the beers of FUTENMA: Orion Draft

I have finally gotten around the THE Okinawan staple beer, Orion Draft. The Orion brewery was started in 1957 and started brewing in 1959, first making a German styled beer much like the Japanese did, but struggled to make a name for themselves as 1.the market was already saturated with German style Japanese beers and 2. The Japanese did it better. Shortly thereafter, Orion switched to making a simple "American" styled pale lager, and saw much more success on its home island of Okinawa (mostly because it was more palatable to the Americans stationed there). Mind you, this is not an "American Lager" or a "Rice lager" as it contains no rice. The only ingredients in Orion Draft are barley (not malted), a blend of European hopps (mostly German), yeast, and water they get from their own guarded mountain stream. It's a simple beer, nothing complicated about it.

On the can it says "Orion's Original Brew" "Orion Draft Beer" "Orion Draft Beer's clear mild taste is widely loved as an Okinawan Original" "ALC. 5%". Other than that it's a bunch of Kanji. But enough about the can.I finally I get to pour some Orion Orion into the super traditional Orion mug! Nose from the can is a yeasty barley aroma, lets see the head.

Quite a bit, but it subsides quickly. Nose from the mug is the same as from the can. Color is a golden amber with very few bubbles from the bottom. It has a mild barley flavor, stronger than the Southern Star, and with slightly more acidity. Body is the upper part of watery or the lower part of mild bodied, but it certainly has more body than the Southern Star. I suppose if you give it some thought while you roll it around you're mouth, it has a very slight apple flavor. I certainly like it better than the Southern Star, it is definitely more flavorful. It's like if you took cheap American beers and made them with quality ingredients and didn't cut them with rice, which is pretty much what they did. You know, I'm going to go ahead and call it at lower mild bodied.

This beer never dissapoints. It was good from start to finish, which is all you can really ask of a beer. Also, thanks to researching for this post I've come to regard beer advocate as a site for the obnoxious prudes who don't like anything that wasn't brewed by men of the cloth. I'm not saying Trappist beer should not be held in high regard, they more than earn their titles as the best beer makers in the world, but I can't take anyone who cannot enjoy simple things seriously. Also, beer advocate is strewn with poorly researched misinformation, I could get more accurate beer reviews from 4chan. But to wrap this up, YAY Orion Draft! You're like America's beer seed in Asia. Spread our styles and do them better, like a son who outperforms his father. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.