Beer Guide to Japan
I moved to Japan from the United States. The United States was never really known for their beers until recently. Still, many people not from there associate the US with bad and cheap beer like Budweiser. Over time beer started to evolve and microbreweries popped up everywhere. Now, in the US, you can find great beer in almost any town.
I don’t consider myself a beer snob, but I do like a good beer! Prior to living in Japan, I visited the city of Fukuoka and sampled several beers within a few days and wasn’t to impressed with the beer in Japan. I’ve lived in Japan going on three years now and have tried hundreds of different Japanese beers. I can honestly say, I have a Love/Hate relationship with beer here and want to share my thoughts on Japanese beer, where I think it’s heading, recommendations, and share some of my favorite and least favorite beers and breweries around Japan.
Beer in Japan, The Big Four - Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory
Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory. These beers are basically your Budweiser’s and Coor’s of Japan. These four beers are very popular all around Japan and one or two of them will be found in almost any restaurant, bar, or even vending machine throughout Japan. Asahi is definitely the most popular beer in Japan. I’m not a huge fan of any of these, but if I had to pick which I like best, I’d go with a Sapporo.
Asahi – Asahi has been around since the 1890’s but didn’t begin mass production until the 1960’s. Asahi’s Super Dry is the most popular beer in Japan. Asahi Super Dry is your typical lager. This beer is found in most restaurants on draught. You can also find the Super Dry in bottles and cans.
Kirin – Kirin technically began around 1885 after over a previous brewery known as Spring Valley Brewery. It wasn’t until 1907 where Kirin got their true identity and began to expand. They purchased ingredients from Germany and even hired German brewers to manage the process and production.
Kirin is considered one of the world’s largest and most successful multi businesses as they have expanded past just brewing beer. Kirin also owns restaurants, transportation services, sport complexes, etc.. Kirin Ichian and the Kirin Lager are the most popular beers brewed by Kirin.
Sapporo – I wrote a post on a trip we took to Sapporo and wrote about visiting Sapporo Brewery. The brewery is in the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. The brewery itself was pretty amazing, the free tour was alright and the beer is just alright. But they have a great yakiniku restaurant here that is well worth checking out.
To sum up what I wrote in my Sapporo post. Sapporo Brewery was founded in 1876 and considered Japan’s oldest brewery. Sapporo’s most popular beers are the Nama Beer Black Label and Yeisu Beer.
Suntory – Suntory started in 1899. Suntory has succeeded in brewing beer and they make Japanese Whiskey among other beverages. Suntory’s most popular beers include their Kinmugi Rich Malt and The Premium Malts.
What is Happoshu?
We are all familiar with typical beer styles like Lager, IPA, or Ales. If not, I got you covered! I wrote a post on My Favorite and Most Surprising Beer Destinations that outlines some popular styles.
I use the Untappd app to check in and keep track of my beers. When logging in many cheap Japanese beers, I noticed the style was listed as Happoshu and honestly, I had no clue what this was until writing this.
Apparently, Happoshu is beer like and has a low malt content, somewhere around 67% or less. Because of the low malt content, Happoshu is cheaper then regular beers due to Japanese tax laws on alcohol. Many of the beers listed above from the Big Four, are considered Happoshu Beers.
Microbreweries in Japan
The craft beer scene in Japan has yet to explode like it has in other parts of the world. It seems like the locals are still quite satisfied and happy with their Happoshu and cheap lagers. But I am seeing more and more Japanese craft beers on the shelves whether it be at local liquor stores or grocery stores, good beer seems to be inching its way into Japan.
A quick Google Search tells me that there are about 300 microbreweries in Japan. I moved here from the United States where there are 9,000 microbreweries, maybe even more by now. Finding a good brewery in Japan does take a little research and possibly going out of your way because they are not found all throughout the cities. That being said, I’ve found myself at dozens of breweries here in Japan and have great experiences at each and every one.
Below are some of my favorite Breweries in Japan that I have been to so far. I’m sure this list will expand as I travel more around Japan.
Isekado Brewery (Ise, Mie Prefecture) This is becoming one of my favorite breweries in Japan. Almost every beer I’ve had brewed by Isekado has been outstanding. They brew Neko Nihiki, which is one of my favorites and their Hazy IPA is definitely my favorite Hazy IPA in Japan. Their brewery is just as great as their beer. It’s in an old traditional house. The brewery is also known for their oysters. Of course, we couldn’t pass up a nice oyster set meal to go along with our flight of beer at Isekado Brewery.
Kumezakura Daisen Brewery – (Maruyama, Tottori Prefecture) – Daisen G Beer is probably my favorite brewery in Japan. We had an incredible experience here. After hiking Mt. Daisen, we stopped by this brewery for a few drinks and lunch. This brewery had incredible beer at an even better price. Not sure if we came on a special day or if it is always like this, but the brewery had an All-You-Can-Drink special for ¥1000 which is less then $10. I was so surprised by this I asked the server multiple times if I heard that right. Aside from having great beer, they made food that was just as good.
Miyajima Brewery (Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture) – We’ve been to Miyajima Brewery several times. The brewery is conveniently located in the heart of downtown. They have a booth on the first floor and a restaurant on the second floor. Miyajima Brewery had some pretty unique beers like an Oyster Stout or Yuzu Ale, both great beers!
