Löwenbräu

No complaint here. Solid tasting German beer.

Name: Löwenbräu

Ingredients: Malt, hops

Alcohol content: 5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Asahi Beer
Origin:Germany

Heineken Lager Beer

Appears to be an import, but it is actually made by Kirin. No doubt, it is an excellent beer. And I'm saying this after drinking 12 or so beers of various kind.

Name: Heineken Lager Beer 
Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: Beer 
Company: Kirin Brewery 
Origin: Netherlands

Oettinger Pils

Nice Euro brew. A bit watery so it is great on hot summer days.

Name: Oettinger Pils
Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: 4.7% 
Tax category: Beer
Origin: Germany
Notes: 330ml can.

Asahi Off

Asahi Off... I'm guessing "off" refers to the overall taste of this new genre-type beer. It is just off-taste... For ranking, check out my Light New Genre post.

Name: Asahi Off

Launch: Jan. 2014 (originally 2009) 

Ingredients: Happōshu (malt extract, hops, sugars, caramel pigment, dietary fiber, soy protein, flavor enhancer [amino acid], sweetener [acesulfame-K]), spirits (barley)

Alcohol content: 3.5% or more but less than 4.5%

Tax category: New genre (liquor)

Company: Asahi Breweries

Asahi Blue Label

Same taste as Asahi Aqua Zero. In other words, no taste at all. For ranking, check out my Light New Genre post.

 

Name: Asahi Blue Label
Launch: Jul. 5, 2011
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt extract, hops, sugars, caramel pigment, dietary fiber, yeast extract, soy protein, amino acid [glutamine], sweetener [acesulfame-K]), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 4%
Tax category: New genre (liquor) 
Company: Asahi Breweries

Asahi Aqua Zero

Same taste as Asahi Blue Label. In other words, no taste at all. For ranking, check out my Light New Genre post.

 

Name: Asahi Aqua Zero
Launch: May 20, 2014
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt extract, hops, sugars, caramel pigment, dietary fiber, yeast extract, soy protein, flavor enhancer [amino acid], sulfuric acid Mg, sulfuric acid Ca, phosphoric acid K, sweetener [acesulfame-K]), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 4%
Tax category: New genre (liquor)
Company: Asahi Breweries

Kirin Koiaji Tōshitsu 0

The best among light new genre-type beers. It is zero sugar, but at the same time it does have some taste. I'd say this is the best tasting diet beer. For ranking, check out my Light New Genre post.

Name: Kirin Koiaji Tōshitsu 0
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, sugars, dietary fiber, soy protein, yeast extract, sweetener [acesulfame-K]), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 2.5% or more but less than 3.5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Company: Kirin Brewery

Kinmugi Tōshitsu 70% Off

Don't know what to say. As much as I like regular Kinmugi (blue can), this one is just the most tasteless Japanese light beer (new genre) I have ever drunk. For ranking, check out my Light New Genre post.

Name: Kinmugi Tōshitsu 70% Off 

Launch date: April 3, 2012 

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

Alcohol content: 4%

Tax category: New genre

Company: Suntory Holdings

Light New Genre

Hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to test some light (low carb / low cal) beers. There are 12 different light beers on the Japanese market from the four major beer makers. Six of them are happoshu, another six are new genre. This time, Józsi and I tested the new genre kind. The testing was difficult because these beers are ranging between little to no taste at all. Here is the result in a descending order (watery, waterier, wateriest, rainwater, tap water, pure water). Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), our results were identical.

 

1. Kirin Koiaji Tōshitsu 0.

2-5. Four Asahi products (Alphabetical order: Aqua Zero, Blue Label, Off, Strong Off). They are equally tasteless. Actually Strong Off has some alcohol-like taste, but I'd say it just makes it even worse.

6. Suntory Kinmugi Tōshitsu 70% Off. I love regular Kinmugi, but this light version is by far the wateriest beer I have ever tasted.

