Asahi Soukai

Soukai

There is something new from the land of the rising sun, Asahi in Japan has brought us something else to quench our thirst over summer (in Australia), Asahi Soukai.

Asahi is known by its flagship beer Asahi Super Dry, they have taken that concept and created a weaker low carb version.

Soukai, meaning ‘refreshing’ is a fresh, new take on beer drinking.

I bought a 6-pack to sample and was pleased with the product.

A re-enactment

Even though it is only 3.5% it still gives you a buzz while keeping you more level headed than most standard beers.

This looks like a good party!

This is what the website has to say about their product:

“Asahi Soukai delivers a clean, smooth taste that embodies the sophisticated, Japanese way of life whilst still retaining that unmistakable refreshing, crisp Asahi Super Dry taste. Born of Asahi Super Dry, Asahi Soukai is an easy-to-drink, non-filling, sessionable beer, expertly brewed using quality Japanese brewing techniques. Asahi Soukai is light in colour and alcohol, with a body that has a clean, refreshing taste, with a slight bitter note that provides a balanced flavour, while its effervescent sparkle acts as a great thirst quencher.” http://www.asahipremiumbeverages.com/our-brands/asahi-soukai/

Pretty ordinary packaging

I’m a big fan of flashy, colourful labels, the plain white labelling of this product is a bit disappointing but then I think about where I lived in Hokkaido – it snowed there for about 5-6 months a year. With that in mind, white is a pretty normal colour for Japan.

If you are after something new and different to try then give this a go!

Cheers,

Dave 

Japanese Beer is elegant and sophisticated

Beers I Don't Like

Today's Topic

I’ve been going on and on about beers I like/ love, now I want to talk about ones I suggest to avoid.

I’m possibly going to annoy some people who read this – this is written based on my own opinions and experiences, unfortunately not every beer that exists I think is drinkable.

To avoid directly naming and shaming I will give you an explanation of the type of beer and why I don’t like it, while use memes to hopefully get a laugh out of you.

That must be some bad beer then?

Japan unfortunately had several bad beer experiences for me, I think the main issue is that Japanese brewers like to try new things and make their product more appealing, in my opinion they have broken rules when it comes to making beer.

Tomato Beer: I love tomatoes, I love beer, so why don’t they work so well together? I have bought a can of tomato beer and upon taking a mouthful I spat it out and threw the rest away. It had to have been one of the worst things I’ve ever tasted. I don’t like tomato juice and that was again proven at a Japanese bar where the bartender made me a beer and tomato juice cocktail, no lie there was vomit afterwards.

I think this has something to do with him drinking his urine?

Happoshu: This is a Japanese word for ‘fake beer’ in order to continue high sales in a cost increasing industry many Japanese brewers have turned to making this beer tasting product, the worst part is that it’s watered down and crap is added. The result is a very cheap product that is bad for you, they sell for about $1 a can and can mean a cheap all you can drink at karaoke, but after many times of drinking this my body has made me pay for it. If you drink in Japan I recommend paying for the better quality beers such as Sapporo Draught, Asahi Super Dry and Kirin Ichiban.

Be a good friend!

Non-Alcoholic Beer: Japan has a zero BAC level for driving, so if you go out and want to have beer then this is the best thing for you – I have friends who enjoy drinking it. But for me I have tried several varieties and they taste somewhat like beer but I could never finish any of them – they ended up down the sink.

I feel bad for bashing Japan but I couldn’t leave those experiences out, there are some other shocking beers to follow (To be continued)…

I've never tried hand sanitiser...

Apple Beer: There is a new beer out made with an apple twist. I was able to drink a sample of it but I couldn’t drink another one. I just don’t think that it’s a good combination, they should go separately (beer and cider).

$6 for 6-pack = bad! $20 for 6-pack = should be okay!

I think what I can sum up from here is that cheap and often experimental beer can quite possibly leave you with a bad experience. People have different tastes and will like some things and others not so much. But in my opinion you should spend the extra $$$ and get good quality beer that will leave you with a good buzz and hopefully not much of a hangover the next day.

Here are a few for you to think about, if I run into any more bad beer I will update this list.

Cheers

Dave

Fat Yak Pale Ale

Fat Yak Pale Ale

This is a fantastic craft beer that is proudly Australia and strangely has nothing to do with a fat yak.

One of the brews of out Matilda Bay in Western Australia, this is widely available across Australia in stubbie or on tap.

This is what the breweries website has to say about it “We wanted to create and easy drinking craft beer in the traditional North American pale ale style that has proved so popular with discerning beer drinkers – so we did, and then named it after a hairy Mongolian cow thing.” https://www.matildabay.com.au/fat-yak

Also available on tap

Along with the clear crafty flavour in the beer I noted some fruit elements, melon and passionfruit I learned after some research.

At 4.7% it is a pretty standard strength beer, but it is easy to drink though so I often find myself getting inebriated quicker than normal when drinking this beer.

I can never stop at just one!

If you actually want to eat food rather than just drink a lot of Fat Yak’s the website also claims that it goes well with almost any food – except for Yak which apparently doesn’t taste very nice.

For those of you that are more into cider, Matilda Bay make a ‘Dirty Granny’ cider, I’ll leave it up to you to find out how dirty it really is though!

Matilda Bay also makes Dirty Granny Cider

Typical with craft beer type drinks it is a little bit more expensive to buy but these days I will go for quality over quantity, as I have matured in my beer drinking habits and would rather enjoy what I’m drinking rather than go for that all night buzz.

As always Dave’s Beers of the World promotes responsible consumption of alcohol.

Has your favourite beer been featured yet? If not let Dave know and he will give it a road test.

Cheers,

Dave