Coedo Beniaka - Coedo Brewery (Kyodo Shoji Koedo Brewery)

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.28/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.25

Pours coppery brown with a small head.
Sweet potato is quite prominent in the aroma, but also some sweet malt. very interesting.
Lots of sweet potato as a flavour too. A hit of booze ruins things a little though. Again, quite sweet.
Body feels a bit flat, need a lot more carbonation to cut the sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 10:18:54 | More by CrazyDavros

bluetrevian

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +4.5%

05-01-2013 04:07:30 | More by bluetrevian

BeerOps

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +4.5%

03-31-2013 02:04:22 | More by BeerOps

nmann08

Maryland

2.5/5  rDev -25.4%

02-23-2013 21:59:23 | More by nmann08

doktorhops

Australia

3.68/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Happoshu - A brew I've never tried. So I wrote you a Haiku, it goes:

Happoshu good brew
sparkling spirits lead me
clear tasting

Yeah I wont quit my day job. [I'm a Haiku writer by day].

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Deep copper red body, with a light tan lacing on top.

S: Interesting notes of soy sauce send me off kilter in that Japanese out-of-place kinda way, like that cos-play girl dressed in a schoolgirl outfit yet at the same time being of ample bosom and well-rounded ass which sends mixed signals to my brain, this brew adds it's own Japanese oddness to the mix. Sweet potato and malt also adds to the aroma however that soy note is odd, very odd.

T: Highly intriguing... a tad on the sweet side but there are some decent characters; toasted malts, sweet bread, chestnuts and caramel. It's similar to some English Christmas flavoured beers like Theakston Old Peculier and Hook Norton's Twelve Days, but with that classic Japanese oddness sitting quietly in the corner katana on lap, I'm just waiting for it to jump at me and cut off my head in a swift sweep of refined bladed steel.

M: Flat and borderline syrupy.

D: It's got a bit going for it: alcohol content [check], flavour [check], drinkability [check]. The only thing holding it back is that old devil: the price. At $9AUD RRP a bottle it is indeed in the realm of a "special occasion drink" or "something to try once", which I did: try once [check].

Food match: it's a bit of a given - Japanese beer = Japanese food, so I'll refrain from the obvious. What I will say is that I could see this pairing well with a good old fashioned American Thanksgiving dinner replete with turkey, mashed yams, cranberry sauce, corn and the obligatory pumpkin pie slice for dessert.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 12:54:40 | More by doktorhops

Gazzizza

4.5/5  rDev +34.3%

02-05-2013 19:37:35 | More by Gazzizza

cyrushire

Florida

3/5  rDev -10.4%

01-24-2013 07:38:59 | More by cyrushire

solid98

Oregon

3.45/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Starts off with a minimal head presence, deep amber/brown color that is fairly translucent. Appears to be filtered and shows minimal visual carbonation. Quite a toasty nose to it, with caramel and cherries on first taste. Quite a clean mouth feel here, notes of honey emerging over time and I find this quite a tasty beer. Surprisingly, this seems to me quite different than the first time I tried it--lighter, fruitier and generally more exciting. Some alcohol emerges towards the end of the glass, along with a more distinctive sweet potato flavor, but neither of these take the beer out of balance. I certainly enjoyed this more than the last time I had it, and look forward to having it again.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 04:17:48 | More by solid98

YamagamiTravis

Japan

3.25/5  rDev -3%

12-16-2012 14:30:55 | More by YamagamiTravis

Thorpe429

Illinois

1.93/5  rDev -42.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Bottle thanks to drabmuh. Served in a taster glass. Pours an orange-copper color with a tiny head of bubbles that falls quickly. The nose has some sweet potato and a touch of caramel. Flavor starts off with caramel, sweet potato, and bread, but then is taken over by a strange off dryness. Very odd. Body is light and off kilter. Not a big fan.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 16:04:06 | More by Thorpe429

jeanphony

New York

4/5  rDev +19.4%

08-16-2012 00:44:57 | More by jeanphony

mdillon86

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +4.5%

08-04-2012 04:42:31 | More by mdillon86

KFaulkner

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +11.9%

07-11-2012 19:38:41 | More by KFaulkner

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

2.93/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Shared by drabmuh, the Jedi ticker. Thanks Matt!

The beer is amber colored with no head or lacing. The aroma is sweet, offering brown bread, biscuits, caramel, grain. Smells like a sweet adjunct lager. Malt, sweet potato and sweet breads. Virtually no carbonation leads to a light, watery feel on the palate. Overall, this was fun to try but not something I would have again.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 01:57:17 | More by Huhzubendah

SargeC

Japan

3.75/5  rDev +11.9%

05-13-2012 08:08:13 | More by SargeC

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Shared by drtickmuh.

