7Bräu IPA

 

Sneaking beer into a professional soccer game has never been so easy; nor surprisingly rewarding. While considering resorting to a lager in the endless parade of lite, dry, smooth, super lite, and slightly-flavored-water beers readily available, I stumbled on this amazingly German looking beauty. If the assumption of a duck's identity being confirmed by its waddle and quack is to be placed onto beer, 7Bräu is definitely German. The red, yellow, and black can proudly represents the motherland's flag, there's an umlaut over the a, and the word "brau" is right there in the name. But this little IPA that can is 100% Korean.

Trumpeting themselves as the first new Korean brewery in 70 years, 7Bräu currently offers an IPA, stout, and pilsner (I was only able to find the IPA). This top-cropped barley-pop produces higher alcohol concentration (5.50% ABV) than pretty much anything else on the local market and is quite the bargain at 2,600 won ($2.39) per can. It seems kind of steep, but compare it to a 9,000 won pint of Guinness at any local pub.

This particular can was enjoyed within the spacious confines of Asiad Stadium in Busan and went quite well with fried chicken, fresh air, and professional soccer. 7Bräu will never be confused with some of the amazing Midwestern microbrew IPAs I can only dream of drinking at the moment, but it's a damn fine substitute. It has a high, but not over-powering level of bitterness that lasts almost the whole way through with a touch of sweetness thrown into the mix. The hops and spice don't come through as much as I'd like, but there're definitely there. There's a good amount of citrus in the aftertaste to help leave a pretty damn happy palate. All in all, I'm happy to have found a highly enjoyable Korean beer.