Ginga Kogen Weizen - Ginga Kogen Beer

TrickkyGangsta

Florida

4/5  rDev +6.7%

01-18-2013 19:41:51 | More by TrickkyGangsta

chanokokoro

Illinois

4.14/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 300 ml bottle into a weizen glass

Pours a cloudy light gold capped with a two and half finger clean white fluffy head. Above average retention and plenty of splotchy lacing. Bready yeast, banana, clove, and light lemongrass accent. Opens with banana tinged yeast, clove and perhaps a hint of coriander. Finishes with lightly sweet white bread, perhaps even some angel cake and more banana hints. Abundant, bubbly carbonation, very pleasantly creamy. The heavier side of light bodied to very light medium bodied. An excellent hefeweizen. I'm hopeful that the local Japanese supermarket will keep this stocked through the summer.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 03:51:20 | More by chanokokoro

lannylighthill

California

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

04-17-2013 20:25:10 | More by lannylighthill

wethorseblanket

California

3.63/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Unique 300 ml blue bottle distributed to U.S.A. picked up at a Mitsuwa Market.

A: Pours a hazy/murky yellowish with a thin white head which fades slowly leaving a few spots of lace.

N: Basic hefe style with wheaty grain, yeast notes and typical clove spices and some banana fruit esters.

T: Mildly tart and lemony. Wheat grains, yeasty with faint malt.

M: Light body and carbonation. Clean and refreshing finish.

O: Fairly traditional for style. O.K., and easy drinking. Note: probably same as other hefeweizen entry listed.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 22:13:07 | More by wethorseblanket

cyrushire

Florida

2.5/5  rDev -33.3%

01-13-2013 06:43:34 | More by cyrushire

mrskin

Japan

4/5  rDev +6.7%

12-11-2012 11:19:42 | More by mrskin

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.93/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Celebrator pokal. Pours a slightly hazy, light to medium golden amber. Thin white head that dissipates to a film and moderate ring around the glass. Aroma is wheat with a hint of lemon and clove, strong skunkiness on opening the bottle that dissipated in the glass. Flavor is sweet wheat, lemon and a hint of cloves and banana, very true to German hefeweizen flavor. Fortunately, no skunk remains from the intial aroma (blue glass bottle may not protect the beer sufficiently, but looks cool and different). Light bodied, true to style. A little on the sweet side for a hefeweizen, but pleasant and refreshing to drink. Glad I got to try this. This bottle states "Ginga Kogen Beer" with no style or beer name stated in English, but matches the "Silver Bottle" label on their website, which is stated to be a hefeweizen. I suspect that both this beer and the "Ginga Kogen Wheat" listing on BA are the same beer. Enjoyable and different.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 04:41:41 | More by LiquidAmber

SMortiL987

Louisiana

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%

07-16-2012 20:05:53 | More by SMortiL987

justdaryl

Singapore

4/5  rDev +6.7%

05-20-2012 05:42:20 | More by justdaryl

falconxman

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev 0%

05-03-2012 02:52:39 | More by falconxman

ggourde

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev 0%

04-06-2012 12:29:12 | More by ggourde

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours a very cloudy medium yellow in color with a half finger tall off-white head. The head reduces to an extremely thin layer over the majority of the surface of the beer and a slightly thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate lacing is observed.

S: The most dominant aroma is definitely the wheat and the yeast is also quite present. In the background there are the light aromas of banana and clove.

T: Like the smell, the wheat flavor dominates with the yeast, banana, and clove all playing a lesser part. There is also a slightly sour note in the finish.

M: Light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: An interesting interpretation of a hefeweizen by the Japanese brewery here, not quite a bold in the flavor + smell and a little light in the color. Not a bad beer and certainly easy enough to drink but I prefer a more traditional hefeweizen personally. The beer is refreshing and sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2012 21:18:39 | More by dbrauneis

shigg85

Japan

4/5  rDev +6.7%

02-01-2012 00:05:59 | More by shigg85

deapokid

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +6.7%

12-03-2011 18:52:52 | More by deapokid

metter98

New York

3.7/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is slightly hazy pale yellow in color and has a slight amount of carbonation. It poured with a thin white head that quickly died down leaving only a ring of bubbles on the surface around the edge of the glass.
S: There are aromas of wheat and yeast in the nose along with notes of clove and hints of bananas.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has a subtle sour aftertaste.
M: It feels light-bodied on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The beer is rather easy to drink and has some refreshing properties.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2011 03:25:04 | More by metter98

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

3.9/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

300ml blue bottle served in a weizen glass.

L - hazed yellow color with a white head that thinned to a ring.

S - some skunkiness along with subtle wheat and spices.

T - there's no skunkiness in the taste, just light but good hefeweizen flavors with a tart, lemony finish.

F - lighter bodied with a crisp feel.

O - a good, refreshing beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2011 21:05:38 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

MaltsOfGlory

Oregon

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pour is a little rough, it pours a very nice creamy looking one finger head, it disappears pretty quickly though. The body is absolutely beautiful, its like any other wheat beer I have seen before, and for that matter, any other beer I have seen. It looks similar to a Hooegardeen, but a lot oranger. Very cloudy, you can't see through this one bit. It's a hard look to describe, because it's not the way most hefeweizens look, very unique. If it weren't for the quickly disappearing head, I would give this a 4.5 on look. When I first smelled this it smelled a little bit skunky to me, and maybe it is, I don't know, maybe it just smell that way because it's an authentic Japanese beer, and I've never had one of those. On the other hand it very well could be skunky because it's in a blue bottle, and I've never had a beer from a blue bottle, but it doesn't seem like blue would let much light in at all, oh well. Underneath the initial smell, you pick up a lot of other really really good smells, coriander, orange, perhaps a very small hop note. All around the beer just smells so clean, and so refreshing, I'm really looking forward to it! Whoa! That's a crazy taste, lots of levels on this beer. First you get a nice clean taste, not a lot of flavor, then comes the coriander, which makes it taste very similar to Hoegaarden, then comes some orange. The tastes linger really long in your mouth and after they are gone you get kind of a plum like after taste. Not much in the way of hops or malts, slightly bitter, but barely at all. Overall it tastes a lot like a Hoegaarden, better? I dunno, maybe better in some ways and worse in others, but overall very very similar. I like Hoegaarden quite a bit, so naturally I like this beer too. There really isn't any lacing on this beer, so maybe 4 was too much on the appearance, but I'm going to be generous and stick with it because it's such a unique look. The mouthfeel is very very good, it feels nice and wheaty, and even a little thick, with the perfect amount of carbonation. Drinkability is pretty good as well, it's not too heavy, and it's very tasty. Overall it's a pretty dang good beer, basically Hoegaarden with a slightly different taste and a better look.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2011 05:34:40 | More by MaltsOfGlory

OneBrewru

Japan

3.93/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Ginga Kougen Weizen brew pours a rich, cloudy, golden hue and is topped by a with a frothy cloud-white head. Little to no lacing clings to the glass. The appearance is very true to the style.

The aroma of this beer is also very true to the hefeweizen style. Rich and bready smells are present but an acutely powerful clove aroma pierces through. A mild yeast funkiness is also apparent.

Taste-wise, this beer is rock solid. As the aroma would indicate, strong banana bread and clove flavors dominate. The clove is just a bit stronger than it should be, but does help cut through the thick malty flavors.

The texture of this beer is a bit thicker than many hefeweizens and with a bit less carbonation than usual.

All in all, I could drink this beer on a hot summer day or a cold winter night and be satisfied with either. It's light alcohol content lends itself to being a session beer, but the complex flavors make just a pint more than enjoyable.

Serving type: can

03-28-2011 10:53:00 | More by OneBrewru

broken22

California

3.63/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

So I'm at my local Asian grocery store Mitsuwa and what did I find but some decent looking brews from Japan that weren't asahi or kirin. This is a rare event one which I hope becomes more regular. So lets get on with it.

So the bottle says unfiltered so after I pop this baddy open I pour this thing slowly as to not disturb the sediment. A nice golden cloudy beer flows out with not much head to speak of. Then again I had the glass at a slant so that would kill any head from forming. The beer is definitely effervescent as there is a continuous stream of bubbles. The smell is very Hefeweizen with a banana like smell to it. The flavor is slightly banana like but more of an yeasty apple flavor. The bubbles I was mentioning earlier will light up your tongue. The dancing bubbles are actually quite nice. They make the beer seem almost soft in the mouth.

Overall this is a decent hefeweizen. The flavor was nice and made for a nice glass of beer. On a side note I really like the color of these bottles; they are a nice dark blue. The blue bottle would make for a much nicer image. If you like hefeweizens then pick one of these up.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2011 08:24:26 | More by broken22

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A blue bottle, adorned with reindeer and mountain peaks. From Well's Discount Liquors.

A: The beer looks more like a witbier than a hefeweizen. It's pale straw color is translucent, barely but it is. The cloudiness obscures things a bit but not significantly. Lots of head on pour, over three fingers, is lacing around the glass. Thick chunks of yeast flowed out of the bottle on the last pour. I'm gonna let those beasties settle to the bottom.

S: A bit of wheat in the nose. The bready pils base is more dominant, chewy even. The nose has the general blandness of most Japanese ales that I've had.

T: Wow! After the lackluster nose, I wasn't expecting the strong weizen start. Banana and bubblegum flourish briefly, a sweetness that covers up the rest of the ale. Pils malts and very little in the way of wheat follow. The start of each sip is a highlight though, ample weizen flavors before they fade away.

