Kisoji Porter is a 5% porter from Kisoji Beer, based in Nagano, Japan. It’s part of their all-year round range and can be found in both cans and on tap across Japan, though the latter is much rarer. Kisoji Porter is brewed with three different kinds of base malts and then five different “colour” malts are added – that is to say black malts or crystal malts – to impart sweetness into it. It also won gold medal at the International Beer Competition back in 2010 but disappointedly, the can doesn’t have it emblazoned on the side nor are there any stickers.
See that sticker? That’s the only way to know what is inside.
Kisoji Porter Aroma and Taste
I dunno why I ended up drinking Kisoji Porter – I just grabbed a beer from the fridge and noticed it was a blue can. Damn – which beer was this? Luckily the sticker was still on top of the can though so it could still be identified; however, if I couldn’t have guessed this was a kind of black beer from the pour then I would be a bit of a crap beer reviewer, right? Kisoji Porter poured a sooty black colour. By that I mean there were black specks on the side of the glass and in the relatively clear white head on top. The head lasted a bit before collapsing into a thin oily ring on top the beer. When chilled, the aromas were fairly one-dimensional with a roasted nose to it but when Kisoji Porter had warmed up, something like coffee, maybe more instant than freshly ground, came through along with some faux-chocolate aroma too.
Porters are a hard review for me – everything gets compared to a thick, roasted stout I had a few years back from Shonan Beer. Don’t get me wrong, there are other equally, if not better, Japanese porter out there, but Shonan Beer’s effort had the body and thickness to carry the flavours – something Kisoji Porter didn’t have. While it kind of resembled a stout, the flavours just felt, well, limp. Like someone had coerced them into being in the beer and they had gone along for it the shits and giggles. Coffee, chocolate, a roasted roundness to it but nothing really to get excited about.
Kisoji Porter The Bottom Line
Kisoji Porter was a can full of meh – it’s not that it’s terrible, but it’s just that it could have been so much more.
Where to Buy Kisoji Porter
Kisoji Porter can be bought online at the following places:
