Japanese beer
Encyclopedia
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
when the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
opened a beer hall
Beer hall
A beer hall is a large pub that specializes in beer. Bavaria's capital Munich is the city most associated with beer halls; almost every brewery in Munich operates a beer hall...
for sailors working the trade route between Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the Dutch Empire
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
. Japanese-style commercial brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
has been exported to much of southeast Asia and factories are spread throughout the world.
Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in Japan, accounting for nearly two thirds of the 9 billion liters of alcohol consumed in 2006. During the late 19th century (the start of the Japanese Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
) brewers from Germany arrived.
Major makers are Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory while small local breweries supply distinct tasting beers. Lager beers are most common but beers made with lower grain contents called "Happoushu
Happoshu
Happoshu , or low-malt beer, is a tax category of Japanese liquor that most often refers to a beer-like beverage with less than 67% malt content...
" (発泡酒, low malt beer, literally sparkling alcoholic drink) have captured a large part of the market as tax is lower on these products.
Beer classification
Due to the Japanese taxation system, the varieties of brewed malt beverages in Japan are categorized into two groupings: beerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and happoshu. The distinction is made based on the amount of malt
Malt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
used relative to grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
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
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
to describe brews containing less than 67% malt (thus allowing up to 33% adjuncts including rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
, starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
, and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
).
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 soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
s and other ingredients which do not fit the classifications for beer or happoshu. Dubbed the third beer or third-category beers or Happousei (発泡性, literally type of Happou; this is what is usually written on the can, either this or "Liqueur" (リキュール) Incidentally, liqueur also refers to what we would commonly think of as a liqueur as well as the Chuhai
Chuhai
, often sold as Chu-Hi as a canned drink, is an alcoholic drink originating from Japan. The name is derived from "shōchū highball". Traditional chūhai is made with shōchū and carbonated water flavored with lemon, though some modern commercial variants use vodka in place of shōchū...
drink) by the Japanese media (dai-san no biru), they are officially classified as "Other miscellaneous alcohol" or "Liqueur".
Methods of distribution
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. However, Japan has very strict laws against operating a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle after or during the consumption of alcohol.
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 nabemonoNabemono
Nabemono or simply called nabe, is a term referring to all varieties of Japanese steamboat dishes, also known as one pot dishes....
(one-pot cooking). Similarly in winter, beers such as fuyumonogatari (translated as "The Winter's Tale" on the can) appear.
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. Asahi is produced by Molson in Canada, Kirin is produced at an Anheuser-Busch facility in Los Angeles, and Sapporo is produced at a Sapporo-owned brewery in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Suntory 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.
Kiuchi brewery was the first Japanese microbrewery to export beer from Japan. While some other microbreweries now export marginal amounts, approximately 60% of Kiuchi's sales are overseas and it remains the largest exporter.
- Asahi BreweriesAsahi BreweriesAsahi Breweries, Ltd. is a leading brewery and soft drink company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company has a 40% share of the Japanese beer market....
- Asahi Super Dry
- Asahi Black
- Asahi Hon-nama (happoshu)
- Kirin Brewery CompanyKirin Brewery Companyis a Japanese company. It is a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu.-Overview:Kirin sells two of the most popular beers in Japan, Kirin Lager--the country's oldest beer brand--and Ichiban Shibori. In the happoshu category, Kirin Tanrei is the top seller. Kirin handles domestic distribution for...
- Kirin Lager Beer
- Kirin Ichiban Shibori
- Kirin Fukkoku Lager (A series of historical beers corresponding to recipes used during the reigns of the Taisho and Meiji Emperors)
- Kirin Tanrei (happoshu)
- Sapporo Brewery
- Sapporo Black Label
- Yebisu
- Yebisu Black
- Yebisu - The Hop
- Hokkaido Nama-shibori (happoshu)
- SuntorySuntoryis a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...
- Suntory Malts
- Suntory - The Premium Malts
- Super Magnum Dry (happoshu)
- OrionOrion Breweriesis the 5th largest beer brewery in Japan, headquartered in Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture. The company commands approximately 1% of the Japanese beer market. However, it controls over 50% of the beer market on Okinawa....