M: The mouthfeel is weizen-heavy upfront but generally weak from there on out. The bottle is pretty cool though!

D: A fusion weizen that marries the German style with the Japanese style. It's alright.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2010 03:23:02 | More by akorsak

afksports

New York

3.28/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Blue bottle "with the reindeer" that pours dirty and with a finger of head. Grainy, but they do let you know it's unfiltered. The smell is actually nice for a weizen, with lemon and honey being the most present.

The taste is a bit tart, followed by the sweetness of a citrus, maybe even a bit tropical. Carbonation provides a nice feel in the mouth to help out the medium body. By the bottom of the glass the grains became too much to finish.

I'm picturing myself on the beach in Japan, sipping this under a canopy overlooking the Pacific, and having it so cold that the mountains and the reindeer make sense. We'll see if that ever happens.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2010 02:14:06 | More by afksports

dpodratsky3

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

300ml unique blue bottle poured into pint glass

A: Very hazy, butterscotch orange, head starts big, then settles to just around half a finger, very smooth looking white head

S: Like an average weizen, big wheat presence with hints of citrus in the back, there is a also an almost yeasty presence too

T: Definitely a weizen, but a little different, starts again with that big wheat flavor, but then it gets very sweet, the exact flavor is hard to place, almost honey-like, its a bold flavor but doesn't overpower, also has a slight belgian yeast like quality, intersting

M: Pretty light, has that melt in your mouth quality

D: High, super easy to drink

Notes: This looks and feels like a normal weizen for all intents and purposes. However, it definitely has its unique qualities. That sweet honey like flavor is able to stay light, while offering some different flavors. It is also very easy to drink with a good mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2010 19:06:31 | More by dpodratsky3

Mora2000

Texas

3.95/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I am assuming this is the correct place to put this beer. There was not much English on the bottle to ID the beer, but it was blue, had reindeer on it and was a hefewezien, so I am placing the review here.

Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a cloudy pale yellow color with a white head. The aroma is bananas, yeast and bubblegum. The flavor is banana, lemon and a lot more bubblegum. Medium mouthfeel and low carbonation. It didn't have much of the clove flavor or aroma you expect in the a beer of this style, but the bubblegum mixed nicely with the bananas and made a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2010 16:30:08 | More by Mora2000

jeranbrews

New York

3.15/5  rDev -16%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Popped the top of the pretty blue bottle. Pours a nice evenly cloudy lemon honey yellow. Some continued carbonation that lasted several min. The head is a very low, clumpy, eggshell-white experience. LAcing was present but not remarkable.

S - Instantly linseed and lemon peel smells entered the room when the cap was popped. Some honey-comb sweet waxy smells and a bit of powdered sugar.

T - Sour, like lemon pudding that someone forgot to put sugar in. Not overly hoppy. But not enough malty texture either. Pretty much a one flavor experience.

M - Reasonably smooth. A tiny trickle of carbonation eases down the throat just like the lacing in the glass.

D - Overall a fine drinkable example of this style. Not as filling as some hefeweizens, and it's a bit sour, but hops are balanced nicely.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2010 15:13:30 | More by jeranbrews

augustgarage

California

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Really gorgeous bottle and artwork - unfortunately it is a BLUE bottle which means it really should be kept away from light until you're ready to pop one open. This is the U.S. import version, though I think the recipe is the same. No bottled on or best before date than I can discern.

300mL poured into a French fruit juice glass.

Very cloudy pear body with glimmering chartreuse yellow highlights. The head rises up to a little over a finger high with a cautious pour and then slowly recedes to nothing. Very nice, delicate, almost cellestial lacing (which is fitting for a brewery that translates to "Plateau of the Galaxy").

The aroma is faintly metallic and stale, probably due to it being light-struck if not too old. Moving past this you can still get a good dose of banana bread, and a light lemon note. Not much spice going on.

A wheaty tartness pervades, though it is backed by a sweet almost custardy banana/tapioca element (probably from the yeast) which adds a fine balance. There is also the a very weakly bitter note that fades rapidly in the finish - perhaps the noble hops playing a role. It reminds me of a sort of cross between a witbier and a hefeweizen in some ways - though a fresher example might change the overall profile a bit.

Creamy soft mouthfeel with active carbonation. There is a chilly feeling even after the beer begins to warm up a bit - if I were of a more metaphysical mindset I might attribute this to the snow-heavy region of its origin.

Overall, really quite decent. It seems this brewery spent a good deal of time touring their German counterpart's facilities and learned quite a bit. This is an excellent alternative to the more popular rice lagers from Japan - I look forward to purchasing more of this (though I would sacrifice the beauty of the bottle for the protection of a can if I had the choice).

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2010 03:49:28 | More by augustgarage