Sapporo Reserve

Sapporo Brewing Co.
Tokyo, Japan
Imported by Sapporo USA
Danielsville, PA

Available: nationwide

Sapporo, the oldest continuously operating brewery in Japan, was founded in 1876 on the northern island of Hokkaido.

ABV: 5.2
ABW: n/a
Color: n/a
Bitterness: n/a
Original gravity: n/a

It is wonderful to taste the only Japanese beer in America, instead of those Canadian-brewed Japanese beers labeled “Imported.” The color and aromatics are quite pleasing, and the beer is very well done, a fine representative of this style. I found it refreshing and well balanced--thirst quenching on a hot day, and all malt, too! Nice effort, Sapporo; so much better than the usual swill of this type (malt liquor) found in the market place. I look forward to trying it with sushi.
- Fred Eckhardt

The beer pours from its cool can with a fine bright gold color and fairly sturdy white head. The aromatics are nice, full malt with a light hop overlay. On the palate, the beer is impressively hoppy up front, giving way to a medium-bodied, full-flavored malt center and a clean, snappy finish. There’s a slight metallic twang in the aftertaste. The bitterness of this beer needs more focus--the hops are gutsy, but broad and tongue-coating. Other than that, it’s really very good. Pilsner or Export? The latter I’d say. Miles ahead of wan international Euro-pilsners like Stella.
- Garrett Oliver

Individuality excites me more than perfection, but the latter is what Sapporo tends to deliver: impeccably clean and beautifully balanced beers, with fresh (but never assertive) malt and hop aromas and flavors. This one has a dryish, camomile-like hop aroma (Saaz?), with a suggestion of fresh yeast; a rounded maltiness; and a good, clean bitterness. There is a touch of warming alcohol in the finish. This must be a strongish beer, as it is labelled (presumably for legal reasons) Malt Liquor. Too well-bred to bear such a silly soubriquet.
- Michael Jackson

Fred Eckhardt
Fred Eckhardt lives, writes about and drinks beer in Portland, OR. He is the author of The Essentials of Beer Style and Saké.

Garrett Oliver
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.

Michael Jackson
Author of Ultimate Beer, the Simon & Schuster Guide to Beer and numerous other works on drinks, Jackson has created legions of converts to fine beer.