The beers of Iwakuni: Sapporo Premium Yebisu

So this is a Sapporo. Well, kind of. Yebisu is the original product of Japan beer brewery company which merged with Sapporo and Osaka in 1906 to form Dai-Nippon beer company. Sapporo and Japan breweries remained together after the 1949 company split and continued as Nippon breweries until changing it to Sapporo breweries in 1956. Sapporo (and therefore Japan breweries) resumed brewing their Yebisu beer in 1971, marketed as a German styled barley beer, not unlike the beers they were originally brewing around the turn of the 20th century. The original Yebisu was first produced in 1890 after three years of setting up the brewery with the help of a German expat brewmaster who's name is either not publicized by the company or has been lost to history. They also claim to have won the gold prize at the 1900 Paris expo as well as strictly adhere to the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot purity law. I assume the original 1516 law as they started production of this version in '71 and the rules didn't change until '87. Whether this one is based on the original beer recipe wise or just in spirit is unclear. You can pick this one up at most grocer stores in Japan, and many of the better convenience stores. I'm pretty sure I picked this up a couple of months ago at the YouMe supermarket and it's been sitting in my fridge ever since.

The can is gold with a picture of the Shinto God of luck Yebisu, for who the beer is named. It claims "Rich and mellow premium beer brewed from 100% fine malt and select hops with Sapporo's traditional art" also "Born 1890". Abv 5%, the rest is in Japanese.

From the can, it has an initial skunk smell (as in the animal, not like beer that has turned) which afterwards turns a little sour, not unlike a Stella Artois. It has a light fluffy head and lively agitation and is a clear golden color. Nose from the glass is completely unlike the can, it has a light barley scent to it and you can kind of smell the alcohol. On initial sip, it has a cereal taste to it. It starts out as maybe a little malty, then goes to a bit of saltiness, then has an apple finish. It has a light body and low acidity. Now that I think about it, it tastes more like wort than it does beer. It tastes like a small beer made out of re-seeped mash from a heavier beer. It maybe has just the slightest bit of hoppyness, but just enough to keep the beer from tasting off.

I purchased the 5.6.7.8's 1989-1996 singles collection "Bomb the Rocks". While they've always had a late '50's early '60's Japanese Rockabilly sound with heavy Surf music and GO-GO influences, I never knew they had such a Punk/Garage rock sound as well. Like most of the world, I was introduced to the band by way of Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill Vol. I" where they performed one of their hit songs "Woo Hoo!". I'm really thankful for his films, they really exposed me to allot of music that I otherwise would have never looked into. I suppose technically the band is Psychobilly. I really need to dive deep into this genre, there's allot of good bands here in Japan that play it and I should seize upon the opportunity to see them while I'm here.

I really want to frame this album art

Final thoughts. It's a pretty standard forgettable macrobrew beer. It's not bad, but it's not really that great either. It is better than bud light though, which is the standard that a beer must reach to be worth finishing. If you're ever in Japan and this is the only beer they have on tap at whatever ramen place you go to (which is common practice) go ahead and order it, otherwise don't bother, just order regular Sapporo.