Japanese happōshu battle with Miki

Suntory doesn't even bother selling happōshu (low-malt beer), so the battle took place among Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo. Ranking was pretty easy: Watery, more watery and most watery. No wonder the happōshu market is so small in terms of products. Since happōshu and some new genre (low-malt beer/spirits mix) taste almost the same, I'm pretty sure people who want to save money on beer would rather buy the cheaper new genre than happōshu which is priced between real beer and new genre. As an interesting side note, while Kirin's Tanrei is sold almost everywhere, you really have to keep your eyes open to find the other two. 

Ranking by Miki
1. Asahi
2. Sapporo
3. Kirin

Ranking by me
1. Asahi
2. Kirin
3. Sapporo

Asahi Honnama

Not bad for a happōshu. It actually has taste unlike other beers in this tax category.

Name: Asahi Honnama
Launch: Originally launched in 2001. Renewed in 2008.
Ingredients: Malt, hops, barley, barley extract, rice, corn, starch, sugars
Alcohol content: 5.5%
Tax category: Happōshu
Company: Asahi Breweries

Sapporo Hokkaidō Namashibori

One of the few happōshus on the market. Taste-wise...hmmm ultra-light. Not much else to say about it.

Name: Sapporo Hokkaidō Namashibori
Ingredients: Malt, hops, barley, sugars
Alcohol content: 5.5%
Tax category: Happōshu
Company: Sapporo Breweries

Oettinger Hefeweißbier

Not a big fan of wheat beer but this one is pretty good. It doesn't have that strong dough taste like other wheat beers have. However, I wouldn't drink more than one of this at a time. 

 

Name: Oettinger Hefeweißbier
Ingredients: Wheat malt, barley malt, hops extract, yeast
Alcohol content: 4.9% 
Tax category: Beer
Origin: Germany
Notes: 330ml can.

Super Prime

Super Prime used to be my daily beer for a couple of years. Actually up until Suntory's Kinmugi came out. I cannot make an impartial judgement about it now, because I used to drink it for years and I got tired of it. Let's just say, it is a great drink for budget drinkers. Taste-wise, it is in the high-end category among Korean imports.

Name: Super Prime  
Type:
Ingredients: Happōshu, spirits (barley), carbon dioxide
Alcohol content: 5% 
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Korea  
Notes: Sold at Liquor Mountain.

Sapporo Nama Beer Kuro Label

I have had Sapporo Nama before, but I completely forgot its taste. Not bad, but compared to Suntory's Premium Malt's, it has a somewhat light taste. It tastes like Kirin's Tanrei. I'd rather not say anything about its design...it's just boring. The golden star in a black circle would fit better an oil company, but definitely not a beer brewery.

Name: Sapporo Nama
Ingredients: Malt, hops, rice, corn, starch
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: Beer
Company: Sapporo Breweries

Brewry

This Australian lager was a nice surprise. With a 0.9% or less alcohol content, I thought it would taste like one of those cardboard-based Korean imports. But no, actually it tastes pretty good, but probably it takes about 100 cans to get to the feeling-good level.

Name: Brewry  
Ingredients: Malt, sucrose, hops, barley
Alcohol content: 0.9% or less
Tax category: Not beer 
(tax-wise beer must have 1% or higher but less than 20% alcohol content)
Origin: Australia  
Notes: Sold at Liquor Mountain. 355ml can.

Holland Import

Just like its design and name, its taste is simple as well. Somewhat watery, nothing special.

Name: Holland Import
Ingredients: Happōshu, spirits, carbon dioxide
Alcohol content: 4.6% 
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Netherlands
Notes: Sold at Liquor Mountain. 330ml can.

CGC/Suntory Gold Brew

Kind of watery, but not bad at all. Tastes kind of like Kirin Tanrei. Hard to come by because it is only sold at CGC Group stores.

 

Name: CGC/Suntory Gold Brew
Type:
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, sugars), spirits (wheat), carbon dioxide
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Suntory Holdings 
Note: Joint effort by CGC and Suntory.