Cass Fresh

OMG! This is truly the worst tasting beer I have ever had in my life. It's not happoshu, not new genre, but beer... Imported and sold by Aeon. Are they out of their mind? Tastes like medicine of some sort. No way I can finish this can.

Name: Cass Fresh
Ingredients: Malt, hops, starch
Alcohol content: 4.5%
Tax category: Beer
Origin: Korea
Imported by: Aeon
Note: Can size 355ml. Sold at Aeon.

Suntory Malt's Summer Draft

Wow! Wonderful smell or shall I say fragrance? Great taste. Suntory has just come up with something special. Don't miss it! Kind of smells like homemade elderberry juice which I used to drink when I was a kid.

Name: Suntory Malt's Summer Draft
Launch date: July 15, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops

Alcohol content: 5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Suntory Holdings

Note: Limited quantity sold only at convenience stores.

Unhappy hour for Kirin as its beer sales tumble in Japan

by Ritsuko Shimizu and Chang-ran Kim

Reuters

 

Kirin Holdings Co. is falling behind in the beer market with no clear fix in sight as it extends a multiyear sales slide and gives up market share to rivals more in touch with changing consumer tastes.

Once the undisputed leader with more than half of Japan’s beer market, worth roughly ¥4 trillion, according to Euromonitor, Kirin relinquished its crown to archrival Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. in 2001 and lost more ground this year.

While other brewers hit a sweet spot with high-end offerings like Suntory Holdings Ltd.’s The Premium Malt’s and Sapporo Holdings Ltd.’s Premium Yebisu, Kirin stuck with its tried-and-true brands, missing out on a premium segment that grew by nearly a fifth in the first half of 2014.

Its sponsorship of Japan’s World Cup soccer team fell flat when it made an early exit, curbing demand for its limited-edition Samurai Blue lineup named after the team. Competitors also went after the restaurant and pub business, even displacing Kirin from one chain in which it is a major shareholder.

Data released last week showed that Kirin’s beer sales in January-June sank 6.6 percent from the previous year — the biggest first-half fall in four years — making it tough for the 107-year-old company to achieve its 2014 target of a 0.1 percent rise.

Its market share also fell, to 33.1 percent from 35.0 percent in 2013, while Asahi gained 1 percentage point to 38.1 percent and third-ranked Suntory rose 0.4 point to 15.5 percent.

“Nothing’s going right at Kirin these days,” said Satoshi Fujiwara, consumer analyst at Nomura Securities Co. “They need to be more consistent in their focus on brands.”

Last year, Kirin poured its energy into ensuring a successful launch of the Sumikiri “third beer” — an inexpensive class of beerlike drinks made with little or no malt and taxed at a lower rate than regular beer.

The brand was a hit with 5 million cases sold in 2013, but sales have since tapered off as the company shifted its focus on rebuilding the flagship Ichiban Shibori and its core “third beer” brand, Nodogoshi.

Kirin also shifted its attention abroad in recent years to make up for a shrinking market in aging Japan, including its $2.6 billion acquisition of Brazil’s Schincariol in 2011.

But its overseas operations have also disappointed. Without reviving its crucial home market, Kirin runs the risk of struggling on both fronts, unable to earn enough to beef up its business overseas and reverse a decline in operating profit.

Kirin blamed the first-half sales drop on comparatively weak marketing and the effects of last year’s strong Sumikiri sales. But the fallout from the lack of a major premium beer product is growing.

The brewer faces a dilemma because it has long marketed Ichiban Shibori — called Kirin Ichiban overseas — as a premium beer in all but name, touting its first-press brewing process and all-malt formula. That is one reason why it has held back from developing a premium beer, fearing dilution of the Ichiban brand.

“We are focusing our resources this year on a smaller selection of brands, with an extra emphasis on Ichiban Shibori,” said Hiromasa Honda, deputy director of Kirin’s investor relations department. “We won’t spread ourselves thin with new products.”

