Here's to Beer! Made in Japan

When you think about beer from Japan, most people will have a knee jerk response of either Asahi or Sapporo. While these are nice enough beers, there is another side to Japanese beers that I feel bears exploration.

There are some nicely done dark beers from Japan that are more complex and malty than the dry light lagers that the country seems to be most known for. And should you feel that Japanese beer has nothing to do with Seattle, consider that the estimated nine thousand or so Japanese residents of Seattle make up one of the largest ethnic minorities in the city. Our fellow Ring of Fire residents across the Pacific can throw down with some nice beers.

I tasted three examples of dark Japanese beers: Echigo Stout, from Nigata, Coedo Shikkoku from Saitama, and Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout by the Kuichi Brewery of Ibaraki.

The Echigo Stout was a rather light take on a stout that could even be considered sessionable by most people’s standards. Typical stout flavors such as coffee and cocoa were present, and the light body was the distinguishing feature.

The Coedo Shikkoku is a Schwarzbier (black beer) that has a big malt profile. Coffee, caramel, black tea, and licorice all manifested in this highly drinkable beer.

The Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout was my clear favorite in the group. It shows a very complex malt profile, with flavors of espresso, cocoa nibs, baking spice such as clove and cinnamon, and bitter caramel. It has a long finish that keeps hitting you with those malt flavors, as well as a pleasantly dry hop bitterness. It’s an excellent beer that stout lovers will enjoy for sure.

Now let’s talk food pairing. When you think Japanese food the first thing likely to jump to mind is sushi. Beers such as Asahi or Sapporo are natural companions to sushi in that they have light flavor and dryness that matches the delicate flavor of raw fish quite well. However, for these darker beers, we need some more aggressive flavor to match up. I recommend Japanese noodle dishes with these beers, particularly Yakisoba or Ramen. The reason is that these foods are high in Umami (savory) flavor, which is a fine counterpoint to the rich malty sweetness that is present in these beers. Also, in the case of Yakisoba sauce, there is a caramelized sugar component to the sauce that is an excellent match with the roasted flavors of darker malts. Try the pairing and you will see what I mean.

These beers can be found at Uwajimaya, or at your local bottle shop. Cheers!

Rich Coffey is a chef and Certified Cicerone. Find out more about him here.