Sapporo Premium Beer, Japans oldest brand since 1876

Sapporo Premium Beer

Brewed by Sapporo Breweries Ltd
Style: Japanese Rice Lager
Tokyo, Japan

Not the first Japanese beer I have had, that honour goes to Kirin Ichiban, but it is always interesting to grab a beer from the far east. Sapporo, the oldest beer brand in Japan and one of its most popular, was first brewed in Sapporo city, way back in 1876 by the German-trained brew master Seibei Nakagawa for the Kaitakushi Brewery (became Sapporo Beer Company in 1886). A high quality lager, using some of the locally produced beer ingredients and authentic brewing process, made the beer an instant success, not just in Sapparo, but throughout all the country. The company now has five breweries in Japan, one in both Canada, and the U.S, and Sapporo Premium has been the number 1 selling Asian beer in the States.

The iconic star, that you can see on the silver can, represents the spirit of the early beer pioneers of Sapporo. This pioneering spirit continues at Sapparo as, in 2006, the company created a one off limited Space Barley brew. Using barley grown from seeds which spent five months on board the International Space Station, they auctioned off six packs of the space beer at a price of 10,000 yen, or about $90/£62.

Review: Can of Sapporo Premium Beer: ABV: 4.9%

Coming in a very distinctive shiny silver can, it certainly stands out in the off licence.

Appearance: The appearance was of a lovely clean looking golden yellow colour, with a pretty good white frothy head on pour
Head does die a little, no real lacing
Nice carbonation, bubbling along throughout.
Is definitely a nice looking beer, even if the head is non existent.

Aroma: Not trying to be funny but thought it smelt of shite, ha ha, now I know that’s obviously the sweet rice mixed around with the hops, grains and sweet malts. but Jesus I didn’t like the smell one bit at all, very stinky smell, bit of a generic beer smell too, Japanese style, but not very appealing.

Faint initial taste of the malts , not much to saviour, but very clean and smooth, very easy to drink

Taste only really kicks in at the back end, with the rice and the grassy hops kicking in

Has a slight kick to it alright, can definitely feel the alcohol, sweet and bitter, but not overbearing.

Ok beer, not a bad beer, nothing offensive, not much taste, but very smooth and easy to drink, but it would be nice to actually taste some real flavours…….something……anything at all….come on! And not just a bland generic taste of nothingness