Traveled to Japan and overwhelmed by the number of beer choices? Read this Japanese beer guide to get to know different beer types and flavors.
When you enter any Japanese supermarket or convenient stores like Seven Eleven, Lawson’s or Family Mart, you are presented with a wide selection of Japanese beer. Everyone has their favorites but if it’s your first time in Japan, you might not know what to pick. We hope this Japanese beer guide will help you narrow your selection and find one you enjoy.
This past summer (2018), it was extremely hot in Japan and almost unbearable. The positive part about the hot weather? It was perfect for trying all types of cold beer to cool down from the heat. I went around the local markets to find an assortment of beer by different brands, and tasted them with my drinking buddy, aka Nami’s mom.
Nami only likes a small sip of wine or beer to taste the flavor so I had to recruit her mom to taste the beers with me. I think you would all agree it’s just not as fun drinking by yourself. Besides trying different beers, one of the answers I wanted to find out was if the “premium” beers really tasted better than the non-premium.
Before continuing, here’s the general disclaimer: I am by no means a beer expert. I simply enjoy drinking beer so take the information below as feedback from someone who simply likes drinking beer.
Japanese Beer Guide – Type of Beer
Japanese beer cans are very colorful and packaged to really attract your attention. However, what’s really inside?
In Japan, beer can be classified into 3 categories:
- Malt Beer – Good old beer
- Happoshu 発泡酒 – low-malt beer with less than 50% malt content
- Liqueurリキュール – carbonated beer like drinks containing very little to zero malt content
Why the different categories? In Japan, beer beverages with 67%+ malt content were taxed higher than those below 67%. Manufactures started introducing drinks with lower than 67% malt content in the 90’s to create a lower price product than beer called happoshu.
As happoshu became more popular and tax revenue fell, the Japanese government lowered the malt requirement to 50% to generate more revenue from beer sales. To avoid the tax, the brands continue to make lower-malt content beverages and these days happoshu are typically less than 25% malt content. There are also popular beverages marketed with no malt at all. Should these drinks be called beer? It’s really your call.
Japanese Beer Guide – Ratings
As Nami’s mom and I enjoyed the many types of beer and beer-like beverages, here are our thoughts on each drink below. We also gave them a rating out of 5, 1 being our least favorite. For reference, the generic Asahi Super Dry, Sapporo, and Kirin would be a 2/5.
Japanese Beer Guide – Our Recommendations
Despite my best efforts, there are many Japanese beers we didn’t get try. However, there is always the next trip and this beer list will get longer. A couple personal recommendations:
- If you love beer and taste of malt, avoid happoshu or none-malt beers. They’ll usually have “発泡酒” (happoshu) or “リキュール” (liqueur) on the can. How would you know if they are real beer vs. happoshu or non-malt beers? The price will be much cheaper.
- Does premium always mean better tasting? Not always. The smaller macro-brewery’s beer almost always tasted better than Kirin, Asahi, and Sapporo. The exception to this was the Ebisu beers. They are generally pretty good and in case you didn’t know, Ebisu is owned by Sapporo.
Another characteristic about the beers we tried that bothered me was the color of the beers. Regardless of the beer type, unless it was a black beer the color of the beer is almost always the same. Different beer type should have different colors.
The last piece I wanted to share was the awesome foamer that came with Suntory The Premium Malt’s Kaoru Ale, I just couldn’t resist. It worked a tiny bit but it was sure fun.
We hope this Japanese beer guide was helpful for you when you browse through the beer section the next time you’re in Japan. If you are looking for unique beers, skip the convenience stores and head for a large supermarket or depachika below a department store. They usually have a much larger selection of beer and craft beer. Thank you for reading our Japanese beer guide and click here if you want to read about our travel journey in Japan.
Otsumami (おつまみ) – a snack for alcoholic drinks
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Hi, I love and am grateful for all of your recipes, I have made over 12, and all are delicious and enjoyed by all. As for the Japanese Beer, we have problems finding Japanese beer brands that were actually produced in Japan. Kirin for the U.S. market is brewed by Anheuser-Busch here at its Los Angeles brewery. Sapporo Beer sold in the United States is brewed by Sapporo of Wisconsin who contracted its production for the U.S. market to City Brewing Company, LaCrosse, Wisconsin who also brews for Samuel Adams beer. Asahi for the U.S. market is brewed by the Molson’s (producers of Molson’s Ale) in Canada. I recently purchased a bottle at our Japanese supermarket which had “brewed in Italy” on the label which I thought had a good taste. Is there some place to purchase a Japanese beer brand in the United States that was not produced in North America?