Orion Natsu Ichiban

A real summer beer. Good stuff, but maybe its bitter aftertaste should be toned down a little.
 

Name: Orion Natsu Ichiban
Ingredients: Malt, hops, rice
Alcohol content: 5.5%
Tax category: Beer
Company: Orion Breweries
Note: Available only during the summer.

Mugi no Koku

Wow! It has truly minimal initial taste. Its bitter aftertaste reminds me some flu medicine rather than hops. Whoever did the design must be a great fan of Sapporo's Mugi to Hop. The main design is true knockoff of Mugi to Hop. Same font, same font size, same barley stalk decoration and nearly identical can color.

Name: Mugi no Koku
Type:
Ingredients: Happōshu, spirits, carbon dioxide
Alcohol content: 5% 
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Korea
Note: Sold at Liquor Mountain.

Sapporo Mugi to Hop / Kuro

Not a big fan of dark beers. Nevertheless, this one actually tasted kinda like dark beer. Good for dark beer lovers when running low on pocket money.

Name: Sapporo Mugi to Hop / Kuro
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Sapporo Breweries

Kirin Tanrei

One of the very few happōshus on the market. To be honest, tastewise does not really impress me at all. Tastes kinda like a new genre-type beer. Save your money and get a new genre instead of this one. You won't notice the difference.

Name: Kirin Tanrei
Type:
Ingredients: Malt, hops, barley, rice, corn, starch, sugars
Alcohol content: 5.5%
Tax category: Happōshu
Company: Kirin Brewery

Style One Shine Malt

The first sip was kind of sweet, but the rest was just like cardboard soaked in rainwater followed by some metallic aftertaste. Only sold at Circle K and Sunkus stores as far as I know. Compared to Mini Stop's Barreal and 7eleven's The Brew, this is by far the worst store-brand beer. Take them off the shelves if you want to stay in business!

Name: Style One Shine Malt
Ingredients: Happōshu, spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Korea
Note: Style One is the store brand of Circle K Sunkus.

7&i/Suntory The Brew

Watery beer taste with bitter aftertaste. Nothing special. The usual new genre-type stuff.

Name: 7&i/Suntory The Brew
Type:
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, sugars), spirits (wheat), carbon dioxide
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Suntory Holdings 
Note: Joint effort by 7&i and Suntory.

Suntory Jokki Nama

Tastes better than Kirin's Nodogoshi, but taking into consideration that it is made up of 13 ingredients, it cannot be seriously called a beer of any kind.
 

Name: Suntory Jokki Nama
Type:
Ingredients: Hops, corn, sugars, brewer's alcohol, dietary fiber, yeast extract, corn protein fragments, essence, acidifier, caramel color, citric acid K, sweetener (acesulfame K), carbon dioxide
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (other fermented liquor)
Company: Suntory Holdings

Clear Asahi Prime Rich

Very similar in taste to its older bro Clear Asahi. Meaning, is one has no taste either. It is an excellent follow-up drink after having a couple of real beers. With its 6 percent punch, it can keep you happy until you slump under the table.

Name: Clear Asahi Prime Rich
Launch: Originally in 2013. Upgraded in 2014.
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley, corn, starch), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 6%
Tax category: New genre (liquor)
Company: Asahi Breweries

Clear Asahi

Watery taste. Very little enjoyment for the mouth. Might as well drink a glass of water.

Name: Clear Asahi
Launch: Mar. 25, 2008 (Upgraded in 2013 and 2014)
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley, corn, starch), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New genre (liquor)
Company: Asahi Breweries

Topvalu Lager Beer

Well, this one is a strange fella. It's a store brand Korean import. But if you think "it must be new genre-type" then you are wrong. It is real beer and considering its background it tastes pretty good. But I think they should have put a little more effort into coming up with the name though. As a real beer, I give it three stars*** out of five.

Name: Topvalu Lager Beer
Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: Beer
Origin: Korea
Note: Topvalu is the store brand of the Aeon Group.

