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Home Beer Review Shiokaze Vienna Ale by Shiokaze BrewLab

Shiokaze Vienna Ale by Shiokaze BrewLab

by Rob
1 comment

Shiokaze Vienna Ale is a 5% vienna beer from Shiokaze BrewLab, based in Soga, in Chiba, Japan. It’s part of their regular lineup and can be found both on tap, and in bottles. It’s part of their collaborative efforts and was brewed to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Craft Beer Market Kichijoji.

Shiokaze Vienna Ale

Shiokaze Vienna Ale Aroma and Taste

Shiokaze Vienna Ale poured out a dark golden amber colour with a plump frothy white head on top that clung to the side of the glass throughout drinking. The aroma coming off Shiokaze Vienna Ale was more towards the malty side, with some caramel and pilsner malt notes coming through, along with a subtle fruitiness from the yeast. There was barely any hop aroma though, with just a faint smidgen of earthy noble hops, but nothing that could be described as more than “meh” in terms of punch.

The body is just as malty as the nose – though not as powerful or as cloying as that sounds. The malts once again brought some caramel and toasted pilsner to the body, with a hint of peach from the yeast being present in the background. The hops were only really noticeable once Shiokaze Vienna Ale had warmed up but once again, they were just an afterthought in this beer. The noble earthiness was only really noticeable if I focussed on it, though the sweetness from the beer swiftly put an end to the dreams of hoppiness.

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Shiokaze Vienna Ale The Bottom Line

Shiokaze Vienna Ale is a solid vienna beer though I doubt it will excite many.

Where to Buy Shiokaze Vienna Ale

Shiokaze Vienna Ale can only be bought in bottles at the taproom.

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1 comment

Steve D. May 17, 2021 - 12:47 pm

Oh please! Be kind. I am not a hophead. I know I have been sidetracked as breweries chase the taste (and money) of trendy craft beer drinkers, for whom there cannot be a beer with too much hop flavours. {Should you meet me, there is a sentence in “The Great Beer Trek” (1986) which I will relate to you which is astonishingly topical in 2021.} For me, the dual spinning modes of hops and malt are preferred in the beers I want to have.
That the brewery calls this an ale is intriguing. But probably honest; as it likely does not have a lager yeast. I want to have this beer. I will have to leave it at that.

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