Hi Masashi,
You will need to look outside of Sapporo, Kirin, and Asahi for Japan brewed beers. Usually, Orion is brewed in Japan, as well as some of the popular craft beers such as Kyoto Brewery, Koedo Beer, Hitachino, and Yoho Brewing. For online, Umami mart carries a few https://umamimart.com/collections/sake-and-spirits-beer
Total Wines and More in the SF Bay Area also carries a good selection.
I have a strong impression of Suntory Master’s Dream because Suntory did a whole series of promotional episodes (憧れの名店~夢と音の多重奏~) with Japanese actor Takeshi Masu going to real high end restaurants in Japan (mostly Tokyo) that featured Master’s Dream. There were about 50 five minute episodes available on the NHK BS youtube channel, but they’ve all been removed.
Anyhow, I really enjoy Suntory The Premium Malt. It’s my go to beer while cooking. I used to be into all sorts of craft beers of different style, but now I just want Suntory. Haha…
Thank you for letting us know about the Master’s Dream CMs, I’ll see if I can find them somewhere on the web. Since we can’t go to Japan this summer (2020), I am craving my Japanese beers!
We’re not sure why but there’s a very small selection of Japanese beers available in the US.
Kanpai!
You can watch them here:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ns411h7ca
Thanks for this! You guys just cover everything eh! I’m from Singapore and thanks to a craft-beer boom the last few years we’ve got a pretty okay range here. Japanese craft beers are generally excellent, and I also feel that even the beers from the major breweries are pretty good (e.g. always happy to have an Asahi but would never voluntarily have a Tiger, haha). The best big-brewery beer I’ve had is Suntory The Premium Malt’s. The draught version always has an excellent head which is a treat in itself (not always the case for many other beers). I also got snagged a foamer with my Kaoru last year! A little gimmick I was very pleased to indulge in.
Had to comment to give a shout-out to Kiuchi Brewery and its range of Hitachino Nest beers. The white ale is a favourite. Tasty beers and the cutest owl logo….what’s not to like?
Hi Enid,
We’re lucky to have a bar that serves Hitachino from tap in San Francisco. We’ll have part 2 of the beer review posted soon. A lot more beers!
My husband agree with you about “aooni” IPA. He loves IPA and drunk aooni whenever he can find it while we are in Japan. Thank you for the review! It’s very helpful. I tend to go for ebisu beer but reality is I go for tyu-hai a lot since it’s kind a hard to find it in U.S side and much more reasonable.
Hi Mayuko,
Thank you for reading the Japanese beer post. We walked past Yona Yona Beer Works in Ebisu yesterday and I wanted to go in for a few drink but had the kids with us. We did stop by the Ebisu Beer Museum and it’s a beautiful place to enjoy a few glasses of Ebisu beer. They had a few on tap that you don’t usually find in the stores.
The biggest problem with Japanese beer is that there’s always a new or seasonal one that you have to try, and before you know it you have a not so nice beer gut. I’ve had to restrain myself this summer before I turned sumo. Right now its all the aki beers taking center stage.
You seem to have left out one of the really good beers, Orion, from okinawa. In my opinion right up there with my favourites, Sapporo black label, Yebisu masters dream and Heartland.
Hi Angelo,
I didn’t include Orion because we can buy it here locally in the US and it’s not as unique. It’s one of the regular beers I buy to enjoy at home with my meals. We got to visit the Orion factory when we went to Okinawa.
I haven’t had the opportunity to get to a Japanese brewery yet. Closest are the Suntory one in Chofu or the Kirin one near Yokohama.
The strangest beer I’ve had so far was a Coedo infused with Sakura blossoms, so quintessentially Japanese.
