March 13, 2005
Kirin Taste Testing
As we were dashing from shop to shop in Osaka I spotted a dozen uniformed girls outside the Kirin Building handing out bags of kirin beers. Being my favorite beer of all, Ling and I dashed over and collected our booty samples. Tonight, after a freezing cold walk through Kyoto, I came back and taste tested my tiny cans of beer.
They gave me three beers:
The black-labelled "Original Brew": Sheer refreshment! Open up the smooth taste that goes perfectly with good times. Appears to be 5.5% ABV (alcohol by volume)
The green-labelled "Green Label": Green Label brings you a comfortabel time. The refreshing taste cheers your mind. 4.5% ABV.
The blue-labelled "Tanrei Alpha": Tanrei Alpha brings you two unique values, conceived to enhance your pleasant times. Please enjoy! Unknown ABV, I cannot find it on the can!
This leads to some other strange specification(s) I don't understand. The green can has a measurement "70%". The blue can has additional labels "99% and 60%." The black label has no special specification indicated.
So what are these special beers supposed to be?
I found this explanation of the blue label:
Low purine beer
Japan ?s Kirin Brewery has launched Tanrei Alpha (ABV 5.5 per cent), which has been created in response to consumer demand for a low purine beer. Purine, a type of nucleic acid, is found in many food items and part of alcoholic drinks, especially in foods with many cells such as dried fish, prawns and animal livers. Beer also contains purine from malt. Purine is a real problem for some people as it raises the level of uric acid in the blood, causing gout - a condition two million people in the UK and 590,000 people in Japan are believed to suffer from. The company has cut down the purine content by 90 per cent in comparison to regular beer products by a patented 'selective removal method', which takes away as much purine as possible while maintaining the smooth aftertaste. The product also contains a small amount of beer flavour to balance the taste. Launched on 5 February with a suggested retail price of 145 yen, it is also available in a larger 500ml can, retailing for 195 yen.
Here's Kirin's explanation of the Green Label:
Kirin Tanrei Green Label: Fewer Calories without Sacrificing Taste
Consumers are becoming more health conscious, and Kirin is helping them meet their health goals by offering low-calorie beverages that do not compromise on taste.
Tanrei Green Label is the low-calorie counterpart to Kirin?s main happo-shu brand, produced with 70% less sugar than our regular brew by adding a yeast extract.
Careful attention to consumer tastes resulted in Tanrei Green Label becoming the most successful product launch ever for a light beer or happo-shu, the first in that category to sell over one million cases. A healthier alternative at the same price as regular Tanrei, Green Label has reenergized the entire Tanrei brand and contributed to make it stand out from an increasingly crowded field.
The black-label is their traditional, regular beer, one that I'm very fond of.
So how do they taste?
Original
This is the only beer that had much of a smell at all. It had the best, most rich taste, as well. When you drink this beer it screams, "eat something with me."
Green Label
Very slight smell. Less-rich taste. Most aftertaste of all three. Had the most CO2 astringency. Weakest taste.
Blue Label
No smell. Probably the second-best taste.
So yeah, it's not that much of a contest... the Original Black Label is definitely the best. Could I discrimate them in a blind test? I think so. I still have three sample cans left, so later this week I'll see if I can tell the difference. The Green Label is the worst of the lot, although I still would prefer it to a heinous beer like Tiger, for example.
In researching these beers, I discovered that Kirin is producing a number of other beers that sound interesting. Unfortunately the only one I know to find is the Taruname System, an oversized can that comes with a tiny tap and a finger-sized C02 cartridge to make the head.