- Orion Draft Beer
- Orion Special
- Orion Original
- Orion Southern Star
- Orion Cider
- Orion Dry
- Orion Premium
- Otaru
Dry Wars
The Dry Senso or ドライ戦争 (どらいせんそう, dorai sensō) meaning Dry Wars, was a period of intense competition between Japanese brewery companies over dry beer. It began in 1987 with the launch of Asahi Super Dry by Asahi Breweries which led to the introduction of dry beer by other breweries.The Kirin Brewery Company, which held 50% share of the Japanese domestic beer market, launched Kirin Dry in February 1988 in an advertising campaign featuring actor Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, and in April of the same year launched the all-malt Kirin Malt Dry. However, they were unable to stop Asahi’s momentum. In 1990 Kirin launched Ichiban Shibori in direct competition with Asahi Super Dry, but ended up cannibalising profits on their own Kirin Lager Beer brand. Kirin never ended up regaining its 50% market share.
Sapporo Breweries launched the doomed Sapporo Dry in February 1988, and in May 1989 rebranded their flagship product Sapporo Black Label as Sapporo Draft to an unfavourable reception. Production of Sapporo Dry and Sapporo Draft was halted less than two years after their respective launches, and Sapporo Draft later returned to being Black Label.
Suntory launched their Malts brand in February 1988 in an "I don't do dry" campaign, while at the same time launching Suntory Dry, later rebranded to Suntory Dry 5.5 in an advertising campaign featuring boxer Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
after increasing the alcohol content from 5% to 5.5%. This achieved reasonable results, although not enough to slow down demand of Asahi Super Dry.
The end result was victory to Asahi Super Dry. The other companies later set their sights on low malt beer and cheap malt-free beer known as "third beer".
The Dry Wars were criticised in an episode of the manga Oishinbo
Oishinbo
is a long-running cooking manga written by Tetsu Kariya and drawn by Akira Hanasaki. The manga's title is a portmanteau of the Japanese word for delicious, oishii, and the word for someone who loves to eat, kuishinbo. The series depicts the adventures of culinary journalist Shirō Yamaoka and his...
(the Gourmet), published at around the time of the saga.
Microbreweries
In 1994, Japan's strict tax laws were relaxed allowing smaller breweries producing 60,000 litres (15,850 gal) per year. Before this change, breweries could not get a license without producing at least 2 million litres (528,000 gal) per year. As a result, a number of smaller breweries have been established throughout Japan. Although it is technically illegal to produce beverages containing more than 1% alcohol without a license, the law is rarely adhered to for homebrewers and homebrewing supplies are available from high street store Tokyu Hands and various websites.The Japanese word for microbrew is Ji Bīru(地ビール), or "local beer," though Japanese microbrew industry professionals are increasingly using the word "craft beer" (kurafuto bia) in their labels and marketing literature. There are currently over 200 microbreweries in Japan making Ji Bīru of various styles including ale, stout, pilsener, weizen, Kölsch, and others. After the relaxation of the Liquor Tax Law there was a boom in microbrewing, but it has gradually leveled off. One problem was the rising popularity of low cost happoshu
Happoshu
Happoshu , or low-malt beer, is a tax category of Japanese liquor that most often refers to a beer-like beverage with less than 67% malt content...
(low malt beer), compared to the high cost microbrews, which forced some early microbreweries out of business. In Japan, the dominance of the majors and the relative high cost and low volume involved in producing micros led to their only being known to a small number of beer enthusiasts. The higher price of microbrews, the shorter shelf-life, and lower production volume, compared to the national major brewers, have all combined to make things very difficult for many small breweries. However, thanks to factors such as special licensed production for some bar and restaurant chains and cooperation between micro breweries, the industry has managed to maintain itself. There are a growing number of regional microbrew festivals held throughout Japan, including the annual Tokyo Real Ale Festival and the Great Japan Beer Festival held annually in Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. Every year the Japan Craft Beer Association holds the Japan Beer Cup, while a competing organization, Japan Craft Beer Support, has launched the annual Japan Craft Beer Selection.
