A recent post asked if any of you still drank Asahi's Super Dry--even after becoming craft beer fans. I astounded everyone (I'm sure!!! ha!) by stating that even though I love good brews, I still will kick back with a few SD's if that's all I can find. For me, it's simply an issue of availability.
Many of the readers and commenters on this site are from the Tokyo area. I remember asking a Japanese brewer friend of mine about why Tokyo had so many craft beer bars, and the rest of Japan seemed to be a wasteland filled with happoshu and Super Dry. He said that Tokyo people had developed a taste for craft beers (he actually said "black beer"-- a term that I despise...) and that the rest of Japan had not.
I live in a very remote part of Aichi where there is absolutely NO craft beer. My town has only one convenience store (a lesser known chain called LICS) and only three other stores where beer can be purchased. None of these stores carry anything outside of the Big 4, and normally don't stock any of the new or specialty beers produced by them. Almost everyone I know in town is a huge supporter of Kirin's Ichibanshibori or Asahi's Super Dry. Most here have never tried a craft beer and many don't even know it exists.
We all know that Japan came late to the craft beer scene, and even though they have only been at bit for a decade or so, they are making some great strides. There is good beer being made. The craft beer scene in Japan has yet to peak by far. Companies like Yo-Ho and Ginga Kogen are poised to be the Sam Adam's of Japan--but have yet to take that next big step... is it coming?
The US has seen beer giants like Miller and Bud take notice of the craft beer trend in the US. Bud released Bud American and has the Michelob family of beers that are making "craft style beers" that are meant to compete with micro-brewed beers made by much smaller companies. The Beer Giants in the US have noticed (even though it is a small percentage) people drifting towards craft beers, and they want their piece of the pie back... Many an average Joe has been duped into buying a "craft beer" that was actually "micro brewed" by a company that doesn't really exist--and is actually made in the same factory as Bud/Miller/Coors. (I use factory instead of Brewery--because these massive beer making factories don't resemble breweries any more than a large scale poultry conglomerate resembles a farm.)
Will the same be true of Japan? Will Asahi and Kirin see that brewers like Yo-Ho/Ginga Kogen/ Nest/Baird/??? are getting too much attention and venture into the "craft beer" market? Will we see an Asahi IPA or Kirin Porter? Sure these companies already produce "black" versions of their beer and "stouts", but these beers are more of creative labeling and coloring than true versions of the styles. We can't be so naive as to think that the brewers at Asahi and Kirin couldn't make good versions of these styles, can we? Surely Asahi with its quality control and access to good ingredients could make some consistently good IPAs....right?
The Big 4 certainly have distribution down. I'm confident that in the years to come, craft beer availability will increase as well. The question remains though...as craft beer becomes more and more popular here in Japan...will the Big 4 expand into the jibeer market???? An even greater question exists to the current fans of Japanese craft beer...if Asahi/Suntory/Kirin/Sapporo were to produce a quality IPA/Porter/Weizen, and could sell it for 100+ yen cheaper than other jibeer....would you buy it???
Let the discussion begin.
8 comments:
Have you tried Asahi stout? 8% alc and very good it is, too.
Alos Asahi has Tsumida Brewing, an offshoot that produces a porter, a weissen and one other beer. They are on tap in the Drydock, Tokyo. OK beers, but nothing fantastic.
Sapporo also now makes their Yebisu 'creamy top' Guinness reproduction beer. I think with the big companies, it's simply about money, so they may be less keen to experiemnt, compared to the smaller craft brews.
Chuwy...the Asahi Stout at 8% is ok in my opinion when it comes to taste---but when you consider that it is only 230 yen (about if I remember correctly) in Nagoya--then it becomes a deal. Is Tsumida Brewing the brewpub in the bottom of the Golden Turd building? Nate spoke highly of it if I remember correctly...
I may be wrong, but I don't think that Asahi's Tsumida or the Creamy Top has made it out of Tokyo...(surely you can get the creamy top in Sapporo city?)
Chuwy, I'm sure you are right about it coming down to money. Also, I'd say there is a ton of red tape involved--if I know anything about big companies and Japan--I'd bet on it. I bet a brewer can't just cook up a batch of something on a whim at the big boys factories!
The Kirin Stout is good too if you can find it. Not the Ichiban Shibori, stout which is crap, but the 8% Foreign extra style.
DH, you said, " is it coming?" Hell yes, it's coming! Although it may not be from the breweries you listed. {grin}
Chris...Will we be referring to Baird Beer's as simply "Baird" one day in the way people back home refer to "Sam"??? I would love to see the day and hope it comes soon!
I don't think it'll be possible to just ask for a Baird -- too many choices. Within a few months, we'll be adding to our regular lineup, giving us ten regulars plus the two Nide regulars. Things are moving in Numazu!
Great blog, I saw the new Baird Taproom in a post, checked it out and it was fantastic! If good quality craft beers were available at a lower price I would buy it. However, I just don't see it happening. Craft beers are a quality product, requiring quality ingredients. As such they are essentially a niece market. It simply is more profitable for the large beer makers to produce low quality beer.
My essential beer philosophy was grommed from "The Great Beer Trek" by Stephen Morris [1984: ISBN 0-8289-0525-8], page 104:
Nice people can make bad beer. Conversely, good beer can be made by bastards.
I was invited to a presentation by Michelob Brwg. - the division of Anheuser-Busch-InBev which has some leeway to brew experimental beers - during the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO.
One of the beers I got to taste was a Michelob beer brewed with rye.
Did you read that?
A Michelob beer brewed with rye.
It was OK. The rye taste did not really persevere. But just the fact that ABIB allowed one of their brewers to brew it shows how they feel about craft brewers in the U.S.A.
So if I was in Japan and any of the 'Big 3' brewed and released a top-notch beer; yes, I would drink it, even if only for experimental purposes.
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