![]() ![]() At the moment, she doesn’t have enough room for food in her refrigerator, because it’s filled with cans of beer and bottles of wine.Vodka has always lived with the double-edged sword of its mild flavor profile. She has been writing about, as well as frequenting, restaurants and bars for the past decade-from learning about what makes a perfect piece of cocktail ice to the exploring art of beer label design. Sarah Freeman is a food and beverage writer based out of Chicago. With the recent difficulties in shipping and distribution, a Japanese import might cost a dollar or two more than a domestic beer. Japanese brewing techniques vary from American or European brewing in that more emphasis is put on the process and craftsmanship, sometimes resulting in a higher quality final product.Īside from the rice lager, Japanese brewing has adopted and, in many cases, mastered, the same beer styles one would find across the U.S. If you’re on the hunt for Japanese beers in the U.S., these top picks are a solid place to start.Īsahi Super Dry ( view at Drizly) remains the reigning king of Japanese beer for a reason, it’s unrivaled crispness and refreshing quality that pair perfectly with food or a hot day.įor its ready availability as well as adherence to traditional Japanese brewing values, Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale ( view at Drizly) is a craft option worth seeking out.Īside from the Japanese lagers, which are brewed with an emphasis on rice, Japanese beers are made with a blend of malt, hops, yeast, and water, often sourced locally. We also brew it with a low bitterness Rather than a German or Chez lager that has a firm upfront bitterness, we try to make the beer as low bitterness as possible with a clean, crisp, dry finish with a light body.” In terms of other beer styles, such as IPAs and wheat beers, look for high-quality ingredients and precise craftsmanship to set Japanese beers apart from the pack. “What that does is it gives you a lighter body, crisper finish, and it’s dry and easy to drink. “Usually that comes from the use of rice,” he says. We realized not only did we like the beer better but all of our fans did as well.”Īccording to Marrón, when it comes to Japanese rice lager, the flavor profile leans more to the dry side, giving it its food-friendly quality. At the time we were making a Mexican lager as our core light beer offering, and the Japanese lager started far outselling the Mexican lager. “We didn’t intend for it to be one of our core beers until after we did it. We use those beers as an inspiration point,” says Nick Marrón, director of brewery operations at Harland Brewing in San Diego, one of the few breweries in the U.S. Asahi and Orion are probably the two I drink the most. “We like to drink a lot of Japanese lagers. taking inspiration from the Japanese beer scene. However, if you know where to look, you can find both a wide variety of Japanese-made beers as well as brewers in the U.S. While the beer scene in Japan may have seen an explosion of beer styles similar to that of the United States, few of these beers ever make it Stateside, thanks to limited distribution-made even more limited by last year’s closure of importer Shelton Brothers, one of the largest importers of international and specialty beers to the U.S. “While IPAs are still seen as the king of beers, there has been an explosion in other styles, and it's possible to find domestic Belgian-style beers, and more niche beers than before.” “There has been a big growth in diversity,” says Rob Bright, co-founder of the Japanese beer website BeerTengoku. The beer scene in Japan is anything but a one-trick pony. When you sit down to take down a bowl of ramen, it’s often accompanied by Asahi Super Dry, a rice lager. For a long time, Japanese beer was synonymous with rice beer.
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