Meanwhile, Asahi hit the jackpot with a premium version of its popular Super Dry lager during the traditional gift-giving season last summer. The product had been limited to box sales for seasonal gifts but proved so popular that Asahi added it to the regular lineup in February.

Kirin introduced a gift-sales-only Ichiban Shibori Premium this summer but said it has no plans to sell it year-round.

Analysts said it would take time for Kirin to come up with a viable premium beer strategy.

“(Asahi’s) Dry Premium has been this successful because they’ve got an extremely strong base product in the Super Dry,” said Barclays Securities Japan Ltd. analyst Takayuki Hayano. “What Kirin needs to do first is to build that strong base in the Ichiban Shibori and Nodogoshi before it goes for a premium version. In that sense, their strategy isn’t misguided.”

Kirin said it would announce a “new project” in its beer business Wednesday, declining to go into specifics.

Kirin is also looking vulnerable in restaurants and pubs, a segment that accounted for 48 percent of the total market last year. Asahi has moved in aggressively, investing about ¥2.5 billion in restaurant and pub chain operator Chimney Co., eventually taking customers away from Kirin at some of its locations.

In April, Kirin also lost a deal to Suntory at grilled-chicken restaurant chain operator Torikizoku Co. despite being one of its top shareholders.

“We had lots of customer requests to carry The Premium Malt’s,” a Torikizoku spokesman said. “It fits right into our policy of offering high-value premium beer for ¥280, so we made the switch.”

While Kirin says it will stick to its strategy of drumming up sales for its core products, Nomura’s Fujiwara said that in the longer term, he wanted to see the company develop a product in a new genre — something it has traditionally excelled at — much like it did with the no-alcohol Kirin Free five years ago.

“It won’t happen in the short term, but they have a chance to come back,” he said.

The Japan Times (July 14, 2014)

West End Extra Light

Pretty nice product. It delivers what it offers. It's a beer with low alcohol content. Nice thirst quencher on hot summer days.

Name: West End Extra Light  
Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: Less than 1%
Tax category: Not beer
(tax-wise beer must have 1% or higher but less than 20% alcohol content)
Origin: Australia    
Notes: Sold at Yamaya. 330ml can.

Wild West Low Alcoholic Malt

Strictly speaking it's a non-alcoholic alcoholic drink. The reason behind this contradiction is that drinks with less than 1 percent alcohol content are not considered alcoholic drinks in Japan. This one happens to have 0.7 percent alcohol in it. Anyways, sorry to say, but doesn't taste like anything that I call beer. It has some faint sweetish initial taste followed by some indescribable aftertaste. Stay away from it.

 

Name: Wild West Low Alcoholic Malt  
Ingredients: Barley malt, corn syrup, sucrose, hops, antioxidant (sulfite)
Alcohol content: 0.7%
Tax category: Not beer
(tax-wise beer must have 1% or higher but less than 20% alcohol content)
Origin: USA  
Notes: Sold at Yamaya. 355ml can.

Mugi no Suke

Probably one of the best tasting Korean imports I have had in the past few months. Give it a try.

Name: Mugi no Suke
Ingredients: Happōshu, spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Korea

Yawaraka Mugi

Nice try. Enhanced flavor of cardboard. This is a tricky one. The first sip tastes kind of good, but after that the usual low-end import taste hits your taste buds. I like the can design though.

Name: Yawaraka Mugi
Ingredients: Happōshu, spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre (liquor)
Origin: Vietnam  
Notes: Sold at Valor (Midori ward, Nagoya). 330ml can.

Japan’s Liquor Tax Law

Just to clear up a few things about Japanese beers, here is a brief summary of

Japan’s Liquor Tax Law.

Japan’s Liquor Tax Law states that any alcoholic drink must have at least 1 percent alcohol content which means that beverages with less than 1 percent alcohol are not considered alcoholic drinks in Japan. The Liquor Tax Law classifies beer as happosei shurui or “foaming alcoholic drink” which is divided into three categories, namely beer, happoshu or “low-malt beer” and new genre. In addition, new genre has two subcategories, “other fermented alcoholic drink” and “liquor.” Let’s look at each category in more detail.

