Japanese Beer at the Fatty Crab - 1/21/2010

Eitan: So I am getting to snobbish/bratty about beer. I kind of get annoyed at places that don't have some fun beer choices and that overcharge for cheep beer. I feel like if I go out and have one beer that it should be something I haven't tried yet or haven't had in a long time. Last night I had dinner at the Fatty Crab in the West Village, I'd say this is a Malaysian/euro fusion place. The beer selection was "meh" but they had some Hitachino beers. I've had several, but the one that I haven't had was the Real Ginger Ale. What I really like about having a Hitachino is the little beer glass you pour the beer in.

It's funny how excited I was to try this beer, simply because it come in a different glass. It poured a nice amber color, some fizzy tan colored head. It had slight head retention and a small amount of lacing. Even with "Ginger" in the name the smell and taste were unexpected. It had a tartsmell, not a bad smell, it was more like the smell of a nice sour lambic or champagne with a mix of sour apples. The taste was similar to the smell. At first it was nice and tart, but then it hits with a nice amount of ginger spiciness. After the beer sits in the glass for a bit it opens up very well, the mixture of ginger and tart fruits is perfect. There was also a nice presence of tart fruits like sour apples and white grapes. It has a light body, light  carbonation and nice dry finish.
The Hitachino beers are always very interesting, this beer was no different. I was a bit skeptical to try ginger beer, but I am glad I did. I would definitely be having this one again.