Sakoku was the Japanese policy of isolationism, means “closed country”, and is an American-style stout from Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery. It’s a 6.9% bad boy that comes in 355mL cans feature a black and white image of a steam/sail ship. The beer is near-black, and pours with an exciting layer of tan head.
The beer has a hefty aroma that blends evergreen forest and roasted malt. The flavour is robust, with pine and coffee bitterness, big malt, faint peat, and a fair bit of boozy burn. Very little sweetness, which I particularly liked.
When I think of Godspeed, I think of beautiful lagers, but with Sakoku, they delivered a potent and engrossing bitter stout.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
