Summing Up: New Beers from the Japanese Major Brewing Companies in 2014

The major Japanese brewers, except Sapporo, brought more beers in a wider variety of styles last year than they did in 2013.

Suntory released ten different styles of beer, followed by Kirin with seven styles, while Asahi and Sapporo five each. The most common style was (and no surprise here) pale lager, with both Asahi and Suntory each producing five new ones.

Suntory introduced new four premium lagers and also gave us the only pilsner, blond ale, and dunkel. Suntory also produced one the most highly-rated beers ever made by a major brewery in Japan, The Premium Malt’s Hatsudzumi Hoppu.

Asahi had three new Spice/Herb/Vegetable beers, which were actually very lightly fruit-infused dark beer cocktails. These three, along with the four Fruit Beer/Radler beers created by Kirin and Asahi are part of a trend toward lighter, sweeter beers.

Judging from average rating scores (out of a possible top score of 5.0) from RateBeer, admittedly a limited sample, for all 47 new beers, Sapporo and Suntory are making more interesting and tastier beers than their rivals – and Asahi…much less so.

Kirin: 10 new beers

RB Avg. 2.67     My Avg. 2.68

Asahi: 12 new beers

RB Avg. 2.47     My Avg.1.96

Sapporo: 7 new beers

RB Avg. 2.77     My Avg. 2.78

Suntory: 18 new beers

RB Avg. 2.80     My Avg. 2.72

All the majors are forecasting increased sales in 2015. Two areas which have been promising are high-end premium lagers and low- or no-purine beers (popular among older drinkers susceptible to gout). 

The majors are also dabbling in the craft beer segment and appealing to the preferences of younger female drinkers, all in an on-going effort to discover which types of beer will catch on with a fickle Japanese public, which is drinking less year-by-year and is notoriously fond of novelty. 

New Beers from the Japanese Major Brewing Companies in 2014: Kirin / 日本の大手企業からの新しいビール 2014: Kirin

We’re into the new year now. It's time to look around and take stock of new beers brought out in 2014 by the four major breweries in Japan: Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo, and Suntory. I'll discuss them each in a separate post. I'll also give the style and the current RateBeer weighted average score followed by my own rating score (both scores out of a possible total score of 5), keeping in mind that most of them have fewer than ten ratings.

Let’s start with Kirin. All the major brewers have seen sales downturns over the past several years, but Kirin’s has been the worst among the four.

Here are four new brews in the Grand Kirin series, which was launched last year.

 Kirin Grand Kirin Bittersweet  
                                       (Amber Lager/Vienna)        2.96     3.3

Light but pungent aroma hopping, mid maltiness, watered-down raisins. Dark amber/brown color, fluffy and fat-bubbled head. Light sweet fruity initial, balanced soon with sourish and tangy hopping. Flattens out quickly and finishes with small tingling hop tracks. Thin-medium body. Very pleasant in a very small way.

 Kirin Grand Kirin Browny  
                    (Amber Ale)      2.89     3.2

Rich caramel nose, with some grain, raisins, and slightly pungent hoppiness. Clear copper color, some lace. Light rich roast, mild hopping, and the bitterness lingers a short while. Well-balanced stuff.

 Kirin Grand Kirin Hop Fruity  
                    (Premium Lager)      2.9       3.2

Serious Nelson Sauvin hopping in the aroma, grassy and fruity. Clear medium straw color. Mixed sweet and bitter initial, Nelson Sauvin, light grain, medium-strength fruitiness, and tiny hop tracks. Thin-medium body. Has quite the aroma, but the flavors fall down a bit.

Kirin Grand Kirin Mild Rich  
                   (Wheat Ale)   3          3.3

Pungent and lightly stinky tropical fruity nose. Clear medium straw color. Light fruit, some grain, and hopping is a definite presence throughout. Thin-medium body. I like the aroma hopping, for sure. Overall, pretty much like the oxymoronic name implies -- mild flavors and rich aroma.