1. Beer: Made through fermentation using malt, hops and water. Other ingredients, specified by law, may be also added. Other ingredients allowed are mugi or “wheat/barley,” rice, corn, sorghum, potato, starch, sugars and caramel. Apart from hops and water, beer must have a malt content of 67 percent or higher. Alcohol content must be less than 20 percent.

2. Happoshu: Must have some malt or mugi content. Other ingredients are not regulated. Alcohol content must be less than 20 percent. Depending on its malt content, happoshu falls into three tax categories.

A. 50 percent or higher.

B. 25 percent or higher but less than 50 percent.

C. Less than 25 percent.

3. New Genre: Divided into two subcategories.

A. Other fermented alcoholic drink: Made through fermentation using food grains, sugars and other ingredients; however, it must not contain any malt. Has extract content of 20 percent or higher. Alcohol content must be less than 20 percent.

–Special tax rate applies if specific ingredients are used and alcohol content is below 10 percent. The specific ingredients are

a. Sugars, hops, water as well as soybean protein and yeast extract, or

b. Sugars, hops, water as well as soybean peptide, yeast extract and caramel, or

c. Sugars, hops, water as well as pea protein and caramel, or

d. Sugars, hops, water as well as pea protein, water-soluble dietary fiber and caramel, or

e. Sugars, hops, water as well as corn protein fragments, corn, yeast extract, brewer's alcohol, dietary fiber, flavoring, potassium citrate and caramel. 

B. Liquor: Composed of alcoholic drink and sugars and other ingredients (including alcoholic drinks). Has extract content of 20 percent or higher.

–Special tax rate applies if the alcoholic drink is a mixture of happoshu and spirits and alcohol content is below 10 percent.

Note: Without exception, all new genre drinks that I have come across so far fell under the special tax rate which is indicated on the can with this label (発泡性) (1).

Naming confusion 

In everyday speech, all these categories are conveniently lumped together and called beer regardless whether the speaker is aware of the differences among them or not. Meanwhile, the less beer savvy call all happoshu and new genre just simply happoshu. The more knowledgeable may call new genre daisan no biru or “third-type beer;” however, this naming is only partially correct. While all daisan no biru is new genre, not all new genre is daisan no biru.  The reason is that only the so-called “other fermented alcoholic drink” subcategory under new genre is daisan no biru. The “liquor” subcategory under new genre is called daiyon no biru or “fourth-type beer.” This term is rarely used in the media or in everyday conversation, but it does exist. Just to confuse you guys even more, another seldom used phrase is daini no biru or “second-type beer” which basically refers to happoshu.

CGC Group/Suntory Grand Gold

Another one of those double brand beers (Suntory/CGC Group). I really don't get it why a major beer company has to pair up with a retailer to come up with a new beer product. The worst part of this is that this beer, new genre to be exact, has no taste at all. It is one of the most watery beers I have ever tasted. Complete waste of effort...if there was any effort at all.

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

Sapporo Classic

Rare treat in Nagoya. I was able get my hands on this brew. Why so special you might ask? Apparently, as the can states, it is only sold in Hokkaido. I don't know how it got all the way to Nagoya. Great beer by the way. Tastes pretty good. Give it a try...if you can.

Name: Sapporo Classic
Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: Beer Company: Sapporo Breweries
Note: Sold only in Hokkaido.

Orion Okinawa Dayori

This beer is all about the can. Just by looking at it, you can feel the cool breeze on your face, hot sand under your feet and a cold one in your hand. Unfortunately, taste-wise...nothing special.

Name: Orion Okinawa Dayori
Ingredients: Happōshu (malt, hops, barley, rice, corn, starch, sugars), spirits (barley)
Alcohol content: 5%
Tax category: New Genre
Company: Orion Breweries
Note: Available only for a limited time.