Yona Yona Ale - Yo-Ho Brewing Company

hreb

Washington

3.33/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

350mL heavyweight aluminum can served cold in pint glass. Beer pours an alarmingly hazy pale orange amber. I was expecting a pale ale (not that I can read any of the Japanese on the can) but this thing is seriously cloudy. Tiny white head. Intense citrus hop aroma. Aroma could be worthy of an IPA, actually.

Although the aroma is beta-acid hop forward, the flavor is much more mellow. Slightly sweet, and hopped like a non-India pale ale. Hops are more than balanced out by some non-descript malt flavors more, leaving a result somewhat short of dry.

Enjoyable, especially given it's less than pleasant (to me) appearance in the glass. I picked this up today at uwajimaya in Seattle today because I noticed that when I picked up the same brewery's porter ("Tokyo Black") I had really enjoyed it, at least according to my BA review. This is decent but unlike the porter it doesn't justify the $4.39 / not-even-12oz sticker price.

Serving type: can

10-08-2012 04:07:30 | More by hreb

TokyoCO

Colorado

4.04/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Can, poured into a goblet.

A: Golden color, slightly hazy. Relatively small head, only the lacing stuck around.

S: Citrus! Hops are present but not overwhelming. Grapefruit, orange, smells really stand out.

T: Grapefruit/citrus hits right away, Hops become more prominent, but are well balanced by the malts. Finish is dominated by malty/bready flavors.

M: Slightly creamy, malty mouthfeel.

O: Interesting pale ale. Smell seems to be hop/citrus dominated but the malts really stand out in the taste. I like it, different than your standard APA.

Serving type: can

05-14-2013 03:29:46 | More by TokyoCO

gnikola

Serbia

4.75/5  rDev +21.8%

04-14-2013 12:46:01 | More by gnikola

Poupae

Thailand

4/5  rDev +2.6%

04-08-2013 15:08:47 | More by Poupae

t0rin0

California

3/5  rDev -23.1%

03-07-2013 15:02:25 | More by t0rin0

weerezboy

Washington

4/5  rDev +2.6%

03-06-2013 21:43:55 | More by weerezboy

John_Henry

Japan

3.19/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.5

A. Slightly orange tint, clear, with good head.

S. Not bad, slight citrusy hop note, I would say Cascade.

T. Pretty good, fairly balanced, but plenty of citrusy hop character.

M. Fine, nothing of note, slightly over carbonated for my taste, but that's being very picky to be fair.

O. One of the better Japanese craft brews readily available that I keep returning to, though not a patch on their Barley wine, and real ale. My personal favourite Japanese craft brewer, but not their best offering, still good though.

A little edit as of the 5th of March. Got another can in front of me and am surprised at how different this is to the one I had the other day. Still noticeable citrus/orange peel notes in the taste, but overall a lot smoother and more mellow on the hops. A bit more like their real ale, which is a plus for me. This now being closer to an English Ale, with American hop, Japanese touch twist.

Serving type: can

02-24-2013 00:59:49 | More by John_Henry

FalconA

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -10.3%

02-08-2013 02:12:25 | More by FalconA

intoxabroad

British Columbia (Canada)

4/5  rDev +2.6%

01-26-2013 11:33:32 | More by intoxabroad

pin

Australia

3.5/5  rDev -10.3%

01-14-2013 01:35:53 | More by pin

mrskin

Japan

4/5  rDev +2.6%

12-11-2012 11:12:38 | More by mrskin

YamagamiTravis

Japan

4/5  rDev +2.6%

11-26-2012 14:01:14 | More by YamagamiTravis

007Tokyo

4/5  rDev +2.6%

11-08-2012 12:04:08 | More by 007Tokyo

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Color is golden amber and crisp clean. Decent head at pour and lingers to a pencil eraser thickness around the rim of the glass. Smell is very balanced - some mid based hops leaning to grassy with malts leaning towards brown sugar and candy. Flavor is also nicely balanced but oddly milder than the nose. Still a nice beer.

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2012 14:28:48 | More by Oakenator

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.2/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours deep amber with a large, lasting head.
Nose shows soft piny hops and a bit of grapefruit. Also some soft caramel.
Flavours are somewhat similar but include some bready malt and less hops.
A bit over-carbed really.
Fine but nothing too impressive.

Serving type: can

09-18-2012 06:41:32 | More by CrazyDavros

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a pleasant drinker. The spice tones of the hops are there, but a citrus and sweet kind of thing really speaks loudest. There is a subdued and smooth fruity edge that really dominates this beer, but it doesn't really get obnoxious or silly. Again from this brewery, a very easy drinker. Too easy. This beer is almost done and I'm nearly unhappy. I wish I had more and will probably have to do something about it. Price be damned.

