Akari John Smith is a 6% NE-IPA from Akari Brewing, based in Imaichi, in Tottori, Japan. Akari John Smith is part of their regular lineup and can be found in bottles and on tap at various locations across Japan. Even though Akari John Smith is styled as an NE-IPA, it’s brewed using English Maris Otter malts and also contains both grapefruit peel and juice as part of the adjunct lineup.
Akari John Smith Aroma and Taste
Do not adjust your screens – yes you are seeing the right beer for this review.
This is supposed to be a New England IPA – it doesn’t look anything like one. The smell is even worse – not even close to being like one. The buttery bomb of a mess of a beer was disgusting. There was nothing remotely coming off Akari John Smith that smelt like how a NE-IPA should smell like. Even with the addition of grapefruit peel and juice, this didn’t even close to smelling like one. In fact, why would you put grapefruit peel and juice into a beer to smell like a NE-IPA when there’s plenty of hop varietals out there that can do it for you!
Honestly, I couldn’t get myself past a couple of gulps into Akari John Smith – the buttery oxidised mess that was this beer just wasn’t drinkable – and nor could I stomach it. If this was planned, then Akari John Smith is a horrendous beer that should not have seen the light of day. If it wasn’t, then someone needs to look at the brewing process to see what the bloody hell went wrong when they were making it.
Akari John Smith ended up as a drain pour if you hadn’t had guessed. No way am I suffering this much for BeerTengoku.
Akari John Smith The Bottom Line
Akari John Smith is drain pour and should never have been released in this state.
Where to Buy Akari John Smith
Akari John Smith can be bought online at the following places:
