Stick around craft beer long enough and you’ll find certain fruits get a lot of play.
It’s probably a matter of seconds to find a beer that has orange, lime, or mango somewhere in your vicinity. Blueberry and raspberry aren’t exactly hard to find either.
Other fruits, however, are a little bit harder to locate. I just tried a huckleberry beer not too long ago, and I can’t recall the last papaya beer I’ve seen.
Somewhere a little bit north of never is the Yuzu. This East Asian fruit looks like a cross between an orange, lemon, and grapefruit, and has a flavor closer to grapefruit, lime, and blood orange. It imparts a light citrus quality that is refreshing, but still just a bit different.
It’s definitely more likely to be seen when you look at most East Asian cuisines than anything else, making the fruit a perfect fit for KYU in Wynwood. KYU is Asian-inspired, wood-fired, really delectible-looking, and located in Miami, NYC, and Mexico City.
And because they’re in Wynwood, beer is almost a necessity. KYU decided to drive a bit north to visit Corey Artanis and his team at 3 Sons Brewing in Dania Beach, who decided to take that delicious yuzu and pair it with a rice lager, making KYUZU (Rice Lager, 4.8% ABV).
Crystal clear and light golden in color, the aroma bounces between a light and crispy malt bill with a muted, slightly bitter lemon quality to it.
The flavor you get doesn’t bring a ton of rice sweetness that I have seen in other rice lagers. Instead, it lets the yuzu go crazy. It brings in some of the bitterness, and also some of the sweet tang, of that fruit to the fore.
As an idea, give it maybe 50% of a grapefruit’s bitterness, 25% of a lemon’s tartness, just a touch of lime sweetness, and let a cereal malt take the rest. This is relatively close to what it tastes like.
It is exceptionally refreshing though, and it’s refreshing to see other non-standard fruits being used.
And now i have a new restaurant to check out.
Drink Florida Craft,
Dave
@floridabeerblog
floridabeerblog@gmail.com
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