Japanese Beer - the good the bad and the disgusting
June 27, 2007 by Tom
Filed under Food & Nutrition
The Japanese have a passion for beer that is slowly overtaking Sake. Almost all of the beer sold in Japan is from domestic breweries and most of these are from the big 4. These major breweries are Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin and Suntory.
Japanese beer is legally classified by it’s ingredients. There are a large selection of “Real” beers made with conventional quantities of malt. Second grade beer is called Happoshu and contains less than 25% malt. The third class is cleverly called “3rd Beer” which contains no malt. Under this is an even lower grade called “3rd Beer -liquor”. The primary differences from a consumers point of view are price and taste. As you descend down the ladder of classifications you can buy beer-like products for amazingly cheap prices. To buy a can of “3rd beer” is almost cheaper than leaving it on the shelf! This is all due to tax concessions on the lower grades. The downside of reaching the lower ends of the beer spectrum are taste. Some of these low malt beers taste bad and the rest taste really bad. There are a few exceptions but for the most part you get what you pay for with Japanese beer.
Traditionally the most popular beer across Japan has been Kirin draft. This beer has been rocked in more recent times by Asahi’s Super dry. These two beers are the classics in Japan and are probably the beers you are most likely to encounter around the world. The shiny silver can of Super dry or the gold and cream can of Kirin Draft are sold at a great range of restaurants, serving food from many different Asian countries.
In my opinion the only beer that Japan’s big breweries produce that tastes better than the big Kirin, is Kirin Golden Hop which they have called a premium lager. This beer would have to be my favourite but it isn’t available everywhere.
The logo for Kirin Beer revolves around a beautiful picture of what looks like a dragon. It is actually a giraffe (Kirin means giraffe in Japanese) and so I think it is appropriate to drink Kirin straight from a “Long-neck” (tall bottle). Very un-Japanese, but very nice all the same.
Japanese supermarket shelves may have up to 100 different varieties on them but in my opinion less than 20 are actually any good to drink.
Having just come back from Japan my favourite beers were made by Yebisu. Also the Suntory branded beers are sold a hell of alot in China they much better than anything I tasted in China.
Hi
I agree the Yebisu label made by Sapporo does taste good. My favourite is the gold labelled malt premium beer. It is interesting to hear about the Suntory beer in China. What is China’s local beer like. Are they big beer drinkers and producers?
Thanks
Tom
China are huge on alcohol basically. At official dinners they drink a mixture of beer, red wine, hard liquor, and their ‘white’ wine (rice wine) - something like Japanese sake, only really really strong.
I have been around China quite a bit, trying to taste all the different types of beer that they have. Different areas have their own producers of beer. The famous ones are Tsing Tao beer, Harbin Beer and Anchor beer (well known in Singapore at least). Most of their beers taste light. Some have a slight sweet taste.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_beer
To me, they all fall below my fav Japanese beers though (Suntory and Sapporo). Biru!
Kirin doesn’t mean giraffe in Japanese. It is a mystical creature that looks like a deer with dragon head and covered in fish scales. They could fly and always have fire around them much like the phoenix.
When giraffe were brought to Asia from Africa, the Arabic name was “Giri” which sounds like Qilin(Kirin) in Chinese. The emperor insist that giraffe have mystical power and therefore must be the Kirin. Hence the confusion in language. But they are name differently in modern times. So Kirin only refers to the mystical creature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin
Hi Amy
Thanks for the link and the information about the history of the dragon creature. I wondered why a giraffe would look so dragon-like.
But I’m not convinced about the use of the word Kirin today. According to the dictionaries that I own, Kirin is now the official Japanese word for a giraffe. Any other opinions?
Thanks
Tom
Currently the Japanese use giraffe from English as a loan word, “jirafu,” with kirin being more archaic. Also, I need to put a shout out for Suntory beer. I had it while in Japane a few years back and have been hunting for it in the states ever since.
Kirin is an awesome beer, love it. Best one is the newest one called Strong seven
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/kirins-strong-seven-new-beer/
Come on boys! Suntory’s The Premium Malt’s Black is the best macro brew in Japan!!! See the light! Nice post Tom and I hope you keep writing about beer in Japan…come check us out to see two country boys crazy about beer in in Japan!
my favourite beer while i was in japan for a few months was the red labelled Asahi “3rd beer”. i cant remember where abouts it is on the scale, but i know that i thought it was delicious. and at 200 yen for a 500ml can… you cant go wrong. there was even a vending machine that stocked it right near my house.
I love Suntory’s summer beer campaign with Yukie and Mikie
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/suntory-beer-commercial-with-mikie-hara-and-yukie-kawamura/