Sapporo Migaki Mugi (2014)

Either Migaki Mugi improved a lot since last year or my taste buds changed. In 2013, I had a really bad comment about this beverage but this year it tastes pretty good. I give four stars**** out of five. Only four because the bad design is kind of too simple.

Name: Sapporo Migaki Mugi
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley, sugars), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Sapporo Breweries 
Note: Sold only at Aeon Group stores for a limited time period.

Sapporo Sozai Ippin

Fresh off the truck! Unfortunately, it is one of those no-effort beers. Artificial taste, no bubbles, poor can design. Don't waste your money on it. No stars for this bad boy.

Name: Sapporo Sozai Ippin
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley, sugars), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Sapporo Breweries 
Note: Sold only by Aeon Group stores for a limited time period.

Kirin Nodogoshi Nama

Used to be my favorite daily beer after cutting real beers out of my life. Then Super Prime, a Korean new-genre beer, came along and realized that Nodogoshi is no longer my one and only. Now having a can of this for the first time after several years and I'm thinking why I liked it so much. It doesn't even taste like beer. Just for old times' sake I give it two stars**.

Name: Kirin Nodogoshi Nama
Type:
Ingredients: Hops, sugars, soybean protein, yeast extract
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (other fermented liquor)
Company: Kirin Brewery

Sapporo Draft One

Hmmm. One of those no-malt beers. It kind of tastes like grape juice with too much water in it. I give it two stars** but only becauseI like a can design.

Name: Sapporo Draft One
Ingredients: Hops, sugars, pea protein, caramel color
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (other fermented liquor)
Company: Sapporo Breweries

Kirin Sumikiri

Although somewhat watery, it is an easy to drink beer. I also like the can design. Simple but sophisticated. I give it five stars***** out of five.

Name: Kirin Sumikiri
Type:
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Kirin Brewery

Kirin Koi Aji

Just like its name says it has a strong flavor. Kirin did a good job on this one. Nice flavor and great design. I give it five stars***** out of five.

Name: Kirin Koi Aji
Type:
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley, corn, starch, sugars), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 6%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Kirin Brewery

Sapporo Mugi to Hop / The Gold

Eh... Tastes too fake. It does have beer taste, but feels like they overdid it a bit. Just had one, but it is more than enough. Kinda gave me an upset stomach. Sorry, but no stars for this brew.

Name: Sapporo Mugi to Hop / The Gold
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Sapporo Breweries

Topvalu Barreal

Despite being a new genre-category beer, it doesn't taste that bad. Kinda taste like a toned down version of Sapporo's "Mugi to hoppu The Gold." I give it three stars*** out of five. By the way, according to some super secret PR materials, the name Barreal is the combination of the words "barley" and "real." Nevertheless, they should really come up with a better name.

Name: Topvalu Barreal
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, starch, barley), spirits
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Korea

Note: Topvalu is the store brand of the Aeon Group.

Suntory Kinmugi Clear Label

Here is Suntory's latest bad boy Kinmugi Clear Label. The tagline states "nodogoshi sōkai" which means something like "goes down smoothly with a refreshing feel." That's actually true, but the bubbles disappeared pretty quickly which I think is a huge minus of this beer. I think it will sell well on hot summer days because of its smooth somewhat watery taste when people wanna drink anything as long as it's cold. I give it four stars**** out of five.

Name: Suntory Kinmugi Clear Label

Type:

Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, sugars), spirits (wheat), carbon dioxide

Alcohol content: 5%

Tax category: New genre (liquor)

Company: Suntory Holdings

Sapporo White Belg

Wow! Although it's a happōsei or "bubbling type," it really tastes like white beer. Good job Sapporo! The aftertaste is kind of flat though, but nevermind that. I give it five stars***** out of five.

Name: Sapporo White Belg
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt [barley, wheat], hops, barley, coriander seeds, orange peel), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Sapporo Breweries

Awamugi

For 83 yen, I expected it to taste like wet diaper. Actually, for this price it is not bad at all. Cheapest on the market as far as I know.

Name: Awamugi
Type:
Ingredients: Happōshu, spirits (mugi, rice)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Korea