Kirin Ichiban Shibori Premium  
                (Premium Lager)   2.86     3.2

Pale malt nose, with considerable grass and citrus. Clear bright straw color. Light sweetish malty initial, followed by a medium bitterness which lingers a bit. Thin body and quite smooth. Seems sweeter and maltier than the regular version of Ichiban Shibori, and maybe hoppier as well. But still, it’s not really very special.

Kirin Spring Valley JZB   
                (Fruit Beer/Radler)           2.84     3.1

This one is from Kirin’s newish craft beer brewery. Mild tropical fruit nose. Bright rosé wine color, thin white head with some lace. Light berries, strawberry, and a lingering sweetness. Thin body, and somewhat spritzy. Light and fairly tasty, with little jumps of fruitiness. The Galaxy hopping is not so evident ... neither is the "Dream," which mentioned as a special ingredient.

Kirin Flaveer  
                                                  (Fruit Beer/Radler)     2.68     2.3

Large and spritzy sugary lemon nose. Clear bright yellow. Lemon, Seven-Up, and just the tiniest hint of bittering. Thin body. Not much of a beer or even a shandy. More of a beer spritzer. Oh, the business woes of Kirin.... grasping at straws with crazy decisions -- like bringing out this type of beer in December.

Kirin Tanrei Platinum Double  
                          (Pale Lager) 2.22     1.9

Sweet light apple juice nose, with tiny pungent berries. Medium straw color, with weird lively lace. Sick spirits initial, like a bad whiskey and water, and flavors fade out with a sudden slap. Thin, a bit harsh on the tongue, with carbonation like baby jellyfish stings. Seriously strange stuff. I suppose the 0% purine thing is a plus for some people, but it’s a minus for others, and those who have no problems with purines should avoid this beer. Third category junk.

Kirin Fuyu Nodogoshi Hanayagu Koku   
                           (Amber Lager/Vienna)     2.21     1.8

Light sewer, sweet pie crust, spirits. Deep amber color. Grain, spirits, flattish sweet fruitiness, cardboard. Thin-medium body, harsh carbonation. Oh, well. Yuck (in a minor key). Juiced up to 6%. More third category yuck. Don’t need another.

Kirin Nodogoshi Ice  
                          (Spice/Herb/Vegetable)          2.16     1.5

Seriously pungent sewer nose, sulphury, gun powder. Thin pale straw. Light tang, vegetables, some citrus, low-level harsh spirits, light sugary final. Thin body. Glad this was well chilled, or it would have been worse. Can’t really remember the regular version of this one. Could it have been this bad?

Kirin Beer Buys Into Yo-Ho Brewing

According to an article in Nikkei Asian Review, Karuizawa-based Yo-Ho Brewing Company has agreed to sell a 30% stake to Kirin Beer, one of Japan’s four major brewing companies.

Yo-Ho will benefit from Kirin’s distribution network, while Kirin will gain from the ever-increasing sales by Yo-Ho, which is Japan’s largest craft beer maker.

Kirin’s business has been in dismal shape of late; the company has even been surpassed in sales by Suntory Holdings. On the other hand, Kirin’s main rival, Asahi Group Holdings, has made net profits 13 years in a row.

Yo-Ho will retain control of management and (we hope) of production processes as well.

Several craft beer makers in the US and Europe have sold part of their holdings to major brewing groups, and quality seems not to have suffered.

 

Yo-Ho produces several beers, including its flagship Yona Yona Pale Ale, Aooni (IPA), Tokyo Black Porter, and Suiyobi no Neko (Belgian White), most of which are widely available in convenience stores throughout Japan.

Some craft beer fans, including me, do feel that the overall quality of Yo-Ho’s beers has declined over the past couple of years. This could be due to control problems from expanded production or, more likely, from less care of the finished product during distribution and storage. How often have you spotted cases of beer sitting on the backs of trucks in the sun or stacked up in liquor store display windows?

 

We shall see if this new hook-up helps or hinders either or both companies.

Here is a link to more information (in Japanese) on Yo-Ho's website:

キリンビール社との業務提携契約 および資本提携契約締結について

and on Kirin's website:

ヤッホーブルーイング社とキリンビール社の業務提携契約

および資本提携契約締結について