Japanese beer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese beer had its start during the Edo Period when the Dutch opened beer halls for the sailors who worked on the trade route between Japan and the Dutch Empire. Japanese-style commercial brewing has been exported to much of southeast Asia and factories are spread throughout the world.
Beer is the most favoured alcoholic drink in Japan. It was introduced in the early Meiji period from Germany. Major makers are Asahi, Kirin, and Sapporo while small local breweries supply distinct tasting beers. Lager beers are most common but beers made with lower grain contents called "Happoushu" (low malt beer, sparkling alcoholic drink) have captured a large part of the market as tax is lower on these products. Drinking beer with salted boiled beans, edamame, is known as a favourite summer pastime for adults.
Contents |
[edit] Beer classification
Due to the Japanese taxation system, the varieties of brewed malt beverages in Japan are categorized into two groupings: beer and happoshu. The distinction is made based on the amount of malt used relative to grain adjuncts, with the term happoshu ascribed to low-malt brews. Japanese regulations forbid the use of the word beer or Bīru (ビール ) in katakana to describe brews containing less than 67% malt (thus allowing up to 33% adjuncts including rice, corn, sorghum, potato, starch, and sugar). [1]
Many restaurants and drinking establishments only serve the officially recognized beers. Many imported beers in Japan are labeled happoshu if the malt content is too low.
Since 2004, Japanese breweries have produced even lower taxed, non-malt brews made from soybeans and other ingredients which do not fit the classifications for beer or happoshu. Dubbed the third beer by the Japanese media, they are officially classified as "Other miscellaneous alcohol" or "Liquor".
[edit] Methods of distribution
In Japan, beer can be sold in vending machines, but vending machines are prohibited by law to sell alcoholic beverages and cigarettes after 11 PM. Some vending machines are known to have motion activated advertising that displays on small TV screens embedded into them. They play beer commercials and jingles that are seen on TV and heard on the radio.
Japan has liberal laws in regards with the selling and consumption of alcohol. Beer can be purchased at a wide variety of outlets, including supermarkets, convenience stores and kiosks at train stations and can be consumed virtually anywhere but Japan has very strict laws against operating a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle after or during the consumption of alcohol.
[edit] Seasonal beers
Many breweries in Japan offer seasonal beers, which are produced only during one of the four seasons. In autumn, for instance, "autumn beers" are brewed with a higher alcohol content, typically 6% as opposed to the common 5% of Asahi Super Dry. For example, Kirin's Akiaji beer. The beer cans are typically decorated with pictures of autumn leaves, and the beers are advertised as being suitable for drinking with nabemono (one-pot cooking). Similarly in "winter" beers such as fuyumonogatari (translated as "The Winter's Tale" on the can) appear.
[edit] Japanese beers abroad
In the UK, in the late 1990s, beer branded as being Kirin Lager Beer from the Japanese brewery Kirin was put on sale. However, the beer was in fact entirely produced in the UK, and the alcohol content of 4% was different from the original Japanese level of 5%.
In the US, three of the four major Japanese brands are available. These include Sapporo Draft, Kirin Ichiban (Number One, as opposed to the normal Lager which is not available), and Asahi Super Dry. All are produced in Canada, under the supervision of the parent companies. Suntory Malts beer is not available. Orion Beer is also available, imported from Okinawa Prefecture. Availability of brands depends on an individual state's liquor laws, resulting in some beers being available in some places and others not. For example, in Oklahoma, Asahi Super Dry, Sapporo, and Orion are available, whereas in Texas, Kirin Ichiban is prevalent.
[edit] Contemporary Japanese beers
- Asahi
- Asahi Super Dry
- Asahi Black
- Asahi Hon-nama (happoshu)
- Kirin
- Kirin Lager Beer
- Kirin Ichiban Shibori
- Kirin Fukkoku Lager (A series of historical beers corresponding to recipies used during the reigns of the Taisho and Meiji Emperors)
- Kirin Tanrei (happoshu)
- Sapporo
- Sapporo Black Label
- Yebisu
- Hokkaido Nama-shibori (happoshu)
- Suntory
- Suntory Malt's
- Super Magnum Dry (happoshu)
- Orion
- Orion Draft Beer
- Orion Special
- Otaru
[edit] Microbreweries
In 1994, Japan's strict tax laws were relaxed allowing smaller breweries producing 60,000 litres (15,850 gal). Before this change, breweries could not produce less than 2 million litres (528,000 gal). As a result, a number of smaller breweries have been established throughout Japan. Because it is illegal to produce beverages containing more than 1% alcohol, homebrewing is uncommon.
