Asahi Ginger Draft...begging for your yen!

Tahara is not Nagoya. Nick sends me a message that The Black is here, I get all excited, ride my bike to Atsumi foods, 7-ll, liquor stores...no Black. I come back to my apartment a little disapointed but not empty handed. Yes, Japanese Beer always has a few tricks up its sleeve. In this case, Asahi is jumping ahead of the competion, going only where microbreweries have before, with the new Asahi Ginger Draft!

I was a little surprised when I saw the green can with the crazy cursive "Ginger Draft" writing, pressing it's aluminum rim and tab against the beer cooler door. It had fogged the glass with some excess force carbonation and written "bye me puresu" with a finger it doesn't have. Japanese Beer, like chugakko students, can't spell that well. I dropped 159 yen on the can making it Happoshu cost. From the beginning I know to expect no taste. I take the can home.

By beer standards, Ginger Draft is not good. However, it is cheap and better than many other Happoshus. With this out of the way, we will discuss how the beer sucks and how the beer does not suck. By putting the "not suck" part last, I hope to end this review on a good note.

How this beer sucks: Aside from the ginger it has no taste. I read the can and it says the beer is 25% malt. Do I believe this? Maybe. They might as well make it 0% malt for the complete lack of malty goodness.

How it does not suck: It tastes like ginger ale without sugar! Let's look at the identifiable characteristics of this beer... It has ginger and bubbles. Dump this 3 parts to 1 with some Mitsuya Cider (that's Japanese Sprite) and you have alcoholic ginger ale. The can says that it is 5.5% alcohol. Again, I am a bit sceptical of this, it tastes like 0.5% alcohol, but water over alcohol taste is a trademark of most happoshus.

In conclusion, this beer is not bad. If you see it at your local beer gettin' hole, then scoop it up at least once. The 159 yen price tag won't compromise your rent payment next month. I like Ginger. When I was young I used to get a can of ginger ale out of the fridge, climb up in a tree, drink it, and throw the can back down on the ground. Ginger ale was the only coke/soda/pop (What state are you from?) beverage that I became elevated to drink. My mom has always told me that eating candied ginger will stop sea and plane sickness. I don't know if this true but I do like candied ginger. And I kinda like this beer.

Tomorrow is the Halloween party in Sakae! My crew and I are gonna take first in the costume contest. The bringing is already ready to be brought!