Luke Pernotto

Yo-Ho Brewing company is located in Karuizawa Nagano, Japan. A relatively young brewery having been founded in 1996 Keiji Hoshino. His goal was to produce more of an American style craft beer instead of the German style beers that dominated the Japanese Market. Since then they have produced several fantastic beers that are very much to style. In 2014 Kirin Brewing Co. purchased 33% of Yo-Ho Brewing company which greatly increased if they were still a craft beer but also vastly enhanced the availability of their beers. The second day of Christmas beer is Yona Yona Ale. Yona Yona translates to every day. This beer is definitely an everyday drinker for the craft beer enthusiast.

Heavy malt aroma with the scent of yeast. I would relate it to the smell of walking into a brewery where the fermenters were going off. A very clear light orange to reddish color. White persistent head with a mix of small and medium bubbles. Slightly earthy hop aroma. The Cascade hops provide a slight citrus flavor with a small bitterness to each sip. Well balanced between malty sweetness and hop bitterness. Very light carbonation on the mouthfeel. Very few carbonation bubbles in the glass.

A very good representation of the pale ale style. This could be paired with any number of bar foods. Anything like pizza, pretzels or peanuts would go well with this beer.

Beer Information: Can, Canning Date (eight months before expiration date(12/22)), Expiration Date (07/23), Factory Code P1611914, Made from foreign and domestic (Japan) malt (less than 5%), ABV 5.5%, IBU 41, SRM (none listed but would judge about an 10-12 SRM)