Japanese Beer

[Hatredcopter]

My favorite Japanese beer is also Asahi Kuronama (Asahi black). I'm a big fan of stouts - although Asahi black is not a stout, it's pretty similar in taste.

[Columbine]

Honestly, i didn't get what all the excitement about Sapporo beer was about. It was ok, not horrible, but it didn't make me want to leap from my seat and proclaim it to the gods like most people seemed to tell me. Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed with Japanese beer, it was all rather light and fizzy and watery and I'm used to Real Ale. Asahi black was on the good end of the spectrum but it still was a bit like a larger with an ambition to be stout and a dye-job.

I did have a really good local brew though that was light and yet really flavorsome. No name, just a namabiru. There was a canned one too (i forget the name, it was half yellow, half white) that I got from a vending machine and was surprisingly palatable. I will still happily drink Asahi super-dry, but for me it's like... a step up from Corona which is a step up from ~really~ shit beer. Bud, for example or anything with 'light' on the label. Anything with it's own sports event.

Japanese Guinness is a travesty and should never be drunk ever, ever, ever. I DO recommend though, the international beer house in Kobe which had an utterly FANTASTIC selection, including radieuse and black varieties of Belgian brewed Leffe (excellent stuff even in the cheaper blonde and brun varieties) the latter of which was about 1000 yen for a pint, but oh god... so worth it. Best pint I have ever drunk anywhere, ever, which is a shame as i've never found it anywhere else so I'm not sure the black is even made any more.

[ThaDuke]

Originally Posted by alanX

Tell what? It's a nice strong beer that gets me wasted.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/716/3969

Haha - Amen. Maybe one day I'll come across the tastey creation.

[Seanus]

Kirin Ichiban was probably the best, as the name would suggest. Asahi was probably the worst. Suntory and Sapporo are very drinkable but without the character of Kirin Ichiban.

[ThaDuke]

Originally Posted by Seanus

Kirin Ichiban was probably the best, as the name would suggest. Asahi was probably the worst. Suntory and Sapporo are very drinkable but without the character of Kirin Ichiban.

Sounds like I need to finally try Kirin Ichiban. For some reason, I've always put it off.

[Barone1551]

My favorite Japanese beer would be Asahi super dry or sapporo. Like it has been said before, beer is very expensive in japan. If you want to get drunk of beer there at a decent price you pretty much have to go to an all you can drink place.

My favorite any other place beer would have to be anything from Leinenkugels. Especially sunset wheat or summer shandy. I also like blue moon, fat tire, and mother ship wit. I could pretty much go all day and list my favorite beers lol.

[bELyVIS]

I heard there was a microbrewery near Minoo (close to Osaka) that had great beer. Never had it but it sounded good. Microbrew beats all commerical beer.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Barone1551

Like it has been said before, beer is very expensive in japan. If you want to get drunk of beer there at a decent price you pretty much have to go to an all you can drink place.

On a whole, its not much worse off than Canada price-wise. The only real difference is the discount offered on bulk amounts.

[ThaDuke]

Originally Posted by Barone1551

If you want to get drunk of beer there at a decent price you pretty much have to go to an all you can drink place.

Excuse me? Come again? You said 'all you can drink place'?

Where is this heaven?

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by ThaDuke

Excuse me? Come again? You said 'all you can drink place'?

Where is this heaven?

Most Japanese "bars" (I use that loosely, as it`s more like a restaurant-pub than the US image of a bar at least...) and restaurants with a regular alcohol selection will offer an all-you-can-drink course. You pay a flat rate and can order as many drinks as you want from within a certain menu/list.
It usually isn`t cheap, but if you do drink a lot it can end up that way.

I find beer flat out disgusting (sorry to those who love it) as does my husband so we rarely do that sort of course and just order something stronger from the start if we order alcohol at all.