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Sapporo Black Label

Sapporo Brewery
Japan·Pale Lager
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The core draft lager of Sapporo in Japan, filtered rather than pasteurised and brewed from barley malt with rice, maize and starch. Part of the malt comes from a barley line bred without the enzyme that makes beer taste stale. It pours pale straw under a dense, creamy white head. The nose is light, with soft grain and a faint hop note; the palate is fresh and fairly lean, with a touch of malt sweetness, a brief, clean bitterness and a quick, refreshing finish.

ABV
5%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Malt-forward bitterness
SRM
pale gold4
PaceSession
Where this beer sits
Body
lightfull-bodied
Sweetness
drysweet
Bitterness
mildbitter
Texture
crispcreamy
Balance
malt-forwardhop-forward
What makes this beer itself
cleanmaltybready
clean
malty
bready
Aroma
The nose is delicate and restrained, typical of a refined lager.
not found:hoppy,caramel,fruity,smoky

Tasting Notes

AI-generated sensory profile for Sapporo Black Label

◎ Appearance

Pours a pale straw yellow with excellent clarity and brilliance. The dense, creamy white head forms a substantial collar that demonstrates good retention, suggesting quality ingredients and proper carbonation levels.

pale strawbrilliant claritydense white headcreamy

◌ Aroma

The nose is delicate and restrained, typical of a refined lager. Soft grain notes dominate with subtle biscuity undertones from the malt and adjunct bill, while a faint noble hop character provides minimal aromatic complexity.

soft grainsubtle maltfaint hopbiscuity

◐ Taste

Entry is crisp and refreshing with a lean body that showcases the rice and maize adjuncts. Mid-palate reveals gentle malt sweetness balanced by a brief, clean bitterness that never overwhelms, creating excellent drinkability without sacrificing flavor complexity.

freshlean bodyclean bitternessmalt sweetness

◑ Finish

The finish is quick and refreshing with a dry, clean aftertaste that invites another sip. No lingering harshness or staleness—a testament to the specialized barley breeding used in the malt.

quickcleandry
78
hopIQ score
Aroma
72
Taste
78
Appearance
82
Finish
80
Serve at 4–7°C

Serve well-chilled at 4–6°C. Carbonation and crispness are the main event — cold preserves both.

Stein

The sturdy German stein maintains temperature and keeps carbonation intact. Built for long, convivial drinking.

Store cold and drink fresh. Lagers are at their crispest within 3–4 months.

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Food Pairing

What to eat with Sapporo Black Label

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About Pale Lager

Style guide · what to expect · how to find alternatives

What is a Pale Lager?

Euro Pale Lagers are clean, refreshing lagers with 4–5.5% ABV and IBU 10–25. Soft malt sweetness, light hop bitterness and high carbonation make them supremely drinkable.

Finding a similar Pale Lager

hopIQ matches by flavor profile — not just style label. A beer with the same refreshing, clean, light character as Sapporo Black Label will score highly even if brewed in a different country or under a different sub-style name.

Other Pale Lagers in hopIQ

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