I did my research before heading across the Pacific, and it seemed as though Japan was experiencing a craft beer revolution. New breweries and innovations were popping up all over the place. Blog articles have been written about the top Japanese beers to try while you're there. Let me bring you to reality. Unless you are actually visiting a brewery or are at a bar that specifically specializes in selling craft beer then you can just forget about getting anything other than a rice lager.
In the US you can go into just about any restaurant these days and get something that won't make you want you want to spew or be reminded of yellow fizz. Even at Applebee's you can usually find a Sam Adam's Seasonal or possibly a Blue Moon. I'm not saying those are the best beers out there - but when compared to American light lagers they are downright amazing. After going to Japan I will never again take this for granted. Ever.
A typical Japanese restaurant has 1 beer on tap. If they have a bottle selection it is a rarity. You know what that 1 beer is likely to be? After the first week I could guess with 95% certainty with only 3 tries. It would be Kirin, Asahi, or Sapporo. You've heard of at least 2 of those most likely. You may even have tried one of them while at a Japanese restaurant and felt you were being culturally festive.
Let me help you wake up to reality. These are cheaply made, mass produced rice lagers that taste awful. Pretending you can tell the difference between them and claim one is superior is a pointless game. Wait - you can tell the difference between Bud Light and Miller Light? Holy crap - let me give you an award - and a punch in the face. Those are both awful beers and you shouldn't be disgracing your taste buds with them (unless they are free).
I kind of gave up trying to find good beer midway through my first weekend. I had a brief moment at a restaurant when I found a brown bottle in a fridge that said "HOPPY". All the other characters were Japanese and I couldn't read them but I told the waiter I wanted one of those. He brought out the bottle as well as a glass full of what looked like water with ice in it. I was confused seeing as how you don't typically mix beer and ice water together. I proceeded to drink this "HOPPY" beer only to be very disturbed that it tasted like a very old and skunked amber or brown ale. I later found out when sipping the "ice water" that it was in fact some gin and tonic water. The "HOPPY" is supposed to mixed in to this as flavoring.
The one saving grace was that I received as a gift on my next to last day some beers from Kiuchi Brewery. They started out making Sake many years ago and about 20 years ago starting a beer brewery as well. Their flagship beer is the "Hitachino Nest Beer". It is flavored with orange juice and spice, but after 2 weeks of rice lagers this was like getting rain in the desert!
These 2 pictures below kind of sum up the readily accessible Japanese beer scene.
Selling Asahi beer in a vending machine. No ID required. Just put your Yen in and get your crap beer out.
Budweiser is available at the local Seven Eleven. Yes. It made it across the world tasting no better than it left the USA.
Never take the US beer scene for granted.
-- Ben
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