Ji-biru

Name: Ji-biru
Brand: Elder Pine Brewing & Blending
Rating: 3.99 (105 reviews)

Elder Pine Brewing & Blending

Gaithersburg, MD

Tavour Rating

3.99

Style

Lager

ABV

5.7%

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A Note on This Beer

Crushable yet complex, Japanese-style Lagers are finally having a moment! But, I’ve never tasted one quite like today’s Ji-Biru.

It’s everything a Lager should be — crisp, delicate, and refreshing — made extra complex in the hands of Elder Pine’s meticulous Lager craftsmen.

They began with puffed Jasmine Rice, puffed Red Rice, premium Pilsner Malt, and a touch of malted Bohemian Wheat. Then, they lagered the pale base in stainless steel for two months.

Next, they conditioned Ji-Biru in Elder Pine’s temperature-controlled American Oak Foeder for an additional two months, gracing the brew with gentle oak accents. The brewers even added a dose of Motueka Hops directly to the foeder at the tail end, imbuing it with soft lemon zest character.

After an additional month of cold conditioning, the final result is clean, snappy, and slightly tangy, with a delicious rice cereal flavor. A whisper of oak on the finish balances the citrusy notes.

Expand your conception of what a Japanese Rice Lager can be and elevate yourself to the next level of cultured craft connoisseur with Ji-Biru — “local beer” — from Maryland’s Lager maestros.

Elder Pine was one of USA Today’s Best New Breweries of 2020!

Reviews

3.99

105 Ratings

glenn446

4.0

A sharp bite of carbonation at the front that quickly fades away to smoothness. It has a good hop flavor and an ever so slightly hint of rice that appears long after the sip has disappeared.

pratik3

4.0

great balance of hops in a lager. light and refreshing.

Whenyoucant

4.0

Nice and crisp with the oak flavor to smooth out the flavor

skoolbus39

4.25

Deliciously sweet

chrismarlin8

4.0

fire. nice light, crispness you would expect and the rice lager profile makes it unique for sure.

Alli_and_Alex

3.0

It is a refreshing lager with a subtle bitterness that left me wanting more. not more as in quantity, but more as in flavor. It is wonderfully drinkable, however, don’t expect to get much across the tongue much like a more bitter Miller Lite. incredibly bubbly, and enough to make you belch for hours.

joe15283

5.0

Gushed a bit upon opening the can. Light notes of lemon and rice cereal in taste. Did not notice any oak character. Fairly crisp.

johndubo

3.75

Crisp and light. Easy drinking.

john11524

3.75

it was certainly drinkable, but at the end of the day I would choose a Sapporo

jerome93

3.5

nice light and refreshing

inthenameofbeer

4.25

Love me some rice lagers, wish they were more popular, nice sweet oaky touch too. Crisp flavorful nice rice.

mrkantz

3.75

fantastic and unique

melissam510

4.0

flavors are crisp and jasmine notes definitely come through. nice and light so it won’t compete with a meal. great for a warm day refresher.

mike42

4.0

This brewery just keeps putting out great beers, really liked this one

Mykool

4.0

Really enjoyed this!

chifields

4.75

light and crisp, but not lacking flavor or complexity, EP making the best lagers on Tavour imo

andrew5178

4.5

I’ve been liking rice lagers more and more recently and this is no exception. It’s light, crisp, and has a very light spiciness to it that rounds the flavor out. A great beer.

MrBusiness

1.75

Why make a clean rice lager just to dirty it up with a foeder AND dry-hopping with New Zealand technicolor disco hops? The most minimalist beer is given the extreme maximalist makeover. Pointless.

SurlySteve

4.0

Foamy head, subtle citrus aroma, crisp, delicate rice taste with lemon zest notes, hint of oak in the finish, seems more like a saison than a lager.