What Makes Japanese Beer Unique?

When people think of alcohol in Japan, the first thing to come to mind is typically sake. While it is true that sake and sushi pair amazingly well together, there's another alcohol from Japan that more Americans should consider as a seriously great contender: beer. Granted, beer is not exclusive to Japan, but many people don't realize that some of the best and most unique breweries from around the world are actually in Japan.

What makes Japanese beer so great is the unique way it's made, and as a result, how it tastes. Generally speaking, Japanese beer tends to be made with more rice and less malt, which makes them taste lighter and more refreshing. Japan has also cultivated certain types of hops that each contribute its own taste and smell to Japanese beers, such as the Sorachi Ace hop that was grown specifically for Sapporo breweries back in 1984.

Japan is not only home to the most expensive grapes in the world, it also features some of the most interesting beers. Understanding Japan's unique approach to making beer is the first step to appreciating all that makes Japanese beer special. From there, all you have to do is taste it for yourself.

Japan combined the brewing techniques brought over by the Dutch with their own brewing ideas. Many Japanese breweries will substitute rice for the grains generally used to make beer, such as hops, barley, and yeast, to control the malt content and flavor, and create a lighter tasting beer. Japan still carries "regular" beers with a high malt content, and beers made using techniques that are typically found in Europe are still somewhat popular in Japan. However, these also tend to cost more because Japanese beer is taxed based on its malt content — the higher the malt content, the higher the tax.

Japan has become widely recognized for a type of beer called happoshu, which translates to "sparkling spirits." Happoshu is known for its exceptionally light taste — and for its significantly lower malt content. It rose to prominence as breweries attempted to avoid revenue taxes by creating a lower-malt product. This variant of beer continues to be popular due to its light and mild flavor, which has become synonymous with Japanese beer as a whole to many international drinkers.

Japanese beer companies like Asahi have used a fermenting approach known as karakuchi, which in this context translates to "dry." This type of beer is as described, with a dry and crispy flavor that happens as a result of nearly all the sugar being fermented. The nonexistent sugar content in the final product is what gives the beer its "dry" flavor profile — one that is less common in beer companies outside of Japan.