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Which lager is best

Of the regular domestic japanese lagers, which is best?

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I voted Yebisu (which is the premium brand of Sapporo btw)
 
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Now I woke too early to feel nice and therefore I demand to know are we talking about brands or specific beers?

As for lagers the top product of each manufacturers (and as others have said Yebisu is Suntory) is AFAIK easy to decipher:
Sapporo Nama Beer Black Label
Suntory The Premium Malt’s
Asahi Super Dry
Sapporo Premium Yebisu

but Kirin has two popular ones; Kiring Lager and Ichiban Shibori.

So now of all these which is best? Well the one that is cold and available in tap. Japanese lagers are very similar to each other so if you like one you have no trouble drinking the rest. If we are very peculiar about the taste then I agree Yebisu takes the win. But it loses because it is much less available and also it is like 30 yens more for a 500 ml can. That is going to be an extra cost similar to several soapland visits per year.
 
MikeH said:
(and as others have said Yebisu is Suntory)
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No , as others have said it’s Sapporo
But you’re right , maybe we should separate the premium brands from the standard ones
For Premiums I would say Yebisu first, Premium Malts second and distant third the Kirin Brau Meister or whatever its called
For the standard ones , my fav is Sapporo Black Label. Then the rest except Asahi Super Dry which I rank dead last
 
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Yeah it was a hastily constructed poll, sorry. What i meant was the regular beers that every supermarket and convenience store seems to have. there is pretty much always;
2 premium options (ie 30 yen more) which are suntory premium malts and Yebisu. Then 3 standards which are Asahi super dry, kirin something (the white can) and sapporo (white can black and gold label)

i know its not 100% comparing apples to apples but these are the 5 choices that pretty much every shop selling lager in japan will always have as a minimum.
 
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Anyone who speaks ill of Asahi Super Dry is a communist.

On a related note, did they do away with Asahi Premium? I remember seeing it for the first time on tap in a cute little uriko's keg-pack at a Tiger's game in Osaka maybe four years ago. I liked it so much I decided it was worth the premium price and ended up blowing at least 1-man just keeping the same underage girl coming back again and again. Then again, just about any Japanese beer tastes good cold and on tap. Except Yebisu. And Premium Malts.
 
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Premium Malts always tastes to me like there's just a hint of soap added to it.
 
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Sudsy said:
Premium Malts always tastes to me like there's just a hint of soap added to it.
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I actually don't mind Yebisu (just don't like paying extra) but I seriously will not drink Premium Malts. You're right, there's a funny taste/aftertaste to it, even on tap. And I hate the heaviness of it. My worst night is when the whole group ends up at some random Izakaya for a finale and the menu reveals that their only nama on tap is Malts. That's why I make it a rule to stick to the cheapest izakaya possible, because that'll almost guarantee there's Asahi/Kirin on tap and also lots of broke college students for me to leer at. That's why Miraizaka and Toriki are winners in my book, because when I step in the door I'll know two things for sure: One, I'll probably be one of the oldest customers in there, and two, I'm gonna get royally fucking drunk for the price of a nice bento.
 
Keihan said:
Anyone who speaks ill of Asahi Super Dry is a communist.

On a related note, did they do away with Asahi Premium? I remember seeing it for the first time on tap in a cute little uriko's keg-pack at a Tiger's game in Osaka maybe four years ago. I liked it so much I decided it was worth the premium price and ended up blowing at least 1-man just keeping the same underage girl coming back again and again. Then again, just about any Japanese beer tastes good cold and on tap. Except Yebisu. And Premium Malts.
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I was gonna ask why does asahi not have a premium version? personally i think asahi has a bad chemical aftertaste. Ill still happily drink it if its all thats available though.
 
