Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home Beer Review Vertere Ritro #2 by Vertere

Vertere Ritro #2 by Vertere

by Rob
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Vertere Ritro #2 is a 5.3% blonde ale from Vertere, based in Oku-tama, in Tokyo, Japan. It’s part of their regular lineup and can be found in both cans and on tap, with the latter being predominantly found in the Kanto area. Vertere Ritro #2 is brewed with the aim of not getting any bitterness from the hops, essentially giving it an IBU of 0 (how is that possible?) and contains Pale 2 Row, Chit malt, Oats, wickiup, Oats Malt along with Strata, Ella, Nelson Sauvin hops.

Vertere Ritro #2・バタレライトロ2

Vertere Ritro #2 Aroma and Taste

“Hazy” seems to have been the beer word for 2019 with it adorning pretty much every style of beer out there that isn’t a hazy IPA. The only thing I haven’t seen it on is a porter or any other kind of dark beer – I hope I haven’t tempted fate not. With Vertere Ritro #2, Vertere have decided to make a hazy blonde ale – so lots of oats and other adjuncts to induce lots of cloudiness from proteins. A brave move there, let’s see if they can pull it off.

Vertere Ritro #2 poured out a hazy golden straw colour with a large, fluffy white head on top that clung to the side of the glass throughout drinking. The aroma though was certainly not of a blonde ale – think more a dank grapefruit and lemon aroma and you’d be onto something. There was a mild grape funk to the beer but you’d be hard pressed to identify anything about this beer being a blonde ale. Even when Vertere Ritro #2 had warmed up, there was nothing of note from the yeast that punched through the citrus and dank hop aroma.

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The body, while not bitter in an hoppy form, did have a citrus twang to it that imparted a slight tart sourness to Vertere Ritro #2. The hops were the star of the show which meant the yeast had a lot of work to do in cutting through the hop flavours. It was only once Vertere Ritro #2 had warmed up that a slight hint of blonde ale base came through – but then the hops were always present and waiting to snatch back the taste buds. The lingering citrus flavours were kept in check by a slight creaminess from the oats but they made their comeback in the aftertaste by having the staying power.

Vertere Ritro #2 The Bottom Line

Calling Vertere Ritro #2 a blonde ale is a misnomer. It’s more a hazy hoppy pale ale than anything else.

Where to Buy Vertere Ritro #2

Vertere Ritro #2 can be bought online at the following places:

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