Nara Quo Vadis is a 4.7% golden ale from Nara Brewing Company, based in Nara, in Nara, Japan. It’s part of their regular draft line up but saw life in cans during the Covid-19 pandemic, so at the time of writing, it’s unknown whether Nara Quo Vadis will see life again in the canned form. Nara Quo Vadis is brewed using Pilsner Malt and Carapils malts, along with Hallertau Blanc and Nelson Sauvin hops. Its name comes from the Latin “Quo Vadis” which roughly translates to “Where are you going?”, which could refer to the fact that Nara Brewing Company didn’t give this beer a particular style when labelling it.
Nara Quo Vadis Aroma and Taste
Nara Quo Vadis had the most life out of the beers from Nara Brewing Company – strangely so as I wasn’t expecting anything from it after the last couple of beers. It poured out a slight hazy golden straw colour with a thin layer of white bubbles on top that popped to leave a small ring around the edge of the glass. Nara Quo Vadis had a light pilsner nose to it with some white wine-like aromas too going on. Once it had warmed up, there was also some noble floral-like notes to it too. However, there was a weird buttery sourness to it – something that I don’t really enjoy in a beer unless it has to be in that style.
Drinking Nara Quo Vadis was a different experience though with some light lemon notes coming through, though it did seem a bit wishy-washy in terms of flavour. I had washed the glass properly though with some cold water and soap but was careful to rinse it off again. The body was quite dry but the same buttery sourness made an appearance. Not enough to stop me from drinking it, but enough to get me thinking about it.
Nara Quo Vadis The Bottom Line
Perhaps it was a mistake in canning, or brewing, but I didn’t like this.
Where to Buy Nara Quo Vadis
Nara Quo Vadis can be bought online at the following places:
