Drink & Dissect: Suntory Craft Select Imperial Stout

Many people have ranted about the Suntory Craft Select series being basically lobotomized versions of the styles they claim to represent. This has especially been the case with their latest offering: 

Suntory Craft Select Imperial Stout

A lot of this stems from the fact it is a measly 6%, so I decided to kick off a new series called Drink & Dissect where I'll analyze a beer side by side with it's BJCP definition.

Let's look at the BJCP definition of an Imperial Stout and break this beer down:

History: Brewed to high gravity and hopping level in England for export to the Baltic States and Russia. Said to be popular with the Russian Imperial Court. Today is even more popular with American craft brewers, who have extended the style with unique American characteristics.

OK so far. Nothing conflicting there.  

History: Well-modified pale malt, with generous quantities of roasted malts and/or grain. May have a complex grain bill using virtually any variety of malt. Any type of hops may be used. Alkaline water balances the abundance of acidic roasted grain in the grist. American or English ale yeast. 

It appears any hops and malts are fine so I guess Suntory remains in the clear.

Vital Statistics:	OG: 1.075 – 1.115
IBUs: 50 – 90	FG: 1.018 – 1.030
SRM: 30 – 40	ABV: 8 – 12%

Now things are getting tricky, 6% is somewhat below the cut off for an Imperial Stout. Even if we go by Imperial simply meaning a ramped up version of a regular Stout the average Suntory beer is 5% so 6% isn't much of a boost and is lower than other past Suntory beers.

Appearance: Color may range from very dark reddish-brown to jet black. Opaque. Deep tan to dark brown head. Generally has a well-formed head, although head retention may be low to moderate. High alcohol and viscosity may be visible in “legs” when beer is swirled in a glass.

Let's take a look, to give this beer it's best chance to impress I decided to use my Spigelau Stout Glass. The color is I'd say on the very dark reddish-brown end of the spectrum, the head is a light beige and it is not opaque. 

The head retention is moderate with it slowly dissipating and leaving some spotty lacing behind. So in terms of the appearance the color is right but it isn't opaque enough while the head is too light in color but has decent head retention/lacing. So 1.5 out of 3 points covered.

Aroma: Rich and complex, with variable amounts of roasted grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hops, and alcohol. The roasted malt character can take on coffee, dark chocolate, or slightly burnt tones and can be light to moderately strong. The malt aroma can be subtle to rich and barleywine-like, depending on the gravity and grain bill. May optionally show a slight specialty malt character (e.g., caramel), but this should only add complexity and not dominate. Fruity esters may be low to moderately strong, and may take on a complex, dark fruit (e.g., plums, prunes, raisins) character. Hop aroma can be very low to quite aggressive, and may contain any hop variety. An alcohol character may be present, but shouldn’t be sharp, hot or solventy. Aged versions may have a slight vinous or port-like quality, but shouldn’t be sour. No diacetyl. The balance can vary with any of the aroma elements taking center stage. Not all possible aromas described need be present; many interpretations are possible. Aging affects the intensity, balance and smoothness of aromatics.

Wow, that is quite an amazing description! The aroma from Suntory's Imperial Stout is most definitely not rich & complex. It has more of a sweet sugary fruitiness. I can see that the fruitiness has a plum like character to it which falls into the style description for fruity esters.

Malt character would be on the subtle side, it's hard to pick out. I could get hints of burnt toast, a smidge of roastiness, a whiff of chocolate but really fruitiness dominates the aroma. Not really what I'm looking for in a purported Imperial Stout and more than the moderately strong from the BJCP guidelines but does match the prominent Fruity Aroma written on the can "フルーティーな香り".

The hop aroma is very low to non-existent but this doesn't conflict with the style guidelines. There's no alcohol character which at 6% I wouldn't expect and thankfully this beer is free of the dreaded diacetyl.

So in this case I'd say it is a miss in terms of the aroma, the things you'd expect in a stout are there but they are not there in the right proportions. 

If you go strictly by the guidelines however I guess it could be considered acceptable "The balance can vary with any of the aroma elements taking center stage. Not all possible aromas described need be present; many interpretations are possible."

Mouthfeel: Full to very full-bodied and chewy, with a velvety, luscious texture (although the body may decline with long conditioning). Gentle smooth warmth from alcohol should be present and noticeable. Should not be syrupy and under-attenuated. Carbonation may be low to moderate, depending on age and conditioning.

This beer has a medium to light body that verges on watery, nah screw it - it is watery. Carbonation is low, there's no smooth warmth from the alcohol, the texture isn't velvety or luscious and it's not chewy. According to the guidelines in this category Suntory Craft Select Imperial Stout fails on every point.

Flavor: Rich, deep, complex and frequently quite intense, with variable amounts of roasted malt/grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hop bitterness and flavor, and alcohol. Medium to aggressively high bitterness. Medium-low to high hop flavor (any variety). Moderate to aggressively high roasted malt/grain flavors can suggest bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, and/or strong coffee. A slightly burnt grain, burnt currant or tarry character may be evident. Fruity esters may be low to intense, and can take on a dark fruit character (raisins, plums, or prunes). Malt backbone can be balanced and supportive to rich and barleywine-like, and may optionally show some supporting caramel, bready or toasty flavors. Alcohol strength should be evident, but not hot, sharp, or solventy. No diacetyl. The palate and finish can vary from relatively dry to moderately sweet, usually with some lingering roastiness, hop bitterness and warming character. The balance and intensity of flavors can be affected by aging, with some flavors becoming more subdued over time and some aged, vinous or port-like qualities developing.

Again this big bold style has a massive description. This beer's flavor isn't rich, complex, deep or intense - it is roasty with a medium bitterness that seems to derive from the malts rather than any hops. I can see some of the roastiness suggesting bittersweet chocolate but there's no coffee, no alcohol, no diacetyl (yay!) but it's got some burnt and fruit notes. 

The finish is moderately sweet and does have lingering roastiness. I'd say Suntory hit about half the points they should have in terms of flavor.

Overall Impression: An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play.

Looking at this category Suntory didn't do too bad: it is roasty, fruity & bittersweet with dark fruit notes. However, anything to do with the Imperial monicker is lacking: no intensity, no tar-like sensation, no alcohol presence and definitely no comparison can be made to a barleywine from this subdued six-percenter.

Comments: Variations exist, with English and American interpretations (predictably, the American versions have more bitterness, roasted character, and finishing hops, while the English varieties reflect a more complex specialty malt character and a more forward ester profile). The wide range of allowable characteristics allow for maximum brewer creativity.

Well I'd guess this would be a Japanese Macro-Brewery variation and while it is tasty enough it is underwhelming to those expecting an Imperial Stout anything like the suggested examples below.

Commercial Examples: Three Floyd’s Dark Lord, Bell’s Expedition Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, Stone Imperial Stout, Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, Scotch Irish Tsarina Katarina Imperial Stout, Thirsty Dog Siberian Night, Deschutes The Abyss, Great Divide Yeti, Southampton Russian Imperial Stout, Rogue Imperial Stout, Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout, Avery The Czar, Founders Imperial Stout, Victory Storm King, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

My main takeaway from this Drink & Dissect experiment is that Suntory Craft Select's Imperial Stout doesn't qualify as an Imperial Stout according to the BJCP guidelines. While some of the necessary qualities are there the low ABV and weak mouthfeel means it should be more properly be a English Porter or possibly an Irish Stout. I'd say it can compare favorably to a Guinness which may be what they were going for. If they'd labeled it a Stout or Porter than there would have been fewer beer geeks in Japan scratching their heads and saying WTF?!?!?!?!!!

All this being said get ready for two new beer releases on December 15th, 2015 in what I assuming is a commercially successful series: IPA and Amber Ale.

For further reading on the Imperial Stout, check out this article from All About Beer here.

Fish Tale Brewing

Fish Tale is a brewery from Olympia, Washington that has recently begun distribution in Japan via Ezo Beer. There seem to be three main series: a Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series, an Organic Series and the regular series. I got a few to try from the regular and Organic series and was lucky enough to have a friend share one of the Hobbit beers as well.

I started off with the Regular series which have cool cartoon like labels and are priced right around 500 yen which is quite reasonable.

Beyond The Pale - Pale Ale 5% 

Less than 500 yen on Rakuten. It pours a cloudy orange-gold with a light beige head. The aroma is classic West Coast hops - pine & fruit - with a good sweet malty base. Medium bodied with a raspy carbonation. The taste is bitter pine, spicy and fruity. A solid pale ale and I loved the label which just screams summer to me.

I then had the Smaug Stout shared by my buddy. The bombers in this series ran closer to the 1500-1800 yen range due to premium for the movie tie-in I guess. This meant I was very happy to get to try it due to a generous soul!

Hobbit: Smaug Stout 8%

A roasty, unami & dark fruits (raisin+plums) plus chocolate syrup. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel. The taste is coffee, roasty, earthy with some chili pepper burn. Really nice. As it warmed up it definitely improved by coming together and melding into a more balanced whole.

Finally, I decided to try their two IPAs side-by-side as I honestly wondered if there was a difference between with the Organic IPA and the Hodgson’s Bitter End IPA.

First up, Organic India Pale Ale 6.5%

The psychedelic hippy label on this doesn't really do it for me but it is a classic IPA copper gold with a solid light beige head of dense foam. The hop bouquet is citrus (lemon, candied grapefruit) & prickly pine that has a very robust malt sweetness supporting it. 

Similar mouthfeel in both beers with a soft round carbonation though the body is medium to light as opposed to the fuller Hodgson's body.

It's got a more balanced flavor profile that features more fruitiness and malt than the Hodgson's and that is a definite plus for me. The finish is a nice little bitter hop kick with a pine & mint bite. I enjoyed this one.

Hodgson's Bitter End IPA 6.5%

The label makes this more attractive right off the bat which is why I've seen the regular series in more shops I believe. I would say it pours a slightly deeper copper gold than the Organic IPA and is a bit more opaque.

The aroma is maltier, fruitier with less of a bitting hop bitterness to it - definitely less pine notes. Medium to full bodied with a soft round carbonation makes for a pleasant mouthfeel.

Wow, this is bitter. The malts provide sweetness but I don't get any fruity hop character, it's like licking a pine cone or what I imagine drinking pine sap tea would be like. Decent malt kick in the finish. I get more of a pale ale than IPA feel from it but it's an old school pine bomb - if you enjoy that kind of thing you'll like this.

I'd say that these are definitely different beers but subtly so and overall I prefer the Organic IPA which is more my cup of tea. 

Final thoughts on Fish Tale in Japan:

A decent brewery at the right price.

Tuesday Tasting: Usami Brewery

I ordered a 4 beer Tameshi-kurabe Set(try & compare set) directly from the brewery and got it less than a week after placing my order.

It included 4 beers: an Alt, a Golden Ale, a Kölsch & a Stout.

Usami Brewery is from the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka home of many breweries taking advantage of clean water and plentiful land. The best known brewery in the area is Baird Beer.

Donau Pale Lager 3.5%

It pours a light cloudy gold with a fizzy white quickly dissipating head of foam. The aroma is a green herbal/grassy hoppiness and a light pilsner malt character. The taste is really green hops, grassy and a flatbread breadiness from the malts. Light bodied but with an ultra-dry finish. A nice clean Japanese table beer.

Rhein Alt 5% 

It pours a very clear reddish-brown with minimal beige foam. The aroma is malt-forward giving you notes of caramel & dried figs/dates. Chocolate, tart caramel, a bit of smoke. Light bodied but a fairly tasty beer though I feel that sour/tart flavor doesn't really seem appropriate for an alt. After awhile that sourness fades and I get maple/tobacco notes. Pretty good.

Gold Kolsch 4.5%


Served in my kolsch glass at home, it impressed with it's vivid gold and thick dense head of foam that left big soapy lacing behind. The aroma is floral then a hayloft type of graininess with subtle hits of a tangy fruitiness around the edges. I was pleasantly surprised as I wasn't expecting all that much from this beer. 

Aqueously light bodied with a silky mouthfeel as the beer glides down my throat. The taste is extremely mild hop fruit notes but predominately the hops come through as herbal/spicy - light but deftly done. Sweet grainy breadiness like a dense loaf of good stuff with a semi-dry finish. Maybe after a long day I just needed a beer or something but this really hit the spot.

Usami Thames Stout 5%

I cracked out my stout glass for this one. It pours a deep brown with a thick beige head that alas leaves no lacing behind. The stout glass concentrates the aroma which gives me a bready cinnamon type yeastiness, sugar plums and chocolate buns. Not bad just not at all what I'd expect from a stout. Light bodied edging towards watery.

The taste is sweet roasty chocolate and light spiciness. This is an odd stout, call it a Christmas beer and you'd have a winner. It definitely grew on me as it warmed up but I'd like more body on a dark beer.

Surprisingly enough, not long after my order I took another look at their homepage and they'd added three more beers: Usami Golden Ale (which I believe is the same as the Gold/Kolsch), Curry Amber Ale (different from the Alt?) and a Saison. 

Judging from the fact that there had been only 4 entries on Ratebeer for this brewery for years and suddenly they're brewing new recipes I am guess they've decided to change directions and take brewing more seriously. If so, good for them and I wish them all the best. This was a decent little tasting set.