Pours a clear amber red with no head. Very sweet aroma; bready and caramel, light vegetable. Smooth body with low carbonation, medium thick. Interesting flavor, sweet and malty, with a subtle contribution from the sweet potato. Sweet, but drinkable, I'd bizarrely like to have more of this.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2012 01:33:57 | More by yourefragile

ehammond1

California

3.23/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Bottle

Thanks for the tick/gift, UCLABrewN84!

Dark copper color with very minimal light tan head. There's not a lot of visible carbonation and this leaves the glass nearly clean.

The aroma is a combination of caramel, bread, a bit of spice character, and vegetables (celery and tomato?).

The flavor is malty with some spice character to it, along with moderate bitterness and some celery flavor as well. Drinkable.

Medium bodied with low carbonation. I think the body of this beer brings the rest of it down.

Drinkable, but unexciting. It's nothing I'll revisit.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2012 21:05:03 | More by ehammond1

drabmuh

Maryland

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

Received a bottle in a trade with UCLABrewN84, thanks! At the time of this review, this is #1 on the "Top Beers - Happoshu" list on beeradvocate.com. Another #1 knocked off the list although this is sort of a weird style to bother with. Oh well.

Beer is reddish and clear, no head, low carbonation.

Aroma is caramelly and sweet, interesting.

Beer is medium in body, sweet finish, a little malty, a decent beer, by far the best happoshu I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2012 02:23:15 | More by drabmuh

lacashl

4/5  rDev +19.4%

04-26-2012 21:00:06 | More by lacashl

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Served in a bottle at Samurai Mama in Brooklyn, NY

A: Pours a crystal clear dark amber in color with some very light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer poured with no head and there was no lacing observed.

S: Definite sweetness in the aroma but a more pleasant smell from the sweet potato than what I find in a corn/grain/rice adjunct malts. Pleasant and inviting but not overly strong.

T: Very sweet, almost to the sweetness levels I associate with a quad. The sweet potato flavor comes through along with some more traditional malts.

M: Medium bodied with light carbonation. Smooth.

O: A very elusive style that I am psyched I found and tried, the use of non-corn/grain/rice as the adjunct malts definitely makes it a unique experience. I very much enjoyed the beer and felt it easy to drink, one you could have many of in a session. Matches well with sushi. Some definite complexity to the aroma and flavor. I would get this one again.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 15:06:58 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

3.35/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle at Samurai Mama, Brooklyn, NY

A: The beer is clear dark reddish amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with just a few bubbles on the surface and a very thin ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of sweet potatoes in the nose; these become a little stronger as the beer warms up.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has lots of flavors of sweet potatoes and a slight amount of sweetness.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a low to moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer style is definitely unique and sweet potato is more interesting as an adjunct malt compared to corn and rice. It definitely tastes a lot more flavorful compared to Japanese rice lagers.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 02:07:18 | More by metter98

UCLABrewN84

California

3.1/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The elusive happoshu tick is finally here!

Pours a clear dark copper color with a fizzy 1/2 inch tan head that quickly fades to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly slide into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of grain, caramel, and some slight sweet potato and vegetal aromas. Taste is very sweet and is of grain, caramel, and burnt sweet potato/vegetal flavors. There is a weird herbal/medicinal bitterness that lingers on the tongue after each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with only a very slight crispness. Overall, this is a very interesting beer. It tastes better than it smells but the aftertaste has a very odd burnt vegetable flavor that is kind of gross.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 07:50:49 | More by UCLABrewN84

shigg85

Japan

3.98/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bought a bottle of this from the Maruhiro department store in Saitama, Japan. Poured into a Suntory Premium Malts modest tulip glass. Creates a wonderful yellow custard hued head and releases a noticeable fragrant aroma of hops and sugar. This beer is partially made from sweet potato, so that sugary flavor definitely comes out (in a pleasant way) that almost seems chocolatey. With a relatively strong ABV and a sweet aftertaste, this is a great after-dinner brew. On the same note, I wouldn't probably have this with a meal, but definitely went well with the strawberries I was eating at the same time. This is my favorite of the Coedo brewery, and I would recommend it as a regular beer if you can find it.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2012 14:02:52 | More by shigg85

JRod1969

New York

3/5  rDev -10.4%

01-10-2012 20:17:58 | More by JRod1969

Wowcoolman

California

3.48/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Categorized as a Happoshu, this style may unfortunately draw negative criticism for its similarity in definition to American Adjunct Lager. The "adjunct" in this case is roasted sweet potato, and its nose and especially the palette carry a yam-like quality.
The color is a beautiful amber and I picked up sweet, sake-like aromas. The alcohol is 7% here. I'd have liked a little more bitterness in the finish, more hops would balance the fruity qualities from the sweet potatoes. Try bringing this unique beer to a Thanksgiving dinner, it should fit right in.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2011 22:08:43 | More by Wowcoolman