Since living here, I don’t drink any non-Japanese beer. I’m hooked 🙂
Hi Angelo,
You’re so lucky getting to try all the different seasonal beers. Try going to a craft beer brewery if possible, where are you located in Japan?
Haven’t got to one yet, but have had a few craft beers. Funnily enough I noticed what I believe to be a new craft brewery opening in Nakameguro right next to the river and the station. It was still being completed but already had all the taps installed. Now I remember the name was Schmatz, which is a craft beer chain in Tokyo apparently. I know nothing about it but the place looks lovely.
I live close to Komazawa park, so I’m always hanging out in either Nakameguro, Gakugeidaigaku or Sangenjaya… and Komazawa of course.
Hi Angelo,
You’re perfectly situated between Yokohama, Tokyo, and Kawasaki! I am making it a personal mission to eat and drink at one of the Yona Yona Beer Works this summer.
I don’t venture much on “the other side” of the Tamagawa. No idea why. I sometimes venture over to Mizonokuchi and it just seems so different.
Good luck going to the Yona Yona beer works. I’ve never been able to get in there, always packed out. Might try the one in Ebisu.
Co-incidentally, I lived in Tienmu in Taipei for a couple of years before moving to Japan, and am wondering why they don’t have much in the way of beer, even though the Standard Taiwan beer was really good.
Not sure why Taiwan’s not into the craft beer movement, maybe historically beer is associated with blue-collar workers especially in commercials (speaking from memory) and not a “refined” drink to enjoy for the masses. Heineken does a good job of marketing themselves there as the high-end beer.
I found these slides from 2015 which are interesting, Taiwan beer + Heineken is 90% of market share.
http://www.craftbrewersconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2015_presentations/R0900_Yuhang_Lin.pdf
Fun post! I know almost nothing about Japanese beer, so I found this interest. Sounds like Sapporo Yebisu Meister would appeal to me. Thanks for all the research you did — I know it was work. 🙂
Hi John,
Thank you for always supporting JOC! The hardest part was carrying all the beer back to Nami’s place in the summer heat since we didn’t have a car.
Great guide. thanks a lot to share!
Hi Allan,
Thank you for your feedback and we’re happy you enjoyed the beer guide.
Now this is my guide! I love Sapporo, Kirin and Asahi,now I feel like I wanna look for that Sapporo Yebisu Meister
Hi Raymund,
We’re so happy you enjoyed beer guide. I haven’t seen any Ebisu in the US. Are you able to find some in NZ?
Wow! I really enjoyed reading this post! Very informative!
I had no idea that “happoshu” was created as a clever way to evade taxes and offer a cheaper “beer-like” product.
This was a great, comprehensive beer guide. Such a shame, as I probably won’t be able to find Yo-Ho beer where I live. At most, the local offering contains some Kirin, which is a rarity in itself.
Hi Diana,
Thank you for reading our beer post. We can’t find Yo-Ho beer around San Francisco as well. However, we do have a small selection of Japanese craft beers. I’ll purchase some and add them to the list.
Thanks for this article.
I’m heading to Tokyo in 3 weeks and this will be useful. I wasn’t aware of the different levels of malt used in beer. In Australia, beer is taxed by the amount of alcohol it contains.
Cheers,
Dave
Hi Dave,
Enjoy you trip to Tokyo and check out the supermarkets below department stores for the best selection of beer. They won’t be chilled but just take them back to your hotel to enjoy.
I tried many beers while in Japan and even Nama at Izakaya; my husband was extremly happy withthe huge variaty of non-alcoholic beers!
This is very helpful for my next trip! I always like to try new things and will look for
the foamer!
Many thanks Nami and JOC team!
Hi Luz,
I’ve seen the foamer packaged throughout the summer with various 6 packs of beers so keep an eye out for them. Have you tried the frozen Asahi Super Dry? That’s my favorite in Izakayas.
No I have not tried it but, for sure I will have one… How can i order it? Thanks for the advice 🙂
In order of preference … Sapporo, Asahi and Kirin. 🙂
Hi A,
That’s actually my preference as well. I fell in love with Sapporo after our visits to Hokkaido.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I have tried every single one of these beers. ????
Hi Aya,
That’s the best comment I’ve read! LOL. What’s your favorite Japanese beer?