柔 (Yawara)

While we haven’t taken to brewing true to style versions of Hazy IPA, the style du jour, as brewers and beer drinkers it is hard not to love the combination of huge hop aroma, low bitterness, and soft mouthfeel. We have applied these characteristics to beers like Mariko and Minori, and the biggest of the bunch, Yawara. With this year’s release, we made minor tweaks to both the hops and how they are used. While Vic Secret, an Australian variety, was featured in the last brew, it has been replaced with Ekuanot Cryo to further accentuate the juicy and sweet fruit nature of El Dorado and Sabro. We also applied our favorite whirlpool hop regimen of late&mdashlowering the temperature at which the hops are added in order to leave as much of their aromatic oils as possible in the final product.

The result is a luscious and full mouth feel with a subtle but noticeable alcohol punch in the background. Bitterness is low so you can really enjoy waves of hop flavor and aroma coming off the back of the soft, pillowy character of the malt. We hope you are as excited as we are to see this re-release of Yawara!

Naming: “Yawara” is a term that, when literally translated, it means soft but, to the Japanese, it holds a meaning of strength. To the Western mind, this may seem like a contradiction but in the world of Japanese martial arts, it makes perfect sense.
Upon tasting our latest double IPA for the first time, “Yawara" was the first word that sprang to mind, with its soft wheat-heavy malt base, complemented by a blend of four hops. It is only after getting quite far through this beer that it suddenly dawns upon the drinker, “wait, did I just read that this beer is 8.5% alcohol?”, and the reminder is served to treat this beer as an opponent that you would respect… Softly, please.