So Koi is known for sushi and with sushi I drink beer. You might think, considering I blog about every beer I get my hands on that I must be drinking beer with everything I eat. Not true. I don't drink beer with breakfast, although I've considered it. 80 percent of the time I'm not drinking beer at lunch either. I did work in professional environments where that was frowned upon. It's not even a certainty that I'll drink beer with dinner for that matter.
At this point, I assume you are probably A) bored with this topic. It's obviously going nowhere and has nothing to do with the beer I will review or the sushi restaurant I ate at, B) Are sitting there like, I hate you, C) Are really curious why I'm admitting that, D) None of the above or E) All of the above. Anyone who picks E is an imbecile.
Anyway, the point is, that being the case it may come as a surprise to you that as long as it's not a sushi lunch with a workplace being the next stop after, I am almost exclusively drinking beer with sushi. Japanese beers, in particular the German style lagers like Sapporo or Kirin seem to perfectly match with a great cut of Salmon or Yellowtail. I almost can't drink anything else when I am eating good sushi.
So here we are at Koi and I'm going to get a beer and the Sapporo people will be happy to know that my go to is typically the 22 ounce can. I like to share that or if the other party isn't drinking, keep it for myself. But that's when *Bonnie, our waitress explains she has Japanese craft beers on her menu, one described as, "just like Blue Moon," and another that well, wasn't.
So I went for number 2: Japanese craft beer with unknown description. I immediately regretted this. You see, Donald Trump has it all wrong. I still think America is great, so great that I assume a "Japanese Craft Beer" would taste like ass because no one does craft beer like we do craft beer. Am I right bitches????? U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
But considering that Sapporo is as good as any lager we have and their Japanese whiskeys are scary close to a good Scotch, I should have known better.
Anyway, what I received was Yona Yona Ale. It came in a yellow can and looked like it belonged in the aisle at the off brand grocery store where they keep "Mountain Lion" soda. I know I'm being mean, I'm just an American asshole. And proud of it biiitttttccchhheeesss. U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A!
Clearly I'm biased. I want this beer to suck. I want to crow that finally we have something better then them. Keep your TV's, we don't watch them anymore! Wow that Toyota is great. Have you seen the Tesla? Steve Jobs was the creator of my computer AND phone fool? Step off.
But, turns out the beer was pretty good when I stopped having these odd hallucinations about a fake competition I believe the United States is in with Japan.
It was gold in color, but Leopard shirt thinks the lighting of the place had something to do with that. You know New York restaurants think everything needs an Instagram filter. Yes, the person I ate dinner with wore a leopard shirt on a Monday. It was very Gronk.
The beer was quite light which for "craft" beers was unusual but for Japanese beers, at least the ones I've had previously fell in line with the norm. It wasn't very deep either which, in our craft world where sometimes I feel like I'm baselining hops, felt unusual for the word " craft" to be associated. And it was not overly flavorful. Turn off three. Done right? Wrong.
Maybe it was the sushi talking but it complimented the fish well. One of the Koi dishes we got was a "crispy rice" appetizer with either yellowtail or a spicy tuna on top. It was a deep fried small rectangle of rice deep fried so it was particularly crispy on the outside with a glob of the fish on top. And Yona Yona turned out to be a nice finishing touch.
It has almost no aftertaste, only a mild burst of hops which lately was welcome. The burst reminded me of the poppers at Pinkberry. I realize only people with six year olds who take those six year olds to Pinkberry probably know what I'm talking about. It's when you eat something that has a gel in the middle and it gives you that little burst of flavor.
Leopard shirt said it had the aroma of honey and she was right on.
In all, I liked it. Maybe more for the story but I liked it.Iit's not like I'll be demanding to know where I can get a six pack of it. But next time I'm at Koi and someone fries up some rice and throws some fish on top of it, I'm not going Sapporo. I'm taking Yona Yona for the ride.
*How did I know my server's name was Bonnie? Well I didn't when she told me the beer options which is among the first interactions you have with wait staff. I just want you to know I'm not one of those people who immediately ask for the servers name if that person doesn't immediately offer it. I'm not saying that's wrong or weird. Actually I am. It's weird. It's why I don't do it and why I think I had to tell you that I don't do that. The reason I know her name is because it was printed on the check. You don't see many Bonnies anymore so I turned to my dinner companion and said "Guess her name. It's realllllllllyyyy exciting." The names the other person will throw out will tell you a lot about them. If someone is like, "Is it Jennifer?" You now know this person is probably a " Kendra on Top" fan, i.e. someone you should never devote watching TV with for the rest of your life. Why would someone assume I want to play this game if the name of the server is a name you hear 15 times a day? Now if your guest says "is it Iman?" and the server is a 5 foot 2 inch white brunette with a few extra rolls in the midsection, well you have found yourself eating sushi with a keeper.
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