Durg50 said:
I was gonna ask why does asahi not have a premium version? personally i think asahi has a bad chemical aftertaste. Ill still happily drink it if its all thats available though.
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I think it may have been on the market for a very brief period of time. I flew up for an event in Summer 2017, and these are the cans I remember being in the konbini:

2014_asahi_dry_premium_1.jpg


4c523784bcdc8328a830c0d6d45571b4--craft-beer-japan.jpg


And while I never really thought about it, I never saw it again when I returned again the following fall, or during any trip after that. I actually brought back a couple of cans and had one on display on the shelf in my office (yeah, I know only dumb fucking frat boys do that) but the can corroded and my other half decided to toss it in the trash without telling me. It's cool, I still have my official "TOKYO 2020" edition Super Dry can sitting on the shelf.
 
Six pack of the Olympic edition of Super Dry cost 2.020 yens. I was wondering if the price would be 2.021 yens now.
 
Keihan said:
I think it may have been on the market for a very brief period of time. I flew up for an event in Summer 2017, and these are the cans I remember being in the konbini:

2014_asahi_dry_premium_1.jpg


4c523784bcdc8328a830c0d6d45571b4--craft-beer-japan.jpg


And while I never really thought about it, I never saw it again when I returned again the following fall, or during any trip after that. I actually brought back a couple of cans and had one on display on the shelf in my office (yeah, I know only dumb fucking frat boys do that) but the can corroded and my other half decided to toss it in the trash without telling me. It's cool, I still have my official "TOKYO 2020" edition Super Dry can sitting on the shelf.
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That blue one is 6.5 percent. If i saw it without seeing the price id assume it was happoshu aimed at the guys that hang out outside the keibajo drinking at 9am
 
Premium malts is way too malty for me. I like super dry sometimes as it, as the name suggests, really god damn dry. My go to is Kirin. A tad bit sweeter and easier to drink than the rest IMO.
 
Whatever your brand preference might be, cultured connoisseurs like myself can at least all agree that the finest brews are best enjoyed in 32oz YETI ramblers with lots of ice cubes and through a straw--preferably a thinner, yellow plastic straw, to match the golden hue of good lager, and with a side dish of Ranch or BBQ Corn Nuts.
 
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@Keihan i am baffled by all the energy you put into consuming such vast quantities of Japanese near-water to get the good buzz going. Four Loko would seem far more efficient. Maybe swap in 3-4 hard seltzers for the tactical bag? :rolleyes:
 
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CharlieSimms said:
@Keihan i am baffled by all the energy you put into consuming such vast quantities of Japanese near-water to get the good buzz going. Four Loko would seem far more efficient. Maybe swap in 3-4 hard seltzers for the tactical bag? :rolleyes:
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I was thinking a nice hip flask with (for Keihan) a goodly amount of Costco's finest colourless liquor inside.

I think I found just the thing:

gunsboob__48957.1629992472.gif
 
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SugoiBoy said:
If you haven’t been there already, the “Museum of Yebisu” in Ebisu is worth visiting at some point. Interesting history plus they have a nice tasting room. But it seems to be temporarily closed.

By the way, Sapporo owns the Yebisu brand.

https://www.sapporobeer.jp/english/brewery/y_museum/
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I remember the brewery which was there right next to the station. Ebisu was sort of grey industrial zone between already posh Hiroo and Daikanyama.

Btw, for me Kirin classic lager is the Japanese bee-lu.
 
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CharlieSimms said:
@Keihan i am baffled by all the energy you put into consuming such vast quantities of Japanese near-water to get the good buzz going. Four Loko would seem far more efficient. Maybe swap in 3-4 hard seltzers for the tactical bag? :rolleyes:
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It's the journey, not the destination, amateur. Plus I don't like the Four Loko flavors.
 
Sudsy said:
I was thinking a nice hip flask with (for Keihan) a goodly amount of Costco's finest colourless liquor inside.

I think I found just the thing:

gunsboob__48957.1629992472.gif
Click to expand...

I'm not going to dignify this offensive post by revealing that I have almost that exact same flask.
 
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