List of microbreweries
- Taisetsu Ji Bīru 大雪地ビール (Asahikawa, Hokkaido) Winner of many awards including the Japan Beer Grand Prix
- Furano Ji Bakushu 富良野地麦酒 (Furano, Hokkaido)
- Okhotsk Bīru オホーツクビール (Kitami, Hokkaido)
- Tokachi Bīru 十勝ビール (Obihiro, Hokkaido)
- Otaru Bīru 小樽ビール (Otaru, Hokkaido)
- Kamui Bīru カムイビール (Iwamizawa, Hokkaido)
- Onuma Bīru 大沼ビール (Nanae, Hokkaido)
- Hakodate Bīru はこだてビール (Hakodate, Hokkaido)
- Tazawako Bīru 田沢湖ビール (Senboku, Akita) The first microbrew in Akita Prefecture
- Ginga Kogen Bīru 銀河高原ビール (Nishiwaga, Iwate)
- Miyamori Bīru みやもりビール (Miyamori village, Iwate)
- Echigo Bīru エチゴビール( Niigata, Niigata)
- Nasu Kogen Bīru 那須高原ビール (Nasu, Tochigi)
- Hitachino Nest Bīru 常陸野ネストビール (Naka, Ibaraki)
- Gotenba Kogen Bīru 御殿場高原ビール (Gotenba, Shizuoka)
- Yo-ho Brewing ヤッホー・ブルーイング (Karuizawa, Nagano) Makers of award winning Yona Yona Ale
- Nagahama Roman Bīru 長浜浪漫ビール (Nagahama, Shiga)
- Minoh Brewery 箕面ブリュワリー (Minoh, Osaka)
- Awaji Bīru あわぢビール (Awaji-shima, Hyogo)
- Rokko Biru 六甲ビール (Kobe, Hyogo)
- Baird Brewing Company 合資会社ベアードブルーイング (Numazu, Shizuoka)
- Sankt Gallen Brewing サンクトガーレン有限会社 (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
- Daisen G Bīru 大山Gビール (Hōki, Tottori)
- Hideji Bīru ひでじビール (Nobeoka, Miyazaki)
- Zumona Bīru (Tono, Iwate)
Beer in Manga
Naturally, beer features heavily in any Japanese mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
or anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series where adults drink alcohol. Often, though, to avoid copyright issues the artists either leave the labels off the bottles or alter the name slightly (such as "Krin" instead of "Kirin", or "Soporo" instead of "Sapporo"). Examples of this usage are too numerous to list.
- MoyashimonMoyashimonMoyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, known in Japan as , is a manga series created by Masayuki Ishikawa. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen magazine Evening since August 2004. It won the 2008 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Grand Prize and the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga...
is a manga that illustrates the production methods of a wide variety of Japanese sakes, including nihonshu and awamoriAwamoriAwamori is an alcoholic beverage indigenous to and unique to Okinawa, Japan. It is made from rice, and is not a direct product of brewing but of distillation ....
. The entire volume 8 of the manga is dedicated to Japanese local beers. The last few pages of the volume list various microbrew beers, including Preston Ale, Coedo and Nagisa Beer. - Preston Ale is produced by Joyful Honda Co., which is a corporate umbrella that owns brands in a wide variety of industries like furniture and pet supplies. One such brand is Preston Cafe, which has its own line of house beers, branded as "Preston Ale", and brewed in Utsunomiya. Preston Cafe has a "Moyashimon" line of beers, with the manga characters on the label. In December, 2010, there was the Moyashimon Presents Preston Ale End of Year Party event at the UDX Building in Akihabara, Tokyo, which included artist signings and servings of Preston Ale. Copies of the manga and manga-related toys were also on sale.
External links
- Beer in Japan: Website promoting the craft beer scene in Japan (English)
- Brewers Association of Japan (English)
- Directory of Japanese Brewers (RateBeer.com)
- Comprehensive series of articles on beer in Japan
- Agri-food Canada: The Beer Market in Japan
- The Japan Beer Times: a bilingual magazine and website for Japanese craft beer
- Homebrewing in Japan (English; BeerInJapan.com)
- Japanese beer brands guide (English; United Nations of Beer)