Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter is an 8.0% strong saison from Kyoto Brewing Company, based in Kyoto, Japan. It’s part of their winter seasonal lineup and can be found in both bottles and on tap across Japan. It’s brewed with Pilsner and Rye malts, with Merkur being used for bittering hops, and Motueka with Nelson Sauvin for the aroma and flavour hops.
Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter Aroma and Taste
Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter poured out darker than the Kyoto Shunkashuto Spring version, with a much darker golden colour to it and a thick white heard on top that left streaks of beer on the side of the glass. The aroma was a thick sweet one, rich with phenols from the yeast and a pepperiness from the rye malts. Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter is a much bolder beer than the spring version. The most interesting thing though about Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter was the light aroma of lime and grapes – a very interesting combination going on with such a rich aroma base behind it. It’s just enough to take off some of the sweetness from the malts.
The booziness though isn’t as well hidden in the body as it is in the nose. The richness of the beer is pretty tough going – at 8%, it’s a beer more suited for the cold winter nights than the warm summer evenings when I first drank it. However, that’s not to say it isn’t a pleasant beer at all. The phenols and fruitiness from the yeast helped to take a little bit away from the richness of the malts, and along with that lime and grape aroma, gave way to something interesting, if not truly thirst quenching. As Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter warmed up, the malt sweetness did end up a bit on the cloying scale – enough to get it on there and drinkable, but not enough to be dominating the flavours.
Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter The Bottom Line
Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter is best suited for winter – a bold, sweet beer.
Where to Buy Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter
Kyoto Shunkashuto Winter can be bought online at the following places:
