Kirin Light Beer - Kirin Brewery Company, Limited

kylehay2004

Florida

2.13/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Half finger head on a clear straw to bright golden colored body. aroma is minimal with grains and some sweet corn. Flavor is the same but I am happy there are no off putting flavors although little flavor is there at all. Light body and moderate to high carbonation. Easy to drink, not flavorful but nothing really to turn you off. Basically slightly bitter water.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 12:42:04 | More by kylehay2004

dbrauneis

New Jersey

2.4/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a crystal clear pale yellow in color with moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a half finger tall fizzy bright white head that quickly reduces to nothing. Minimal lacing is observed.

S: Light aromas of grain and rice adjunct malts.

T: Slightly sweet with flavors of the rice and grain adjunct malts. Some light amounts of bitterness in the finish.

M: Light bodied with heavy amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin.

O: Very easy to drink and very sessionable. This is probably one of the less offensive light lagers as it at least still has some taste to it. Would not be on the top of the list of beers to have again.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2012 03:31:51 | More by dbrauneis

stan66

2.9/5  rDev +33%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy tone on my glass, head minum retention, almost non existent. carbonation low. Taste is a little weak with notable touch of hops. barley not too present. A pleasant light beer. Would prefer this beer over other light beer as coors or miller.

I am not sure if I will try this once again. Too pricey here.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 18:37:56 | More by stan66

tone77

Pennsylvania

2.15/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Poured from a brown 22 oz. bottle. Has a very pale yellow color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, a touch of corn. Taste is downright weak, maybe a hint of malt, very water like. Feels light in the mouth and overall was lacking in flavor, even for this style.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 03:55:41 | More by tone77

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.13/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Had these at an overpriced dinner for the quality with a borderline crazy chick. They had a similarity of appearing light and ditzy. Aroma wasn't offensive, very mild and bland of medicinal corn notes.

Really wasn't much to speak of, lots of water, more bitterness than it should have given the lack of much substance to the beer. Prickly carbonation. Pretty clean overall except the bitterness, must be a decent use of rice to this beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2011 04:06:20 | More by Beerandraiderfan

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

2.6/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I was down in Baltimore this past weekend, visiting a college chum and attending the annual Brewers' Art Mid-Atlantic Holiday Gathering. I took Amtrak to Penn Station and then began walking south to The Brewers Art when I passed Aloha Liquors, a little store that never fails to have something new and unusual available, prompting me to stop in. I scored a 22-ounce bomber of this, as well as some Korean gems that are sure to be just as good.

My initial pour netted me two-plus fingers of foamy, bone-white head with extremely limited retention. Hey, I realize that I am not the handsomest of guys, but do you have to take off so quickly? Color was a pale lemon-yellow with NE-quality clarity. I have urinated darker water than this. Nose had a faint lager/corn adjunct sweetness, but it was all pretty mild. Mouthfeel was thin and watery with only the barest of taste in the mouth. I am glad it was nearing my bedtime as this was a major snooze-a-thon. Holy boring, Batman! Finish was equally band and ho-hum, making for a less-than-scintillating experience. That said, I do not feel that I should dun it too badly. I knew what I was buying, but I had never seen it before, either in CAN or bottle, and I have certainly had much worse, including from the style. Hey, it beats a cup of tea before retirement, I promise you. Don't avoid it if it is one of the few options open to you - it could be the lesser of several evils.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2011 02:02:08 | More by woodychandler

DarthKostrizer

California

1.08/5  rDev -50.5%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Look: Yellow and totally see through 1/4 inch white head and no retention

Smell: Um there isnt one

Taste: Hint of 6 row malt and that's it WOW

Mouthfeel: Thin with medium carbonation

Overall: Very drinkable beer but why would you pay money for a beer with no flavor. Only drank this one because I needed the cap for my bar top

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2011 01:33:49 | More by DarthKostrizer

CaptJackHarkness

New York

2.95/5  rDev +35.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

The ABV on this is 3.31 (BA please note!)

The color is very pale yellow, the aroma bland , this reminds me of O'Douls near beer!

This was served at Hama Sushi, when I asked, I found out it's not from Japan anymore but brewed by the same makers of Bud Light!

She suggested Asahi, which will be in another review!

