Some Free Advice:

It's true people. We are in a recession. The almighty dollar doesn't go as far as it used to, which sucks for all of you making dollars instead of YEN! HA! Didn't see that one coming did you? And while it is true that the yen stretches further in the US these days, sadly in Japan...1 yen is still worth 1 yen. However strong the Yen may appear these days, the crunch is hitting Japan. Add that to the fact that many Japanese people are steering away from beer, and we could be in for troubled times in the future. The economic crunch is going to make it harder for small breweries to stay in business, but rest assured that the big boys won't be affected too much. However, they are trying to help out the little man with his thin wallet, and at the same time are making crappy beers. The big four have realized that people want to drink beer, get a buzz and penny pinch at the same time. So, drinks like strong seven and other piss waters have invaded the shelves of your local conbini. No doubt you've encountered some kind of "70% off", or "free" beer on the shelf. Be warned people. These drinks aren't even beer at all. Most of them are water flavored to taste like beer, with some kind of grain alcohol added to make sure it gives you a buzz. Basically this is the instant coffee of the beer world. And wouldn't you know it, it was a Japanese dude that invented instant coffee as well.

Who knows what this year will hold for micro-brewers, not just in Japan, but around the world? Surely they are feeling the crunch as are bar and pub owners everywhere. I offer this bit of Good Beer Country Boy Advice to you:

1.) Always buy locally produced (as close as possible) micro-brewed beer instead of the Big Four's crappy brews.
2.) As much as is possible and convenient (no pun intended), try to avoid conbinis and buy from private family owned stores and shops.
3.) For God's sake, give up buying something else--but don't give up buying beer.
4.) Never do this:


Keep Drinking Good Beer.