Winter beer

Beer brewers in Japan are always offering special beers. One of the most common is season beers for spring, autumn, Cherry Blossom season, and starting at this time of year…winter beer.

Around this time last year, I bought Kirin’s winter beer…and today, I bought a case of Asahi 「冬の贈り物」 (“Winter Gift”) beer.

(Actually a 発泡酒 (low-malt liquor)...but tastes like lager beer to me)

Do beer brewers in your country sell “seasonal beers”? Do brewers outside of Japan sell 発泡酒 (low-malt liquor) that is similar in taste and appearance to lager beer…but cheaper?
Have you ever tried a Japanese 発泡酒 (low-malt liquor)? What do you think of them?

Winter beer

I just got a case of Kirin Beer’s latest beer*.
(*Actually, it’s a 発泡酒 (Happoshu) which is a low-malt beer. These are popular because they avoid the high beer tax in Japan and therefore are cheaper. They taste quite the same as “regular” beer, so I like them.)

This new beer is called 「冬麒麟」 (“Winter Kirin“).

It tastes very good. It has a “mild taste” just as it says in the ad.
This is a temporary beer offered by Kirin Beer for this winter season, so if you’re in Japan, I recommend trying a can or two.

(The Kirin Beer Company is named after a mythological dragon-like creature called 「麒麟」 (Kirin)…not a “giraffe” which is also called “kirin” in Japanese but written 「キリン」.)