Kirin Ichiban (Australian Version)

Kirin is number one for a couple of reasons, first, the beer is called ichiban – which is Japanese for number one, secondly, it is an amazingly crisp, refreshing beer.

To make it clear, I’m talking about the Kirin Ichiban which is sold in Australia (called first press beer), there is one in Japan which is labelled differently but it is not as good.

Kirin Ichiban First Press is made in Australia which is why it would be different to its Japanese counterpart.

Still a good beer when you are in Japan

The Japanese labelling colour is pretty dull

This beer has been hard to find in Tasmania, only one or two shops would sell it on occasion that I knew of, now BWS have started to stock it and I can enjoy it more often.

This is how to drink beer in Japan

The bottle design really appeals to me, the green glass (green being my favourite colour) and the dark label has the image of something strange on it. If you know Japanese you can do some research, kirin in Japanese has two meanings, giraffe, or a chimera type monster, I’m sure you can see that it isn’t a giraffe on the label.

Ichiban is something I’m sure Australian’s have heard of at one point or another, it is the name of a famous yacht which has competed in many Sydney to Hobart yacht races.

This 5% beer is important to me for another reason, it has a very similar taste to something I can never taste again. A fellow beer consumer and myself believe that Kirin Ichiban first press has similar characteristics to James Boag’s Pure.

According to Dan Murphy’s: “Kirin’s special ‘First Press’ method produces pure, smooth flavours and a pale amber shine, crowned with a rich, creamy head. Only the first mix of malt and water is extracted when ingredients are at their purest to deliver what in Japan is considered a blessing.”

Time to get back to my beer, until next time!

Cheers,

Dave