would have thought it was a New England IPA, and would have shuddered at the thought of it. Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale was incredibly hazy, and there was no way of seeing through it – not because of any yeast or deliberate hop haze, but it would have come from the oranges used to make it. And from the outset, Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale reeks of oranges – and a little bit of malt sweetness. It’s one-dimensional in the nose, so don’t expect anything but an orange hit to the nose.
Cheap orange juice is the first thing that comes to mind with the first sip of Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale – the stuff that’s on sale at your local supermarket and consists more of water than actual oranges. There is a slight astringent taste to the beer, but it’s not that familiar hop kick so guessing it’s from the oranges used in making it. The malts do come thr0ugh with some sweetness to offset the bitterness but it’s a case of too little too late too late to save Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale. It left a little bit of a sour orange taste on the the palate.
Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale The Bottom Line
It would have been nice to have had some wheat flavours coming through but the oranges were too strong.
Where to Buy Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale
Aoi Harumi Mikan Ale can be bought online at the following places:
1 comment
My guess is the flesh is the bitter flavor. Good idea to use just the juice and the skin. leave the pith and flesh behind is my take.