Beer brewed with rice may sound a little odd, but Eastern cultures have been brewing with rice for thousands of years (probably) so it's a well-established practice that Lymestone are bringing to the West.
Along with flaked rice, this brew also champions Sorachi Ace hops which were first grown for Japan's oldest brewery Sapporo, named after a town in Hokkaido and founded in 1876.
The hops have gained international renown for imparting a citrus lemon flavour into beers they're made with, making it a popular hop for IPAs that need strong flavours to combat the bitterness.
The colour is delightful and there's a grainy aroma with just a touch of citrus to hit, but it's not the big citrus hit I was expecting it to be. The body of the beer is light and smooth, with a thin texture that follows suit and makes it very easy-drinking.
The flavours are a bit of a let-down, with bitterness being the main flavour from the hops and not too much else that's obvious to combat it. I was expecting a lot more citrus flavours, but the lack of them makes it quite one-dimensional.
The bitterness combined with a coppery aftertaste leaves a literal bitter taste in the mouth, which isn't altogether a bad thing but with no other flavours to compliment the bitterness or add to the profile of the beer, it's a bit of a flop.
Bringing an oriental twist to their usual plainer-style bottle designs, Tamaishi adds the rising sun to their label for this one which along with the arches and the dragon (which looks more like a Chinese dragon but who am I to judge) making it clear which part of the world this beer is in refrence to.
The cap is bright yellow which makes it stick out along with the brighter greens, reds and blues on the design. Out of all the Lymestone Brewery beers we got, this was the first one I picked up out of the bunch.
As with all Lymestone's beers you can get this in slabs of 24 for £27.40 - £2.29 a bottle - which for a taste of the orient is actually very cheap.
