Posts Tagged ‘asahi ginger draft’
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!