The Hakata brewery of Asahi, Japan's biggest brewing company
Beer in Japan mostly comes from the country's four major breweries, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory, which mainly produce pale lagers around 5% ABV. Beer is immensely popular, far ahead of sake consumption.[1]
As well as Pilsner style lagers, the most commonly produced beer style in Japan, beer-like beverages made with lower levels of malt, called happoshu (literally, "bubbly alcohol") or non-malt happōsei (発泡性, literally "a type of bubbly alcohol"), have captured a large part of the market, as tax is substantially lower on these products.
Microbreweries have also become increasingly popular since deregulation in 1994, supplying distinct tasting beers in a variety of styles that seek to match the emphasis on craftsmanship, quality, and ingredient provenance often associated with Japanese food.
Craft beer bars and pubs are also popular in Japan's major cities, with Tokyo and Osaka having vibrant craft beer scenes, generally with a focus on locally produced and imported beers from the US and Europe.[2] In 2014, Kirin entered the craft beer market with the launch of a wholly owned subsidiary, Spring Valley Brewing, and two brewpubs in Daikanyama, Tokyo, and Namamugi, Yokohama, which opened in 2015. Industrial brewery Sapporo also released a craft line in 2015.
History
Although the tradition of sake brewing long predates European contact, beer is thought to have been first introduced to Japan in the 17th century during the Edo period by Dutch traders. However, beer was not widely available until the end of the 19th century, with the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854 opening Japan to foreign trade.[1] European-style beer was not always immediately popular: one Japanese official described the beer presented by Commodore Matthew Perry at Kanagawa as tasting like "bitter horse piss".[3]
As Japan reopened to foreign trade during the Meiji period, imported beers such as Bass Pale Ale and Bass Stout were available in limited quantities in the foreign settlements, but trained brewers from Europe and elsewhere also arrived to contribute to the growth of the local industry.
The brewery that would become Kirin Brewery Company began in Yokohama in late 1869 as the Spring Valley Brewery, a private business established by Norwegian-AmericanWilliam Copeland.[4] The Sapporo Brewery was founded in 1876 as a part of a government-directed development plan for Hokkaido. Asahi Breweries traces its founding heritage to the start of the Osaka Beer Brewing Company in 1889, and the launch of the Asahi Beer brand in 1892.[5]
Restrictions during the Second World War that limited the use of rice for making sake boosted beer consumption; by the 1950s, beer was Japan's most popular alcoholic drink.[3] In the 1980s, the country gained renown for its "dry" beer, pioneered by brewers like Asahi.[3]
Market size
Beer (and beer-like happoshu) are the most popular alcoholic drink in Japan, accounting for nearly two thirds of the 9 billion liters of alcohol consumed in 2006.[6]
Japan's domestic consumption of the total 187.37 million kiloliter global beer market in 2012 was about 5.55 million kiloliters or about 3.0%.[7] This statistic for total beer consumption in Japan also includes the beer-like happoshu.
In terms of national per capita beer consumption Japan ranked 51st in 2014, equivalent to 42.6 liters per person, reflecting the diversified alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage market enjoyed by Japanese consumers.[8] Demographic factors are expected to continue to push down sales of mass-market beer products in Japan for the foreseeable future as younger consumers are drinking less beer than previous generations.[9] For the calendar year 2013, overall shipments for Japan's five largest brewers were 433.57 million cases, (a case is equivalent to 12.66 liters of beer or 27 US pints) more than 20% off the market peak achieved in 1992.[10]
However, for locally produced craft beers accounting for less than 1% of domestic beer consumption[11] and selected premium imported beers, market opportunities continue to expand. According to local market data, in the first eight months of 2012, shipments of domestic craft beer rose 7.7 percent while sales by Japan's largest brewers continued a year on year decline.[11]
As of January 2014, Asahi, with a 38% market share, was the largest of the four major beer producers in Japan followed by Kirin with 35% and Suntory with 15%.[10]
Beer vs. happoshu
Japanese convenience store selection of beer and happoshu. Packaged very similarly, happoshu is distinguished by its lower price and the absence of the word "beer" (ビール).
