Echigo Stout - Uehara Shuzou Co. Ltd. / Echigo Beer Pub

Rumrunner

California

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured in to a pint glass.

A very nice offering. If I am ever in Japan this will be a beer I will seek out.

Pours a nice dark brown. A decent frothy beige head with some lacing down the glass. Scents are nutty with chocolate, some mild coffee and anise. The scents are not over powering but blend nicely on the nose.

Flavors have a mild burnt quality to them. Some dark chocolate, a bit of coffee and a slight hazel nut to provide some sweetness. There is a mild bitter hop bite but the malts really take command. There is no alcohol burn. It is well hidden. The flavors control themselves and blend well together.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied. Nothing too heavy. Very smooth and enjoyable. It drinks easily and one could drink a few in a session. This stout would go well with a chocolate dessert in my opinion. A very well thought out stout.

Serving type: can

04-14-2005 06:20:17 | More by Rumrunner

SNA_A_PLUS

Korea (South)

4.5/5  rDev +20.6%

05-20-2013 07:04:31 | More by SNA_A_PLUS

laituegonflable

Australia

2.85/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Purchased at some wholefoods-type store in central Hong Kong, muled back to Australia for sharing.

Pours a deep, dark reddish-brown colour. Head is beige, nice and frothy when poured, sinks to a thinnish film but leaves a decent sheet of lacing behind. Fairly decent, could be darker.

Smells a little bit roasty, quite sweet but largely dry, with hints of espresso, molasses and licorice. Slight grainy, almost adjuncty sweetness floats over the top, which is unfortunate; the roasty notes that are there should be more prominent.

Taste is unfortunately sweet, and a bit segmented and detached. Lots of flavours coming through individually without a good coherence. Sweet grain, carob, espresso and char, with some vanilla notes and aniseed and black pepper. Put in a logical order, these flavours may have played out to great effect, but it's confused, and finishes very astringently while the predominant flavour is that carob.

Not a lot of body to it; goes down with a smoothness but I really want more substance.

From the brewery that brought me Echigo Pilsener and rice lager, this is an improvement, but for a 6+% stout it's disappointing.

Serving type: can

04-07-2013 12:02:28 | More by laituegonflable

Hardcore

Hawaii

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

04-01-2013 20:55:32 | More by Hardcore

BeerOps

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

03-31-2013 02:05:27 | More by BeerOps

TappaKeggaBrew

Ohio

3.69/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured a dark red-brown, and clear (I know because it let enough light through to show me). The head was a half-finger of light brown foam; it might have been thicker if the waitress had been a little bit more aggressive with the pouring.

S: Heavily-toasted grain is the strongest aroma. I think I detect some tamarind or another fruit in the background as well.

T: Tangy burnt malts and sweet molasses are the first and foremost flavors. The taste becomes a little acrid with some late bitterness, but it doesn't linger long on the tongue. The flavors are enjoyable, but not complex.

M: Crisp, refreshing, and decently carbonated, but not as thick as I'd expect from a stout.

O: Is there such a thing as a "light imperial stout?" Although the flavors where there, the intensity was much closer to a middle-of-the-road porter. That's not to say it was bad -- it paired nicely with sushi without stealing the attention from the food. I'd order it again, but only at a Japanese restaurant; there are many better stouts to drink as stand-alones.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 19:24:35 | More by TappaKeggaBrew

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

02-14-2013 23:05:13 | More by RedneckBeerz

schopenhauerale

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%

01-30-2013 07:41:45 | More by schopenhauerale

cyrushire

Florida

2.75/5  rDev -26.3%

01-24-2013 07:37:10 | More by cyrushire

ChrisKayler

Virginia

2.5/5  rDev -33%

01-13-2013 21:13:43 | More by ChrisKayler

JellyJacket

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

01-04-2013 06:49:58 | More by JellyJacket

jmodus

4.25/5  rDev +13.9%

10-05-2012 22:15:12 | More by jmodus

bh123

California

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

08-01-2012 04:32:54 | More by bh123

Birdlegs

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

07-12-2012 05:14:48 | More by Birdlegs

htomsirveaux

Texas

3/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

330 mL bottle tried 24 Nov 2011. Served in the 0.4 L Ulmer Munster snifter.

Very small tan head. Medium carbonation. Very dark brown in color with ruby highlights. Light aroma of molasses and ethanol. Starts with burnt dark malts. Some molasses. Bold but not particularly strong flavors. Medium body, warming ethanol. Molasses and burnt sugar dominate. Slightly acrid aftertaste.

Fairly average, on the lighter side for an imperial stout.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 16:40:18 | More by htomsirveaux

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a bottle at Samurai Mama in Brooklyn, NY

A: Pours a very dark amber to black in color (almost black) with some reddish hints when held up to the light. The beer has a very thin light beige head that reduces to a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light lacing is observed.

S: Aroma is very light with some hints of dark roasted malts.

T: Starts with some dark roasted malts which is the dominant flavor and then there is some light bitterness in the finish.

M: Slightly heavier than medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly dry in the finish.

O: One of the better Japanese stouts that I have ever tried and pairs very nicely with the earthy flavors of udon soup. Easy to drink and sessionable with the lower than average ABV for the style. Definitely enjoyable and worth a second try.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 15:14:41 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

3.53/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle at Samurai Mama, Brooklyn, NY

A: The beer is close to being jet black but has a very dark amber appearance when held up to the light. It poured with a few bubbles on the surface and a thin ring around the edge of the glass.
S: There are faint aromas of dark roasted malts in the nose.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell, but has stronger flavors of dark roasted malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a bit watery on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a little dryness in the finish.
O: The beer is extremely easy to drink for the style and is a nice pairing with udon noodles.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 02:12:10 | More by metter98

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.1/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Can brought back from Hong Kong by @LaitueGonflable.

Pours a pleasantly dark, but relatively translucent red-black colour, with a nice fine head of mocha brown. Some lacing sits clearly around the edges of the glass. Body is quite liquid, surprisingly, keeping it fluid and dynamic. Not bad.

Nose is dim and slightly roasted, with a twinge of sweetness, and a rattling dark grain character, like the last coffee bean stuck in the grinder. There's also a hint of unpleasantness to it, something a little like rubbish heaped in a back alley, or leftover rice meal. It rather puts me off the taste.

Taste is thick with molasses and burnt coffee, giving a sweet, husky, crispened flavour, which works nicely against the smooth, slightly creamy and foamy mouthfeel. Very little sweetness, but the feel somewhat makes up for that. Finish is actually quite long, again helped by the feel, leaving some bitter grounds flavours on the back. The feel is really quite exceptionally good. While the flavours aren't as complete and full as they could be, there's very little to fault in how it feels in the mouth.

Looks good, smells quite unpleasant, tastes fine (well, OK at least) and feels sublime. A beer of contrasts. Thankyou.

Serving type: can

03-17-2012 01:33:23 | More by lacqueredmouse

oberon

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a deep dark chocolate brown with a sticky 1/2 finger deep tannish colored head that left pretty quickly.Somewhat sweet aromas with caramel dipped fruit and chocolate notes mainly sticking out,roast is there but not real strong.Lighter bodied for the style with dark fruit and unsweetened but not really bitter chocolate flavors,roast creeps as I drank more.More of a sweeter version of the style in my mind,a little light but not all that bad,but for the price I could do better.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 15:39:54 | More by oberon

shigg85

Japan

3.8/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bought a bottle of this from Tanakaya in Mejiro, Tokyo. Poured it into a Baird pint glass. Had a nice dark hue to it with a caramel head that left a cute lacing around the glass. Wonderful scents of caramel, nuts, and hops coming off the top of this, making it a pleasure to drink for all the senses. The taste was spot-on for a dinner of beef or as a dessert beer. However, the mouthfeel was a bit off for me for two reasons: a bit too thin for a stout, and it is a very carbonated beer resulting in excess gas. Overall, this is a tasty beer, but if I were to buy an Echigo brew again, I might prefer their rauch over this stout.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 10:26:35 | More by shigg85

DavidST

Texas

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 33cl bottle into a snifter. This pours a pitch black color with a large mocha colored head. The smells are a little of coco, dark roasted malts and alcohol. The feel is medium to thick. The taste is okay, not quite a RIS but still good, dark roasted malts, coco and a bit of hop bite.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2012 03:45:32 | More by DavidST

johunnic

Illinois

3/5  rDev -19.6%

01-24-2012 18:27:38 | More by johunnic

bonbini26

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7.2%

01-12-2012 18:11:46 | More by bonbini26

Stoffel

Texas

4/5  rDev +7.2%

01-07-2012 04:28:15 | More by Stoffel

hreb

Washington

3.58/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Japanese Premium Import Echigo Stout, by Echigo Beer Co., ltd., of Niigata, Japan. Purchased here in Seattle at Uwajimaya.

330mL longneck poured into pint glass. Beer is nearly pitch black, with just a hint of red, and a thin brown head. Aroma betrays alcohol and roasty malt -- was this oaked?

The barley blackened by roasting. Surprising level of carbonation, and a heavy but watery rather than creamy mouthfeel. Strong, but not as much alcohol on the palate as in the nose. Pretty good and deep if not particularly complex.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2011 04:30:03 | More by hreb