Japanese special brews. JPL and IPA by Kirin brewery.

Hello, #beersaturday fellows, and hello, #non-beersaturday fellows! How are you going? Already missed me? I’m sorry that I dropped last week’s contest, but I upvoted it with 100% vote weight. Have you done so? This contest is the best I’ve ever joined and we must say a big THANK YOU to @detlev for all his work here. It’s a pity, that this contest doesn’t have so many posts in the past weeks. But the summer holidays are slowly, but surely fading away and it’s time to prepare our posts. And here we go.

A brief pre-story:
A good friend of mine from Japan recently visited Bulgaria and she surely enjoyed a great time here. Knowing my passion about beers and brewing, she got me a present, that I would definitely enjoy the most from all among my friends. Yup... she got me 2 beers, and not very ordinary beers. Either not very special, but still a good choice. I have the ultimate pleasure to enjoy the JPL and the IPA from the Kirin brewery and these beers are from the premium collection of Kirin, named GRAND KIRIN.

Actually I have tried the IPA (for sure) and the JPL (maybe) during my last visit to Japan, but they were only in glass bottles, when I bought them. Could the cans be better than the glass bottles? Theoretically yes. The hops “hate” sunlight in any form.
And when I tried them in Japan, I was not really impressed by this “premium” lineup.

And what about this time?

First I decided to begin with the JPL (Japanese Pale Lager?) for being a bit less hoppy probably. If the IPA has a lot of hops, then tasting the IPA will be a lot more difficult.

I kinda like the reflections of the beers on the table. Something, that I spotted when processing the photos.

Here is where I have to tell, that I was quite pleasantly surprised by this beer. If it is due the cans, or due to change in the brewing process and ingredients, I really don’t know, but this beer surpassed my expectations a lot. A distinctive hoppy aroma and taste, maybe ruled by fruity and traditional hops. A moderate bitterness and somewhat mid-ranged body. A lot of malt character. Wow, this one was good. Maybe not the ideal summer beer, because this maltiness brings me the spirit of the Autumn. But we are almost in September already. Perfect!

Now to the IPA (India Pale Ale for sure.)

Ah! These reflections...

The IPA was even better for in my opinion. I really cannot remember this beer to leave such a great impression on me, when I had it in Japan. Then, it even did not keep the head. No head retention at all. This time... the foam stayed just till the last sip. And the aroma... more towards the citrussy mores, than the traditional and fruity ones. Of course, not even close to the perfection of the Stone IPA, but... let’s have in mind, that this is a lot cheaper beer, from a commercial brewery (well, the Stone is maybe on the borderline of the commercialness), and this IPA surprised me in a great manner.
Still, bearing a malty character, a bit dryer than the JPL, and lacking some bitterness, but it carries for sure a great flavor.

Am I happy with this present from Japan? Yes, for sure!
Am I pleasantly surprised? Hell, yeah!
Will I buy them when I go in Japan after three weeks? Of course.
Am I gonna share some more photos of the beers? Here they are:

Cheers, fellows! And have a nice #beersaturday.