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2011 01:44:37 | More by CaptJackHarkness

Wasatch

Utah

2/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a pale yellow color, some carbonation, little foamy white head, with some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is sweet, grainy, with some rice notes. The taste is sweet, kinda malty, grainy/ricy/skunky. Light Body. Would not drink this one again.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 19:29:22 | More by Wasatch

womencantsail

California

3.03/5  rDev +39%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: The beer pours a clear golden straw with a fluffy white head, with surprisingly good retention.

S: Halfway decent nose. Not shockingly, it still pretty much just smells like rice. But, there is a bit of yeast and some light hop notes (mostly grass). Some light fruity esters of sweet apple.

T: Flavor is not too bad either. Lots of rice with a light malt note. Grassy hops with minimal bitterness and some more green apple esters and yeast.

M: The body is very light with a medium to high level of carbonation.

O: I liked this one better than Sapporo light. Nicer flavor with a bit less reliance on the pure rice flavor.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2011 21:07:16 | More by womencantsail

HockeytownBrew

Michigan

2.5/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Had at the Japanese attraction at World Showcase in EPCOT.

Poured into a pint glass.

A: Pours a clear yellow. Crystal clear. Short and thin head that fades extremely quickly and leaves no lacing.

S: Slight scent of rice and grains.

T: Same as the scent, along with a slight sweetness.

M: Very light. Moderate carbonation.

D: Very good.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2011 06:42:51 | More by HockeytownBrew

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

2.3/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Straight from the bottle

A: Pale in color, almost clear in the stream coming from the bottle. The head is fizzy and dissipates almost instantly. Pretty standard so far.

S: Very slight aroma of something almost Belgian which is interesting but it’s difficult to discern.

T/M: Tastes bubbley and a bit malty with some bitterness near the end. It’s pretty bland overall, like seltzer or diet Gatorade.

Yet another contender in the made-with-the-purpose-of-getting-you-drunk category. Because we need more of those…

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 01:49:47 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

ZenAgnostic

Texas

2.2/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Bottled 18Jan11. 12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance - No head. Small white lace. Clear pale gold body.

Smell - Slight, hidden banana. Not much else.

Taste - Mostly flavorless except for some sligh corn and stale metallic off flavors.

Mouthfeel - Boring. No effervescence. Sickly acidic.

Overall Drinkability - Disappointing. Will try re-rating with a fresher bottle, but not sure it will help.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 09:45:29 | More by ZenAgnostic

BigSTing

California

1.2/5  rDev -45%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Had a 22oz bottle of Kirin Light at happy hour at a local sushi spot. By far the worst beer I've ever had. It tasted like watered down urine. I actually don't mind light beers in most cases. I wasn't expecting much, but the taste, or lack of taste, was offensive. I'd rather drink the world's cheapest Malt Liquor than this swill.

I'm not going to give this "beer" a proper review because it doesn't deserve it.

I'd stay away

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2011 00:48:22 | More by BigSTing

morebeergood

Massachusetts

2.28/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Went out to dinner on Friday with my wife to a nice sushi place in Roslindale. After looking at the beer menu, went with Kirin Light mainly because I've never had one before. Poured into a pils style glass. Extremely pale body; barely yellow at all. Lots of carbonation but no head. Looks like sparkling water. Smells like rice. Tastes way too watered down to have any real flavor. Body was paper thin and merely just liquid. There is absolutely nothing behind this beer. When they say "light", they mean they removed everything. I think a Coors would taste better. I'd never order a Japanese light beer again after this poor showing.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2011 23:16:53 | More by morebeergood

Cyberkedi

Georgia

1.75/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Pours a rather typical and uninspiring clear straw yellow with not much of a white head. Aroma is weak and watery, barely like beer at all. Flavor is malty, on the thin side, all too typical of light beers. Texture has only a little fizz to it. Still I’m glad I gave it a fair shake. [Insert joke about light beer here.]

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 01:59:42 | More by Cyberkedi

Lazerlobe

Washington

2.75/5  rDev +26.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: An aggressive pour yields a finger and a half of head that seems to be holding down the fort. Moderate lacing is supported along the fortifications.

S: Hay, dilute sugar, low grade pot dominate with little else rounding out the bouquet.

T: Sharp metallic bite mixes with a thin undercurrent of faded floral hop, watered down malt syrup, and dry grass.

M: A prickly carbonation tickles the tongue and gives the beer some feisty character.

