Over the summer, one of the latest in the Zupan’s Markets Farm to Market beer collaborations, a Japanese-style Lager with Portland’s Living Häus Beer, was released to the specialty grocery chain’s stores. It was the 29th beer in the series, in which Zupan’s partners with regional breweries to brew various beers exclusively available in the Zupan’s various markets.

This Living Häus beer is 5.2% alcohol by volume, and the description from the press release reads:

Light and crisp with floral and berry notes, the Japanese Style Lager offers a refreshing palate-cleansing finish.  Traditionally, Japanese lagers feature a high amount of flaked rice (about 20% in this case). This less fermentable rice creates a light, lower alcohol beer with a crisp body and clean finish.

The Living Häus Beer Co Japanese Style Lager is light straw yellow with a fluffy white head, and is made with Tettnang hops and Pilsner Malt. The result is a light bready aroma with notes of slightly fruity hops to the nose.

I received a couple of cans of this beer to review, and my notes are below. In general I found this to be an excellent beer style for summer.

Appearance: Pale golden color, nice clarity, good carbonation feeding a crisp white head.

Smell: Floral notes of jasmine, golden raspberry, with a bit of herbal hop spice. Light malt, a touch of grain dust.

Taste: Dry and fruity (berries) with a nice bitterness against a crisp, clean grain that’s a bit of Rice Krispies, or Rice Chex cereal. Ultra light with an herbal, lightly fruity finish.

Mouthfeel: Super dry and quite clean—despite the fruitiness (hops) the fermentation profile is spot on and has no off characteristics. Crisp finish.

Overall: Quite good, super refreshing, an excellent example of the craft and the take on this style. Think Asahi Super Dry.