First up, to answer the question on everyone’s lips:* shōri means victory in Japanese.
With another inspirational message – "Victory is won from within" – Fortitude have added Shōri One to their core range, taking inspiration from the rice lagers of Japan while keeping things in familiar territory for Australian drinkers.
While it's certainly paler than most lagers made with all barley malt, Shōri One has more colour than many rice lagers: a dash of golden sunrise in the mix. The rice introduced into the grain bill dries out the mouthfeel, but doesn't take it to the extreme as some other rice lagers do, leaving some malt body to fill out the mouth. And Shōri One retains some of that lemony aroma and grainy malt character that you taste in traditional Aussie lagers too, keeping it with one foot one home turf.
Is your mission to find a clean lager that drinks like a hybrid between an Australian lager and a Japanese lager? Mission complete. Victory won.
Mick Wüst
*Not actually everyone. Just everyone who doesn’t speak Japanese. Or who hasn’t had this explained to them yet. Or who isn’t particularly curious.
Published September 5, 2023 2023-09-05 00:00:00
