Iwate Kura Red Ale

The second of two Japanese craft beers that my buddy Graz grabbed from the World Beer Cup this past week. The first (the Minoh DIPA) was a bit of bust IMO. But this one? Thumbs up.

I first had the Iwate Kura stuff in Tokyo a few weeks ago -- their IPA is excellent! But I was a little leery of this one: I've had seemingly dozens of a shitty too-much-Crystal-Malt Red Ales from American brewers that should know better. Can a Japanese outfit that has been making Sake for decades -- but only brewing the past few years -- make a decent Red Ale?

The answer is "Yes, yes they can".

Comparing "X-beer" with "Y-beer" is the lazy man's way of reviewing. But really? In this case, there's no getting around that this reminds me ALOT of Pizza Port's Sharkbite Red Ale. Darker than the norm, lots of semi-roasty maltiness, with only a modicum of sweetness to the whole affair.

Hops? You betcha. The brewer's website says that this is meant to be a Scottish-style Ale. But in my mind, this is definitely a PacNW-inspired brew. Reminiscent of what Grant's was doing some ten years ago.

A nice beer, from an outfit that has yet to disappoint me. I hope I can get some more of their stuff sometime in the next two-and-a-half weeks....
//TB