Brewed alcoholic beverages in Japan are labelled and taxed according to their malt content (i.e., amount of alcohol derived from malted grains): legally, "beer" (ビール, bīru) must have at least 50% malt,[12] while beverages with less malt are collectively called "happoshu" (発泡酒, happōshu).[13]
Happoshu (also translated as "low-malt beer")[1][14] is taxed less than beer, and thus has appeal to the consumer. Beverages with less than 25% malt or no malt at all are often called "third-category beers" (第三のビール, dai-san no bīru),[6] or "new genre" (新ジャンル, shin janru),[15] in reference to their even lower tax, despite not being labelled beer as such. To replace the highly taxed malt, brewers have developed innovative sources of starch and sugar to be fermented into alcohol not commonly used as brewing adjuncts elsewhere, including soy peptides and pea protein.[16]
A tax law revision[12] that went into effect in 2018 lowered the malt requirement for the beer category, allowed more ingredients in beer, and introduced a plan to have beer and happoshu taxed at the same rates in 2026. This erosion of happoshu's favorable tax rate "may in the long run favor traditional beer".[17] Before 2018, the beer requirement was 67% malt.[17][12]
The Dry Senso or ドライ戦争 (どらいせんそう, dorai sensō) meaning Dry Wars, was a period of intense competition between Japanese brewery companies over dry beer. It began in 1987 with the launch of Asahi Super Dry by Asahi Breweries which led to the introduction of dry beer by other breweries.
The Kirin Brewery Company, which held 50% share of the Japanese domestic beer market, launched Kirin Dry in February 1988 in an advertising campaign featuring actor Gene Hackman, and in April of the same year launched the all-malt Kirin Malt Dry. However, they were unable to stop Asahi's momentum. In 1990 Kirin launched Ichiban Shibori in direct competition with Asahi Super Dry, but ended up cannibalising profits on their own Kirin Lager Beer brand. Kirin never ended up regaining its 50% market share.
Sapporo Breweries launched the doomed Sapporo Dry in February 1988, and in May 1989 rebranded their flagship product Sapporo Black Label as Sapporo Draft to an unfavourable reception. Production of Sapporo Dry and Sapporo Draft was halted less than two years after their respective launches, and Sapporo Draft later returned to being Black Label.
Suntory launched their Malts brand in February 1988 in an "I don't do dry" campaign, while at the same time launching Suntory Dry, later rebranded Suntory Dry 5.5 in an advertising campaign featuring boxer Mike Tyson after increasing the alcohol content from 5% to 5.5%. This achieved reasonable results, although not enough to slow down demand of Asahi Super Dry.
The Dry Wars were criticised in an episode of the manga Oishinbo (the Gourmet), published at around the same time.[citation needed]
Seasonal beers
Many breweries in Japan offer seasonal beers. In autumn, for instance, "autumn beers" are brewed with a higher alcohol content, typically 6% as opposed to the common 5% of Asahi Super Dry. For example, Kirin's Akiaji beer. The beer cans are typically decorated with pictures of autumn leaves, and the beers are advertised as being suitable for drinking with nabemono (one-pot cooking). Similarly, in winter, beers such as 冬物語 or Fuyu Monogatari (ふゆものがたり, translated as "The Winter's Tale" on the can) appear.[18]
Microbreweries
In 1994, Japan's strict tax laws were relaxed allowing smaller breweries producing 60,000 litres (15,850 gal) per year for a beer license or 6000 litres per year for a happoshu license. Before this change, breweries could not get a license without producing at least 2 million litres (528,000 gal) per year.[1] As a result, a number of smaller breweries have been established throughout Japan.
After of relaxation of tax laws in the early 1990s, the commonly used term for microbrew in Japan was ji bīru (地ビール), or "local beer", although Japanese microbrew industry professionals are increasingly using the name "craft beer" (クラフトビア, kurafuto bia) in their labels and marketing literature.
