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Japanese Beer

What's your favorite Japanese beer?

  • Kirin

    Votes: 19 22.1%
  • Sapporo

    Votes: 11 12.8%
  • Sapporo Draft

    Votes: 7 8.1%
  • Asahi

    Votes: 6 7.0%
  • Asahi Super Dry

    Votes: 15 17.4%
  • Suntory

    Votes: 1 1.2%
  • Ebisu

    Votes: 9 10.5%
  • Other Japanese beer

    Votes: 7 8.1%
  • Not really a Japanese beer lover

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • I don't like beer !

    Votes: 8 9.3%

  • Total voters
    86

Spaceghost

Baka
5 Jun 2004
51
0
16
I'm not a big fan of beer. I am in the UK so the usual stuff we get is Fosters, Carling, Stella Artois (at least on tap), I tried Budweiser as well, I don't like any of them.

I was reading FHM and Kirin Ichiban was rated the no. 2 beer in the world. The problem is that Japanese beer is hard to get hold of here.

I don't drink beer so I don't really know the difference in taste, all the ones I tried tasted the same to me.

This place seems to be the best for Japanese beer: http://www.mountfuji.co.uk/acatalog/Japanese_Beer.html

They have normal Kirin, but not ichiban. I like the bottle and can designs heh.

Whats your favourite beer?
 
Mine's Jupiler :D !! Stella sucks big time *yuk* and Sapporo Beer ownes too (had it the first time last week) :)
 
Japanese beers are WAY too light for me... no substance. The ONLY beer I drink in this country is Ginga Kogen. Their white "Shiro" beer beats the pants off of Kirin any day. Everything else might as well be engine oil.

I have a buddy here who brews his own. He's known quite a few people in the industry, and insists that the smaller local breweries always produce better beers than any of the national labels: krin, asahi, sapporo, et al. There are actually some rather inventive brewers in this country. But Kirin (et. al.) is not really one of them.
 
Asahi seems to be the most widely available Japanese beer in the UK, you can buy it in most supermarkets.

Its interesting how widely people's tastes differ with alcohol, my friend just recently returned from a holiday in Japan and he tested everything, he claims to not like beer normally, but he preferes Asashi to Kirin Ichiban....but then again he said that plum wine was nice, and I tried it and did not like it....
 
1. Kirin Lager
2. Kirin Classic
 

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There Used To Be....

a drink called "Tiger Piss" that looked like watered down milk. I never dared try it; anybody seen it or tried it?
Also, they served a drink that smelled like licrice that
was called Absence(SIC) that was suposed to have 12% cocaine in it. 3 or 4 tiny glasses of it would cause a person to pass out drunk.
The two major breweries, Kiren & Asahi, would invite all the military guys to their breweries to test beer about once a month, usually 2 bus loads at a time, very nice!!
In the summer, all the biggest stores had beer gardens up on the roof for about a month. It was so nice to be up high with a cool breeze & a cool beer!

Frank

PS - I should add this was in 70 & 1971!!

😊
 
Last edited:
Frank D. White said:
In the summer, all the biggest stores had beer gardens up on the roof for about a month. It was so nice to be up high with a cool breeze & a cool beer!

Frank

😊

Seems to me that the style of beer gardens have changed. I know what you mean about cool breeze and cool beer but it seems to have changed from the way it used to be.
 
Frank D. White said:
....Also, they served a drink that smelled like licrice that
was called Absence(SIC) that was suposed to have 12% cocaine in it. 3 or 4 tiny glasses of it would cause a person to pass out drunk.

Absinthe, has no cocaine in it. It does share a common compound with Marijuana, however (an active compound in wormwood - one of the main ingrediants in the drink). Chronic "use" of the drink has been linked to bizzare disorders (a.k.a. absinthism)--Van Gogh was regular drinker, and we all know how he turned out.

The licorice flavor comes from the anise seed--another key component in the drink. The next closest relative to Absinthe, without the bizzare effects, is Pernod (French). It is definitely an acquired taste--strong anise flavoring, and 80 proof. Traditionally, Absinthe was made about 75% alc. by vol.; making it about 150 proof. And, you can bet... four little shots of anything over 100 proof, is going to put you to sleep pretty quickly (dpending on tolerance, of course).

Absinthe, from wormwood, is really only available in 2 or 3 European countries... I am curious to know what it was doing in Japan.

Buddha Smoker said:
I like Ebisu...but I agree with chiquiliquis. Sometimes Japanese beer is too light.

Yeah... I haven't had any in a while, so I overlooked it... but Ebisu will get the job done 👍
 
chiquiliquis said:
Absinthe, from wormwood, is really only available in 2 or 3 European countries... I am curious to know what it was doing in Japan.

Me too! I wasn't aware that it was only a couple countries....I thought it was more than that. Interesting though.
 
Buddha Smoker said:
Me too! I wasn't aware that it was only a couple countries....I thought it was more than that. Interesting though.

Well... maybe it's more of a "production" issue...? obviously it made it to Japan... but I doubt very seriously that the stuff Frank had was actualy distilled here. I think the countries that still make it are Denmark, Portugal, and... I think one other. But Pernod (the Frenchman behind the "Pernod" label) popularized it, back in the day...

I've actually been pleasantly surprised with the availability of "exotic" liquors in Japan... but Absinthe is one of the last things I would expect to see here.
 
I didn't mind the Japanese beer while I was there, it was a bit weak but not as bad as the american stuff.

Anyone tried some real aussie beer? Coopers, VB or West End would be my suggestion.
 
Ewok85 said:
I didn't mind the Japanese beer while I was there, it was a bit weak but not as bad as the american stuff.

Anyone tried some real aussie beer? Coopers, VB or West End would be my suggestion.

I'll have you know: You've been drinking the wrong "american stuff"... but if all you get your side of the ocean is Coor's and Bud, I might be able to understand this. (those two in particular being about as exciting as recycled urine)

Mack & Jack, and Fat Tire, would be my suggestions to you.
 
Ewok85 said:
I didn't mind the Japanese beer while I was there, it was a bit weak but not as bad as the american stuff.

Anyone tried some real aussie beer? Coopers, VB or West End would be my suggestion.

Coopers and West End is not bad. Not bad at all.
 
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