Serving type: can

08-05-2012 23:10:55 | More by RblWthACoz

bsuedekum

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev -10.3%

05-30-2012 03:44:03 | More by bsuedekum

shivtim

Georgia

3.13/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Found a can at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market.

Poured into a pint.
Golden orange. Slight ring of white head.

Nose is decent. Sweet grains, slight alcohol. More sweetness in the malts, and a slight hoppy hint.

Taste is similar to the nose, but milder. Tinge of metal and alcohol on the end.

Decent overall.

Serving type: can

05-23-2012 00:19:15 | More by shivtim

Offa

California

3.85/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Copper, big off-white head steadily shrinks to thin foamy top & some weak lace.

Aroma is grapefruit, pine, juicy orange/pineapple, hint of “cat pee.” It’s full-bodied bu fairly sublte and light.

Taste is light mineral, herbal citrus, yeasty juiciness with faint raisin, bark,dry bread. It has light bitterness. Overall, it is lightly juicy, minerally, yeasty, with a rather light character but with some hints of complexity and nice balance, with nice lingering aftertaste.

Serving type: can

05-10-2012 00:39:39 | More by Offa

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a slightly hazy golden orange in color with light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a half finger tall off-white head that quickly reduces to an extremely thin layer over a majority of the surface of the beer, a thicker patch, and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant lacing is observed.

S: This beer has the aroma of pale malts with a light presence of a fruity yeast. There is also a pretty solid aroma of citrus hops.

T: The flavor really follows the aroma with a nice malty body made up of both pale and bready malts. There is a pleasant amount of bitterness that is contributed by the citrus hops. There is a very light hint of pine hops as well.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth and slightly creamy.

O: Very easy to drink and enjoyable. The beer has a low enough ABV and pleasant enough flavor to easily be a session beer. It is very well balanced with enough complexity to be interesting. Definitely one to have again.

Serving type: can

04-13-2012 00:51:14 | More by dbrauneis

ggourde

Missouri

4.75/5  rDev +21.8%

03-28-2012 06:15:04 | More by ggourde

GuidedByVoices

Japan

3.5/5  rDev -10.3%

03-25-2012 12:01:38 | More by GuidedByVoices

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce can - $4.49 at Hop City in Atlanta, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours out a clouded, medium-dark amber body with a sudsy, ivory-hued head. Light lacing as it goes.

Smell: Lightly sweet-scented biscuity-toned malts with a glaze of amber honey and chiefly orangey hops.

Taste: Bready, biscuity malts with a fair amount of honeyed sweetness, though it joins some floral accents for a taste of honeysuckle. Sweet orange, slight lemon from the hops, but a bit of herb pushed into the background. Modestly bitter, leaving it to finish out faintly sweet.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation.

Overall: Refreshing, pleasant, though rather cost-prohibitive for regular consumption at nearly five bucks a can (but still pleasant to try).

Serving type: can

03-20-2012 16:46:26 | More by ChainGangGuy

davepuchta

New York

3.53/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I figured I would review a beer on St. Patrick's Day that couldn't be any less Irish. So, I picked the Yona Yona Ale. I came across this beer while browsing the coolers at Top Hops in NYC. I was drawn in by the drawn in by the simple and somewhat rudimentary design of the can. It resembled what I would think beer cans of 1950's America would look like. If this can design is reflective of the stage in which Japanese craft brewing is; then Japan has had a quite auspicious beginning.
I poured the Yona Yona from it's can into a deep glass snifter. It flowed out a deep and rich bronze, with glimpses of bright orange.
On the nose, I smelled a full aroma of balanced toasty malt and crisp hopping. The malt had a bit of the upper hand here and that would be appropriate to the style.
Upon sipping, the texture comes out as being only slightly viscous. The fine carbonation did it's job in gracefully cutting any cloying feel.
The flavor was about what I would expect in a beer of this style. It was a touch on the sticky sweet side. There were notes of toffee, earthy hops, and a metallic edge.
The Yona Yona is a nice beer. It does not have the fortitude of it's currently made American counterparts or refinement of it's legendary English models, but it does have promise. It succeeds in making me want to try more of their portfolio. Well done Yona Yona, well done.

Serving type: can

03-18-2012 00:15:40 | More by davepuchta

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.23/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours an attractive clear dark amber. I couldn’t get much of a head, though. Crisp aroma is malty with a fruity note that seems to be equal parts pear and plum. Flavor is mainly malty and has a fruity undertone - I caught a hint of plum and a touch of pear. Texture is smooth with average body and fizz, but still enjoyable. Had at a good sushi bar in Atlanta - not world class, but still worthy if you happen to spot it.

Serving type: can

03-16-2012 01:43:57 | More by Cyberkedi