Wolfbraü (Naha, Okinawa Prefecture) – Across the street from Shuri Castle in Naha is Wolfbraü. Wolfbraü is a local brewery that is run by a German brewer. I managed to try a few of their beers and it brought me back home to Germany. Their beers tasted like any good beers I could find back home. I drank their hefeweizen and a Marzen beer, both very good, but the hefeweizen was my favorite. Since Jill was driving, the brewer gave her a glass of there non-alcoholic beer and we were both amazed by how good it was!
Y. Market Brewing (Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture) – Y. Market Brewing was the latest brewery I went to while traveling around Nagoya. I came here because it was close to my hotel and it appeared they had good beer and food. Their food was rather good. Nagoya is famous for their chicken wings and Y. Market Brewing cooked up some flavorful wings for us. Their beers were heavy on the IPA, which I am a fan of. Out of the 5 beers I had here, 3 of them were IPA’s. I rated their Lupulin Nectar as their best beer on tap that night.
Yamato (Nara, Nara Prefecture) – Another one of my favorites in Japan was Yamato Brewery. Yamato Brewery was downtown Nara not far from the world famous Nara Park and the Bowing Deer. We found this place on accident, we were just looking for a place to eat and escape the rainy weather. Glad we came here as the service was great, the food was incredible, and the beers were pretty good. I highly recommend their pizzas here and karaage (type of Japanese fried chicken).
My Thoughts on Japanese Beer
I stated in the introduction, I have a Love/Hate relationship with the beer scene here in Japan. I’m not a fan of your typical lagers and unfortunately they are still very common and popular here. That being said, I’ll still drink an Asahi or Kirin at a local Izakaya and still enjoy the fresh and crisp taste. I just prefer my craft beer and would take a craft beer any day over your typical lagers.
I’ve tried over 360 different beers in Japan now and have found many great craft beers that I’ve fell in love with, some that could compete against stuff I’ve had in the United States but it has been few and far between.
It’s a challenge to find craft beer here. Typical liquor stores sell your traditional Asahi in a can and that is about it. I’ve found that local grocery stores usually carry regional craft beer. Now every time I go to a new city I always pop into a grocery store and pick up a few bottles of local brews. So far I’ve had incredible luck doing this. So my recommendation, is, go to a local grocery store in Japan and pick up a couple locals beers if available.
You can find taprooms in some of the larger cities. I’ve found a few great taprooms as well. Generally they will have flights and pints of local beers around Japan. It can be quite expensive, but to me it is worth it.
My Highest Ranked and Lowest Ranked Beers
I use the Untappd app religiously when it comes to checking in, rating, and discovering new beers. This app is a great way to find beers, breweries, and keep track of what you are drinking. On the app, you can set filters. I set my filters to show my highest rated beers to my lowest rated beers. The rating is a scale from 0 to 5. 0 being the beer was undrinkable and had to be poured down the drain and 5 being that the beer was outstanding and I definitely want to drink it again.
Below are a few of the Japanese beers that I have rated a 4 or higher.
Shiga Kogen The Far East Barrel Aged Imperial House IPA #6 by Tamamura Honten Co.
Neko Nihiki by Ise Kadoya Brewery
Shiga Kogen Sono 10 No. 10 Anniversary IPA by Tamamura Honten Co.
W-IPA by Arch Brewery from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Cyonmage IPA by Yamaguchi Hagi Beer Ltd.
Kakuida Stout by Fukuyama Kurozu K.K.
Afterdark Lager by Spring Valley Brewery
Mango Ale by Helios Distillery Co.
Dosy Coyote by Cliff in Okinawa
Doppo Peach Pils by Miyashita Sake Brewery
Kokutou Sweet Stout by Sankt Gallen Brewery
Lupulin Nectar by Y. Market Brewing
Below are some of the beers that did not impress me and I ranked them as a .50 or below
Gokujo and Red Eye by Asahi
Fuyu Monogatari – Winter’s Tale and Mugi to Hop Single Malt by Sapporo
Barreal Toshitsu by Aeon Topvalu
Clear Free by Orion
Tanrei Green Label by Kirin
Godzilla IPA by Nanto Brewery
Okinawa's Orion Beer
I can’t really talk about beer in Japan without mentioning Orion. Orion is Japan’s 5th largest brewery and has been around since 1957. Orion is from Nago, Okinawa and the water in their beers comes from nearby springs.
Honestly, Orion’s most popular beer their lager, tastes just like the rest of the cheap lagers around Japan, It’s nothing special.
Orion does have a craft series which I actually think are pretty good. So far I’ve seen and drank their 75Beer Pale Ale, Stout, Amber Ale, Fruit Saison, Weizen, and IPA. I do recommend trying these.
Kanpai!
Craft beer and micro breweries are slowly gaining popularity in Japan. I look forward to seeing how beer will evolve here and can’t wait until the explosion of craft beer as it is in other countries. I feel it will still be a while and the Big 4 will still dominate the beer scene here. But, I have noticed the increase in breweries, taprooms, and sales of craft beers around Japan, you just have to look for it. On that note, I think I’ll pop open a beer! Kanpai!
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