Asahi unleashed this unholy abomination early in 2009. I remember seeing the ad in the train and though “Ginger ale and beer huh… doesn’t sound too great” but I bought a single 350 ml can anyway.
The base is happoshu, which for most Japanese beer drinkers is a dirty word anyway, but I have drank some very decent happoshu. (Asahi Cool Draft, Suntory The Straight, and Asahi Clear come to mind) Granted, it’s not beer, but sometimes you drink Malt Liquor just to get bombed. This is not one of those happoshu.
Anyway, this was the worst thing I’ve ever had in my mouth (I hope) and I believe it’s discontinued. If it is NOT discontinued, it should be. This garbage would never fly in the US, because there aren’t enough drugs or pachinko to allow that product to pass R and D! This is the kind of idea you get when you’re stoned, “Dude, you know what’d be cool man… like, if you could have a beer that was like an ALE, but also like a GINGER ALE, MAN!”
The color is standard happoshu piss yellow with a head that dissipates quicker than your patience for my jokes. The aroma? Who cares. It’s not even beer.
The Taste: Oh my dear lord. It has that skunky, nasty, vile happoshu flavor similar to St Ides for those in the states or Suntory “Rich Malt” for those of us in Japan. Then, the Ginger part hits, but it doesn’t taste like ginger ale and has no sweetness. It’s as if somebody ground ginger into the mix, really dreadful with an awful aftertaste. Maybe if you’re a chinese medicine man you’ll dig it. Mouthfeel was pretty standard.
TL;DR Version-
This sucked balls. I hope Asahi fired whoever thought of this garbage. Worst happoshu I have ever tried, possibly worse than Bergen Brau which I refuse to try because it looks like a generic.
If I had bought a 6 pack I would’ve chugged it or not finished it.
Note: For newcomers to Japan the surefire way to tell a Happoshu from real beer, besides price as some legit beer is low too like Asahi Draft, is to look for telltale words like “Draft” and “Brew” in the Engrish descriptions. Example “This Brew/Draft is made by our technique and is the brew/draft for all your family happy time desu!” is not a beer because they would SAY BEER!
I am not too much of a beer snob that I won’t review happoshu, and as I said above there are a few brands that I choose if I just want to get bombed. I am the type of guy who will drink OE and Colt 45 Double Malt as well as Hoegaarden and Sierra Nevada!
Asahi The Master All Malts Beer
Brand new! Saw the ad today on the train, and had to give it a shot. This is Asahi’s answer to Suntory’s The Malts Beer. Not to be confused with The Premium Malts, which is not 100% malts, this is a German authentic-style pilsner. It’s got a dark golden color similar to that of a poured Miller Genuine Draft for those unfamiliar with Japanese beer, for those familiar, quite a bit darker than Kirin Ichiban.
The head is foamy and stays up quite a while, overall just a great looking beer when it’s poured. But that is not at all what matters. What makes or breaks a beer in Japan and the world over is the flavor, so lets get to it.
This is a full bodied beer for sure, and what I mean is that the flavor of the malts comes out strong. There is a good bitterness here that, like most Japanese beers, has a clean aftertaste. The aftertaste is a major dealbreaker in Japanese beer styles, most have a pleasant or slightly fruity aftertaste (as is the case here) or none at all. Asahi Super Dry is a well known beer sporting the lack of aftertaste. It goes down easy, but it is better to savor than pound down. I actually enjoyed it more as it started to warm up a little.
Anyway the TL;DR here is that it’s a good mid level, similar to Suntory The Malts beer. I do prefer this brew to that one though, as I feel Suntory The Malts has a stronger aftertaste. Definitely worth your consideration, but when Suntory The PREMIUM Malts is about 100 yen more, I have to go with it.
Tokyo’s Suntory brewery was incorporated in 1899 and is currently the second highest selling brewery in Japan, but among beer drinkers it is a first class brew. Suntory specializes in all malts beer with their other offerings such as Suntory The Malts in the middle, and Suntory Rich Malts on the low end happoshu offerings. Be forewarned in Japan beer prices are high, so 6 pack of Suntory Premium Malts goes for around 13 US Dollars.
The German Pilsner style Suntory Premium Malts has a nice deep yellow color, great foamy head and is incredibly drinkable. Feels good in the mouth, and very easy to drink. Finishes clean as most Japanese beers do. For me, the finish is the dealbreaker for beers, any skunky aftertaste simply won’t do!
As stated by Suntory the beer is the 2005, 2006, and 2007 winner of Group I in the Monde Competition, a food and drink convention held in Brussells. Suntory The Premium Malts uses 20% more malt than beers in its category, and double the hops compared to the rest of their catalogue!
Clocking in at 5.5% abv, this is a beer to be savored, though you may find yourself getting a bit tipsy because it is so easy to drink.
TL;DR-
Pros:
Easy to drink with little aftertaste
Taste is not too bitter or strong, and has a certain sweetness
Great balance of Malts and Hops
Cons:
Price. Japanese beer is high in price anyway and Suntory Premium Malts is one of the highest out there. It is my only criticism to this delicious brew.
Sapporo, Suntory, Asahi, Kirin.
These are the names that Japanese beer drinkers know best. Due to the fact that microbrewing is a relatively new concept here in Japan. Luckily there are few products as terrible as the American macrobrew’s usual offerings. I am not some elitist from that “other” beer review site, and I want to give the real information about these 4 brands that you will be able to find in every store in Japan.
Thankfully, Japanese beer is varied and experimental, and suits a wide price range. There are beer styles similar to Malt Liquor on the low scale, and on the high scale there are German Whitebeers, Doppelbocks and Lagers that would rival any microbrewery you can find. As Microbreweries are still not that popular, and are very regional, I will be focusing on the 4 major brands of Japanese beer.
I will admit that I prefer some brands to others, but I have tried most of the modern offerings from every company (cir 2008-2009) and will continue to do so as long as I stay in Japan.
Welcome and Thank You for Reading
–Ryan