Which is the lightest color beer?

I don't drink beer. So I am so confused about the recent Japanese beer situation. I told you, we have "Happoshu", CNN.com said Japan drinks cheap alternatives. And like I wrote before, It was one of "big topic in Japan of 2004". In short, Happoshu is a low malt beer (Japan sets content rules, so more than 66.7% malt is "Beer"), the reason why Happoshu is popular would be related to Japan's long recession. Beer's tax is 77.7yen per one short can. The tax depends on the amount of malt. So if it's contents is only 50% malt, the tax is about 55yen. In this way, most new low-malt beverage costs half the price of beer.

Then this summer each maker add more selections. I can't tell the each difference, but some maker call it "beer_taste alcohol", "miscellaneous alcohol" (yes I am sure they say "雑酒"）, etc. I can tell the point was cost before but this year's trend is "diet" and "healthy". This Sapporo Slims (TV ad: Left woman is Kimutaku's wife.) is 40% calories off, 70% carbohydrate off and 30% purine bodies off. Kirin green label has 70% carbohydrate off. (TV ad) Suntry also has 50% calories off "Suntry Diet" (TV ad : She is guitarist Hotei's wife.) Asahi made Asahi Shinnama with soybean content (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide) that works for metabolism.

For beer lovers, they are apparently different, though for no-beer drinker like me, usually it is hard to tell the difference. But when I tried Sapporo Slim (my gym gave away free to gym member for trial.) I could tell it is light taste. My favourite nifty portalZ made funny trial again. They compare colour of each beer and Happoshu which we can get at store easily, and then check "Is colour related to the calorie?". The darkest one is YEBISU beer and next one is Asahi Super Dry. The lightest colour beer is Budweiser, it is lighter than Diet and Slims. The graph tells calories, top is Bud, next one is Slims, the third one is Draft one which ranked in last year big 10 topic, they are sorted in the order of "light colour", so the last one is Yebisu. Hmm Bud is light colour and high calories, and since it is beer, it's more expensive than Slims or Diet. ?? how about taste? I don't know :-p. This is the order of COLOUR, not taste. (^_^;) a..ha ha...ha

Comments

[Wolf]

I don't drink light colored beers, with the exception of German hefeweizen with a slice of lemon during the summer months. Otherwise, I prefer to drink dark stouts.

[クレア (Claire)]

It is hard to get truly Japanese beer in US. Kirin is licensed to Anheuser-Busch and Asahi is licensed to Miller. Sapporo is the only mainstream Japanese beer that is imported into the US, although you can find some microbrews at places like Mitsuwa.

I would be interested to try Asahi Shinnama myself--the concept of using soybeans and enhancing metabolism through beer is intriguing, although I am more of a Nihonshu drinker.

[Mari]

Hi There
Yes new healthy food, drink, wellness products needs real voice or reaction of market. So my gym help for their research. We can try something new like that. Good idea desho?

[abraxis]

Yah, I wish 24hour Fitness gave out beer. Would make going to the gym way more enjoyable...

[shiro]

they give out beer at your gym?

strange...

[abraxis]

We used to get Yebisu here in the states.

Then they stopped importing it here two years ago.

Now the only time I can get that really good beer is when I'm in Japan. Guess it makes it even more special, eh?

Stay dry out there!

[AzianBrewer]

As a homebrewer myself. I vouch that it takes a lot more work to brew a decent light beer. I am not a fan of any beer that taste like water but making light beer require constant monitoring of temperature because it is brewed in a lower temp. I would say almost all light beers are lager. I think the best light beer is the Samuel Adams Light. It taste almost like regular ale.

[Kirk]

I like the idea that they gave you a sample at your gym. I know this is supposed to be "lighter" beer, but it seems like they want you to believe you can lose weight just by drinking it. Trust me...that is not true!

[Cath]

I remembered drinking Asahi when I was Japan. I've been drinking the Tiger beer and didn't know what good beer tastes like until I had Heinkein!