After spending the past six months sampling some of the finest beers brewed on the European continent, this month's offering highlights one of the best beers available from Japan, Sapporo Reserve. Drinking this beer you would swear you were drinking a full malt European lager; it's that good.
This is because the ingredients of Sapporo Reserve are very European, although in addition to European barley, a unique Japanese NIJO barley malt is also used, along with German and Czech hops.
Reserve is also one of the few Japanese beers brewed to the German Purity Law with only barley, hops, yeast and water; no corn or rice are used as adjuncts. The results are quite special.
Rarely would I comment about a beer's label or package but Reserve is in a class by itself in this regard. This beer is only sold in stainless steel 22-oz.cans, definitely the most attractive can available. Tall, silver and gold, with beautiful facets which make it stand out on the shelf.
{INSERT_RELATED}Reserve pours into the glass with a rich golden color, crystal clear. The beautiful white head climbs to the top of the glass ... simply dazzling. This beer has a full malt flavor which is so well balanced, the hop aroma is somewhat reserved, but I think that is more of a function of the fullness of the malt character, than the lack of hop aroma.
But this beer flows well on the palate, almost perfectly. It is smooth, with a fullness in the body and a rich aftertaste that is simply satisfying. The folks at Sapporo say that this beer is brewed twice as long as their other beers. I'm certain this is why Sapporo Reserve tastes the way it does, so clean and full.
Sapporo Reserve is an unpasteurized beer which uses ceramic cold filtration to stabilize the product. Sapporo is Japan's oldest brewery and has been brewing beer since 1876. Although the can states malt liquor, Sapporo reserve has an average alcohol content of 5.2% by volume. The price as sampled for a 22 oz can is $2.29. Next month we head back to Europe, to discover a wonderful beer brewed in Poland. Sayonara.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