There are currently over 200 microbreweries in Japan, although many in this number are financially tied to larger sake producers, restaurant chains, resort hotels or similar.[19] Microbreweries in Japan produce various styles of beer including ales, IPAs, stout, pilsner, weissbier, kölsch, fruit beers and others. After the relaxation of the Liquor Tax Law in 1994, there was an initial boom in microbrewing, but the quality of regional microbrews were often mixed and initial consumer enthusiasm leveled off. The popularity of low-cost happoshu (low-malt beer), compared to the high cost microbrews, forced a number of early microbreweries out of business. The dominance of the major industrial brewers and the relative high cost and low volume involved in producing micros led to their only being known to a small number of beer enthusiasts.
In the 2000s however, thanks to factors such as licensed production for some bar and restaurant chains, cooperation between micro breweries, and a more educated consumer base, craft beer has seen a more sustained rise in domestic demand. Improved product quality, word of mouth marketing facilitated by social media websites, the attention given to the rise of US-based craft brewing industry and the growth of independent craft beer retail outlets in major cities,[20] have all contributed to the recent success enjoyed by Japanese craft brewers.
Today there are a growing number of regional microbrew festivals held throughout Japan, including the Great Japan Beer Festival series held annually in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama. Every year, the Japan Craft Beer Association holds the Japan Beer Cup, while a competing organization, Japan Craft Beer Support, has launched the annual Nippon Craft Beer Festival.
Beer can be sold in vending machines although, this has become much less common in major cities.
Other than in serviced restaurants and bars, in Japan beer can be purchased at a wide variety of outlets, including supermarkets, convenience stores, and kiosks at train stations. Beer can also be sold in vending machines although, as of 2012, this has become much less common in major cities. Some vending machines have motion activated advertising that displays on small TV screens embedded into them. They play beer commercials and jingles that are seen on TV and heard on the radio. These vending machines began to be phased out in June 2000, mainly over concerns of underage drinking.[citation needed]
Drinking culture
The legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years old. In terms of drinking culture, beer drinking and opening formal toasts with beer, as a part of a group, sports team or after-work corporate social bonding activity, is widespread.
Beer can legally be consumed almost anywhere in public, with notable exceptions for organized events, summer festivals and spring cherry blossom parties. Social convention means that open consumption of alcohol on the street or ordinary commuter trains is rare.[21] Japan has very strict laws against operating a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle during or after the consumption of alcohol. Fines, prison time and other penalties can also apply to individuals deemed responsible for supplying alcohol to an intoxicated driver and those traveling in the same vehicle.[22]
Japanese beers available outside Japan
Japanese-style commercial brewing and beer products have been successfully exported worldwide or are produced locally under license and are distributed in a number of overseas markets.
In the US, all four major Japanese brands are available. These include Sapporo Draft, Kirin Ichiban (Number One, as opposed to the normal Lager which is not available), Asahi Super Dry, and Suntory Premium Malt's. Asahi is produced by Molson in Canada,[23] Kirin is produced at Anheuser-Busch facilities in Williamsburg, Virginia and Los Angeles, and Sapporo is produced at a Sapporo-owned brewery in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Suntory, brewed in and imported from Japan, is available on tap in select major markets.[24] The availability of brands depends on an individual state's liquor laws, resulting in some beers being available in some places and others not. For example, in Oklahoma, Asahi Super Dry, Sapporo, and Orion are available, whereas in Texas, Kirin Ichiban is prevalent.
Kiuchi brewery was the first Japanese microbrewery to export beer from Japan.[citation needed] Many other Japanese microbreweries now export to North America, Europe, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Homebrewing
Although it is technically illegal in Japan[1] to produce beverages containing more than 1% alcohol without a license, the law is rarely adhered to for homebrewers, and homebrewing supplies are available from high street stores and websites.
Beer in China has become increasingly popular in the 20th century, both local and imported brands. Most Chinese beers are pale lagers, such as Tsingtao.
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer, than larger "macro" breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
Taiwan Beer is a brand of mass market beer brewed by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL). The brand is an icon of Taiwanese culture and is applied to the best-selling beer in the country.
