Tengu vs. Samurai®

One of the beers I have on tap right now is "Whisper of the Tengu" Rice Lager.

"A rice lager brewed with reverence and restraint. Whisper of the Tengu is not a beer that shouts—it listens. It’s subtle, sharp, and quietly powerful, honoring the spirit of the mountain trickster with every clean, deliberate note. Ideal for quiet reflection, shared toasts, or moonlit mischief."

This is the first rice lager I've ever brewed (at least as far as I remember), and I think it turned out fantastic.

Rice lagers seem to have jumped in popularity somewhat recently, and I see them much more at commercial breweries than I did 5 and certainly more than 10 years ago.

I thought it would be fun to pick up a Rice Lager from a local brewery and compare it with Tengu.

I picked up some of Great Divide's Samurai and this past Sunday I compared them side-by-side.

Samurai is "A classic brand reborn, SAMURAI® is the perfect beer for your zen garden after battle, or your patio after a long day of work. The addition of Jasmine rice creates a slightly floral aroma leading into an effervescent, crisp, easy-going lager suitable for the most peaceful of warriors."

It is brewed with 2-row, Carafoam, and Jasmine Rice. It uses Sorachi Ace and Saaz hops with a Danish Lager yeast.

Tengu has a malt bill of German Pilsner and Jasmin Rice with Cascade, Mistral, and Motueka hops. It is brewed with SafLager West European Lager yeast.

By design, Tengu has more hop flavor and aroma. So, I knew neither could be confused with the other, but still was fun to contrast and compare.

Samurai is a little higher in ABV at 5% whereas Tengu weighs in at 4.8%. Samurai says it is 20 IBU. I calculated Tengu at 22. So, by the numbers these are very close.

Both are crystal clear and very close in color. It might be my imagination, but Tengu seemed a tough lighter in color. But, to be fair, it seemed to change based on light angles.

Tengu has significantly better head and head retention, honestly both were pretty good in this area. 

The Samurai aroma has a touch more sulfur where the Tengu has way more herbal hops in the aroma. 

Both are crisp and clean with ight bodies. The Tengu is obviously hoppy whereas the Samurai isn't. I got  a little more lemon/lime hop flavor than in the aroma of Tengu.

I feel like both have a subtle "Jasmine" rice flavor coming through. 

Prefer the Tengu ... But both are solid beers. Great to drink on a sunny weekend afternoon.

I do prefer the hoppy finish of the Tengu more, but I like both beers quite a bit.

It was fun to do this comparison and as a bonus, the Avalanche won their game.

As always keep watching the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with my BBQ, Beer, Biking: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.Of course, don't forget to visit this blog often as well!