Tonight, I had a very pleasant evening out with a girl who has quickly become my best friend in Japan. Someone who in the larger picture I’d already comfortably place amongst my best friends from home. We had a very tasty Taiwanese meal and a few cold beers. It was great, but as all seasoned drinkers know, a few beers is a dangerous amount and the only way to avoid the ‘twilight zone’ quasi-hangover is to supplement a few beers with a few more beers until you are at the safe level of 6 or 7 beers. Then and only then can you rest assured that you will wake the next morning without a quite frankly unfair hangover.
So for the sake of my health I cycled to the local 7-Eleven on my way back to the dorm and picked up some beers that as of yet I have not experience, or even seen before.
Let me introduce you to Kirin’s とれたてホップ Beer (Fresh Hops). This is appears to be a limited edition beer using fresh TONO hops from this years crop (I’m gambling on the use of crop, my speciality in the beer lifecycle is the pouring of and drinking of.. not the pre-beer stages!).
First impressions are good, this is a visually pleasing can of beer and also is produced by Kirin who arguably may not produce the best beer in Japan (I favour Suntory Malts, followed by Asahi Super Dry), but they nonetheless from my experience have a very solid track record. This colourfully packaged beverage does not let the good name of Kirin down, not one iota.. indeed I am going to stick my neck out and say that this delivers quality in truckloads..
Probably tea trucks, I may have been led down the garden path by the elaborate green decorations but this beer reminds me of a refreshing cup of good quality green tea. I have skimmed the kanji on the can and have not seen 茶 (tea) printed anywhere but the taste is unmistakeable (almost..).
The beer definitely delivers on the fresh taste that it promises and has a distinctly Japanese flavour, as such I am going to award it a finely carved Halloween pumpkin, three warts and a witches hat.
The one reservation I have is that I don’t think that I could drink vast quantities of とれたてホップ beer.. but is that really a bad thing? Ladies, Gents.. kids(?) go out and buy this beer I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Have you consumed Kirin’s とれたてホップ beer? Are you the genius mixologist that accidentally dropped your flask of tea in the hops vat? Do you know of a drink (please keep suggestions of an alcoholic nature) which can provide an equal or greater amount of satisfaction? Or even one so bad that it has to be tried to believed, then please share your knowledge in the comments section.
PS I will not drink Sapporo Draft One or Suntory Super Blue ever, ever again!