Sleeman Breweries is a Japanese-owned Canadian brewery founded by John Warren Sleeman in 1988 in Guelph, Ontario. The company is the third-largest brewing company in Canada. Along with its own Sleeman brands, the company produces under licence the Stroh's family of brands, Maclays Ale and Sapporo Premium beers for sale in Canada. The company's parent Sapporo owns 4.2 per cent of Ontario's primary beer retailer The Beer Store.
Sapporo Breweries Ltd. is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. It was first brewed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1876 by brewer Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo. The company purchased the Canadian company Sleeman Breweries in 2006.
Happoshu, or low-malt beer, is a tax category of Japanese liquor that most often refers to a beer-like beverage with less than 67% malt content. The alcoholic beverage is popular among consumers for having a lower tax than beverages that the nation's law classifies as "beer". Although the happoshu label is most frequently found on low-malt beer or beer-like products, alcopops that contain malt are also categorized as happoshu.
The Kirin Holdings Company, Limited. (キリンホールディングス株式会社) is a Japanese beer and beverage holding company. It is known for brands such as Kirin Beer, Kirin Lemon, Mets, and Gogo no Kōcha.
Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until prohibition in Canada. The provincial and federal governments' attempt to eliminate "intoxicating" beverages led to the closing of nearly three quarters of breweries between 1878 and 1928. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that a significant number of new breweries opened up. The Canadian beer industry now plays an important role in Canadian identity, although globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by or merged with foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers: Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead, with an estimated 3.8 percent share of the domestic market in 2016, has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.
Beer arrived in Australia at the beginning of British colonisation. In 2004 Australia was ranked fourth internationally in per capita beer consumption, at around 110 litres per year; although, the nation ranked considerably lower in a World Health Organization report of alcohol consumption per capita of 12.2 litres. Lager is by far the most popular type of beer consumed in Australia.
Beer in the United States is manufactured in breweries which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels (23.0 GL) of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly 28 US gallons (110 L) of beer per capita annually. In 2011, the United States was ranked fifteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.
Beer in Norway has a long history, stretching back more than a millennium. Until some 200 years ago, most farms where it was possible to grow grain south of the Arctic Circle, brewed their own beer. From the early 20th century brewing was industrialized and home brewing was restricted. Significant consolidation in the brewing sector reduced the number of major breweries to just a handful. With the exception of the farmhouse ales, most beer styles brewed in Norway trace their ancestry to central Europe.
The Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. is a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo.
Beer in South Africa has a long history, with a corporate history dating back to the early 20th century.
Brazil is the world's third largest beer market with total volume at 139 million hectoliters, and per capita consumption 61 liters in 2016.
Beer, called maekju in Korean, was first introduced to Korea in the early 20th century. Seoul's first brewery opened in 1908. Two current major breweries date back to the 1930s. The third brewery established in Korea, Jinro Coors Brewery, was founded in the 1990s. It was later acquired by Oriental Breweries (OB). Hite Breweries's former name was Chosun Breweries, which was established in 1933. The company changed its name to Hite Breweries in 1998. OB Breweries established as Showa Kirin Breweries in 1933. The company changed its name to OB Breweries in 1995.
Beer in Asia began when beer was produced in Sumer, Mesopotamia circa 6000 years ago. It was introduced by Europeans in the 19th century, with modern breweries established in British India, the Dutch East Indies, China, and Japan. Asia's first modern brewery was established in 1830 in India entirely using European brewing technology.
Beer in the Philippines is mainly produced by two large breweries, San Miguel Corporation, which produces San Miguel Pale Pilsen, and Asia Brewery, the country's second-largest brewery. In addition, there are a number of microbreweries across the nation.
Switzerland has a long tradition of brewing, with significant domestic beer production and a growing craft brewing sector.
↑ Alexander, Jeffrey W. (2013). Brewed in Japan: the evolution of the Japanese beer industry. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: UBC Press. p.12. ISBN978-0-7748-2504-7.
↑ Oliver, Garrett (2012). The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford University Press. p.67. ISBN978-0-19-536713-3.
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