Asahi Craftmanship Dry Porter

Wow! Truly great brew. I am not really into porter, but this one might just change my mind about it.
The can design is kind of simple, but it is still a nice change compared to the usual "ASAHI and same paint slapped around it" type of design.

Name: Asahi Craftmanship Dry Porter
Launch: Feb. 10, 2015
Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: 6%
Tax category: Beer
Company: Asahi Breweries
Note: Sold at convenience stores only.

Grand Kirin Bittersweet

Compared to the other five Grand Kirin products, probably this one is the worst. It is called Bittersweet, but to me it just tastes Waytoosweet. Unlike many Southeast Asian beers that have a hint of sweetness, this one leaves a massive milky sweetish aftertaste. Brrr...

Besides, Bittersweet seems to destroy the original concept of selling the proto Grand Kirin product at all convenience stores and the four other ones at a specific convenience store. It is sold at 7-Eleven stores along with its older brother The Aroma.

Since only Bittersweet and The Aroma contain sugars among the Grand Kirin lineup, could it be the Bittersweet will replace The Aroma? Let's wait and see...

Name: Grand Kirin Bittersweet
Launch date: December 2, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops, sugars (lactose)

Alcohol content: 5.5%
Tax category: Beer
Company: Kirin Brewery
Note: Sold at 7-Eleven only.

Suntory Craftsman’s Beer / Kasshoku no Yoin

Fruity. Good balance. Long aftertaste. Great.

Name: Suntory Craftsman’s Beer / Kasshoku no Yoin

Launch: December 9, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops

Alcohol content: 5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Suntory Holdings

Note: Limited quantity sold only at Aeon Group stores.

Suntory Craftsman’s Beer / Enjuku no Umami

It is obvious they put a lot of effort into this brew. Great stuff.

Name: Suntory Craftsman’s Beer / Enjuku no Umami

Launch: October 14, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Suntory Holdings

Note: Limited quantity sold only at Aeon Group stores.

Grand Kirin Hop Fruity

Fruity indeed.

Name: Grand Kirin Hop Fruity
Launch date: September 23, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Kirin Brewery
Note: Sold at Family Mart only.

Sapporo Migaki Mugi Creamy Shitate

Eh... Tastes like some cheap Korean import. Stay away from it!

Name: Sapporo Migaki Mugi Creamy Shitate
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.

Grand Kirin Mild Rich

Wow! Great summer beer! It tastes kind of minty. I like it.

Name: Grand Kirin Mild Rich
Launch date: Aug. 5, 2014

Ingredients: Malt (barley malt, wheat malt), hops

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Kirin Brewery
Note: Sold at Lawson only. 330ml bottle.

Grand Kirin Browny

Good stuff. If you like ale, you will love this one.

Name: Grand Kirin Browny

Launch date: July 29, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops

Alcohol content: 6.5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Kirin Brewery
Note: Sold at Circle K/Sunkus only.

Sapporo Hyakunin no Kiseki

This time appears to be the ale season in Japan. Kirin released one at the end of July and Sapporo and Yebisu will launch two more in September. I'm basically a lager fan, but this one is pretty good I think.

Name: Sapporo Hyakunin no Kiseki
Launch date: Aug. 5, 2014
Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: 7%
Tax category: Beer  
Company: Sapporo Breweries Note: Sold at convenience stores only.

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.

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.

Grand Kirin The Aroma

Check out my post on the Grand Kirin first because most of my comment on that brew applies to this one as well. I purchased both beers at the same time to be able to compare them, but to be honest, there wasn’t much to compare. They do taste somewhat different, but I don’t see why they had to launch two versions of the same product.

 

 

Name: Grand Kirin The Aroma

Launch date: November 12, 2013

Ingredients: Malt (barley malt, wheat malt), hops, sugars (lactose)

Alcohol content: 5.5%
Tax category: Beer
Company: Kirin Brewery
Note: Sold at 7-Eleven only.

Grand Kirin

Beautiful design and I also like the enlarged bottle opening which makes it easier to drink it straight from the bottle. Although it has great smell, the taste itself is kind of a disappointment. It is good, but nothing really special. In addition, while other premium beers - which are sold in can - are 350ml, the Grand Kirin is only 330ml. Replacing the usual can packaging with a nice-looking bottle is a great idea in terms of design, but it should be 350ml just like other premium beers. Looking at volume to price ratio, now the Grand Kirin is probably the most expensive premium beer on the market, even more expensive than Yebisu which is usually priced a few yen higher than other premium brews.

Name: Grand Kirin
Launch date: June 19, 2012

Ingredients: Malt, hops
Alcohol content: 6%
Tax category: Beer
Company: Kirin Brewery
Note: Sold at convenience stores only. Initially sold only at 7-Eleven.

Yebisu Royal Selection

Sorry, but not impressed at all. It tastes wonderful, but it is no different from regular Yebisu.

Name: Yebisu Royal Selection
Type:
Ingredients: Malt (barley, wheat), hops
Alcohol content: 5.5%
Tax category: Beer
Company: Sapporo Breweries
Note: Limited quantity sold only at convenience stores.

Suntory Craftsman’s Beer / Kifu no Kaori

Wow! One of the best beers I tasted this year. It is just perfect. Almost like alcohol turned into art.

Name: Suntory Craftsman’s Beer / Kifu no Kaori

Launch: April 10, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops

Alcohol content: 5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Suntory Holdings

Note: Limited quantity sold only at Aeon Group stores.

Asahi Double Yeast

Not bad, but it is nothing out of ordinary.  Worth a try. On the other hand, the can design is great. It has a luxurious feel to it. Almost like an item that you wanna put on your shelf as a decoration.

Name: Asahi Double Yeast
Launch: Apr. 22, 2014

Ingredients: Malt, hops, rice, corn, starch

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Tax category: Beer

Company: Asahi Breweries

Note: Limited quantity sold only at Aeon Group stores.

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.

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.

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.