On The Rocks Beer

Japan is no stranger to gimmick beers. In fact, it could be said that Japan is the mother of all gimmick beers. Or maybe the Gimmickyest of them all.

My friend Miyuki gave me a present not too long ago, and one of the items in the present was a bottle of On The Rocks Beer. Or if you prefer katakana: ON-ZA-ROKKU-BI-RU. Now, at first glance you may just think this is a clever name for a brew, but then after seeing the picture, you would realize that they aren't kidding. The makers of this beer actually expect you to pour this beer over ice and drink it.

Strange.

I've seen people drink ice in their beers before, but I used to just attribute it to ignorance or just really stupid people. While working at the bar I had people order ice for their beer (even ice for their Merlot!), olives for their beer, and salt for their beer. I remember one instance at a Japanese restaurant where a guy ordered a Sapporo beer, and after smelling it, dumped about a pound of salt in it. Travesty.

But On The Rocks Beer? Beer that was meant to be drank over ice? I didn't have high hopes. I put some cubes in a glass and filled it up. The beer is a nice brown color and had a nice smell. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. This beer actually had a nice aroma and color.

Coke?

Of course, once it was over the rocks it was watered down and tasted......like you poured an OK beer over the rocks. What a surprise. I drank the rest of the bottle and found it to be enjoyable, but nothing super.

This beer is a exactly what it claims to be: a novelty that you can enjoy with your friends and laugh about before you get into drinking the real beer.