D: Only if hard up and dry.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2010 02:21:51 | More by Lazerlobe

allengarvin

Texas

3.08/5  rDev +41.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked up at a company friday event. Worth an extra label in my label books, and another review:

Poured into 12-oz tumbler, this extremely pale-gold beer has a fast-forming and fast-dissipating head. The aroma is pretty clean and neutral, with a light pils maltiness. Very clean flavor. Much better than many light beers. The malt is not particularly grainy, though there's not much taste at all. Hop bitterness is quite light, though it is detectable if you look for it.

I haven't had a lot of light macros, but this one is definitely better than the average run-of-the-mill light. It's quite clean, and non-offensive.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2010 16:17:43 | More by allengarvin

PorterLambic

Florida

1.23/5  rDev -43.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Wow. Ichiban came from this brewery? Scary thought.
The best thing about this beer is someone else paid for it. Even then it was hard to drink it and not insult my host.

Poured a rather vibrant yellow color with with a good-sized head consistenting of big bubbles. No lace to speak of.
Smell is some hops with nothing else save a slight metallic mustiness, if that is possible.
Taste is harsh hoppiness, a metallic note and naught else. A faint, almost ghost-like, hint of malt way late in the aftertaste.
Bitter and rough, watery and light-bodied (expected). Highly effervescent, almost fizzy. You could drink this, but I wouldn't suggest it.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2010 01:13:34 | More by PorterLambic

wangbruins

Florida

2/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A- Very light golden, thin looking, not much head, and only slightly translucent

S- Lots of citrus...mostly lemons with some oranges

T- Some lemon and wheat taste, very light orange also

M- Light and crisp, very thin

D- Do you want to drink a case at once? You can!

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2010 20:46:22 | More by wangbruins

Jesstyr

Virginia

2.1/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Had this at the local sushi joint since it was happy hour and half price. It wasn't worth the money...

A: Light, watery, yellowish and urine-like. bubbly head that disappears immediately.

S: Light stale beer, very metallic and no real excitement.

T: Metallic carbonation with a side of water. Not offensive in any way, but I'd rather drink ice water. The flavor just isn't good.

M/D: Watery, so it goes down easy. The ease of drinking is a detriment in this case, because its not really worth having.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2010 16:08:08 | More by Jesstyr

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.1/5  rDev +42.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a clear, light yellow body with an airy, well-sized, white head.

Smell: It's a pretty mild aroma at best, with only some light, clean notes of barley and spicy hops.

Taste: A thin, light taste of malted barley marked by a faint degree of sweetness and lightly spicy hops with a complimentary bitterness. Clean, crisp finish.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation. A tad watery.

Drinkability: A light beer, of course, but one that's at least clean-tasting and fairly refreshing. There's a lot of true horrors in the land of lagers, but, thankfully, this wasn't of them.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2009 22:09:15 | More by ChainGangGuy

farfromstout

Pennsylvania

2.13/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Had this at a hibachi grill. Asked the guy if I could have the lager...shows back up with the light. I said, "You don't have the lager?" He goes, literally, "This is better." WOW!

Okay, I am not going to completely bash this. If you read on the side of the label, it says brewed by AB! "Under the strict supervision of Kirin". Well, since I haven't had any other Kirin products and this is claimed to be brewed identically by supervision of the parent company, then so be it.

It was slightly carbonated water. A bit of bitterness that may of been thrown in there as a last ditch effort for some type of flavour. Mouthfeel and taste hit the BACK of the tongue like you are scraping it with your toothbrush in the morning. Unfortunately won't forget that beer for a while. At least the Hibachi was good.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2009 13:57:53 | More by farfromstout

twiggamortis420

Texas

2.48/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Bottled on date of 13Jul09 and this one is brewed under 'supervision' by AB InBev in LA. Pours a very clear, very pale yellow with a fizzy white head that initially fades fast to a slowly decaying coating. There is just a bit of lacing on the glass.

Does not smell like much at all. Carbonated water and maybe a light graininess with some rice. Very unoffensive and neutral smelling beer.

Taste is on the mild side, even for a light lager with a few hints of stale grains...much like seltzer water and the rice additions only accentuate the effect. If you want a light beer with the least amount of flavor, this one is a good choice.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2009 10:28:28 | More by twiggamortis420

kimcgolf

Georgia

2.17/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Like most of the Oriental beers I've had, this poured a very pale yellow, with little head or lacing, a touch of carbonation, a grainy aroma and taste and a short dry finish. All that said, it was okay when paired with a Spicy Seafood Noodle soup, but I could have done much better. At least it wasn't fattening.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 13:01:07 | More by kimcgolf