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Multicolored Beer

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rainbow-beers
One of the great things about beer is the many colors that beer can have, though it’s a more limited rainbow. Beer color tends to be in the “fall” family of colors, ranging from yellow to amber, orange, brown and finally black. A Japanese brewery on the island of Hokkaido is trying to change the beer color rainbow to more closely match the more familiar ROYGBIV color spectrum. I’m not sure that’s an entirely welcome idea, but here’s what the Abashiri Brewery is up to:

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RED: Hamanasu Draft

Hamanasu Draft Translated from Japanese (via Google Translate):

Summer flowers image of Hokkaido “Hamanasu” the brightness of “Ruby Red” was able to express clear and shining brightly colored gems such as rubies concept. By use of secondary materials Hamanasu fruit, finished with a tap Hamanasu aroma and fruity flavor. Pour into a glass and there are wildflowers bloom to decorate the jewel-studded coast of Okhotsk in the summer.

This “Hamanasu DRAFT” brew under the technical guidance of the Tokyo University of Agriculture, the thing to use natural materials from the fruits of Okhotsk Hamanasu local representation could Hamanasu aroma and fruity taste. The petals of “Ruby Red” commitment as well, we succeeded in expressing in clear and shining bright red that you use the natural pigment anthocyanin.

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Next up, skipping any yellow, golden, amber or orange beers from the spectrum to reach green.

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GREEN: Shiretoko Draft

Shiretokko Draft Translated from Japanese (via Google Translate):

“Was established as a world heritage, everyone would like to deliver the magnificent nature of Shiretoko” Carefully selected to match the dye-based pigment spirulina, natural shade of green in a clear expression of the Shiretoko the fresh green of spring, As for the unprecedented low-malt beer “smell” the theme is an article created.

As to the third bullet of the Four Seasons series, Hokkaido, sparkling wine become the season of the fresh green “Shiretoko draft” was able to produce. In order to have a scent of this feature, deliberately suppressing the use of hops, by using low-malt beer find a match for this fragrance in a number of aroma components to reproduce the natural feel the rich aroma of Shiretoko for. In addition, in order to close the shade and majestic scenery of Shiretoko, from the natural pigment various “Draft ice” used “Spirulina,” By using natural pigments in three, including the depth and clarity than succeeded in expressing in conjunction with the mystic hue.

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Can anybody say “Saint Patrick’s Day?” Now onto the blues.

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BLUE: Tyuhyou Draft

Tyuhyou Draft Translated from Japanese (via Google Translate):

Okhotsk Sea ice image of a sky blue “Okhotsk” light and refreshing finish to the faucet has a rich brewing water used to the concept of drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk. It is developed under technical guidance of Biology, Faculty of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Industry, and granular foam by bubbling pure bright blue sea of Okhotsk ever, causes the image of floating on the sea ice in the slightly blue.

Pour into a glass and there are romantic wider Sea of Okhotsk in winter. The article has created feelings of pride in our plant material to stick to local produce. DRAFT Niatari ice brew, wanted to express in a bubble floating in the sea ice.

I was looking for there for a good foaming, Shima Hisashi professor of Tokyo University of Agriculture, has proposed the use of yam. The Chinese yam, including components that improve the bubbling has been demonstrated in Shima Hisashi’s research.

The commitment also blue Okhotsk, spirulina is said to be the plant’s oldest (and ingredients that many are taking a healthy food), using trial and error many times, the color of the bright sea in clear to reproduce successfully.

Though it’s not stated here, the blue color comes from the addition of seaweed in the beer.

Okhotsk Blue Draft stands out for its cool color and interesting (yet not off-putting) ingredients. The brew is made using water melted from icebergs that float each year onto Hokkaido beaches from the chilly Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the North Pacific ocean bordered by Japan and Russia.

Then Abashiri went one step further and used seaweed to give their brew and icy blue tint. Perhaps not the greatest selling point but it does make Okhotsk Blue look, well, different. As for the taste… reports state that Ryuho isn’t at all bad as beers go, and if you didn’t know there was seaweed in it, you likely wouldn’t guess there was.

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So if those weren’t weird enough, here’s the final one, a pink beer made with potatoes.

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PINK: Jyaga Draft (or Potato Draft)

Jyaga Draft Translated from Japanese (via Google Translate):

The series culminates in Abashiri seasons, the fall harvest is the land of the north Okhotsk. Representation of low-malt beer purple potatoes colorful petals bloom on the ground of the North “draft Potato” When I die pretty flowers that come autumn harvest, the potatoes using the “Fall of Okhotsk,” guests feel the dish.

The fourth season series, “Autumn Harvest” Okhotsk from the Omoi want to express that began with the material sticking to it. Met there is “newly harvested potatoes” and “specialty Abashiri” Silvervine passion fruit called the North was. Abashiri produced by massive potato flavor and ripe “Silvervine” finished in a faucet has been moderately fruity fermented by Yoshiyasu matches.

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Be afraid. be very afraid.

Sapporo’s Legendary Biru

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sapporo
My friend and colleague, Tom Dalldorf, sent me the link to this cool video by Sapporo beer for the Canadian market. Entitled Legendary Biru, it’s almost Rube Goldberg-esque. The original music is pretty addictive, too, but it’s the inventive way in which they re-imagine the brewing process that I find interesting. You can also see more about it at Sapporo’s Canadian website. I think there may be a contest of some kind, too, but I didn’t look closely at that aspect of it.

Beer In Ads #152: Phoebe Cates For Asahi

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Friday’s ad ends Bud week early and is a bit of a departure for what’s usually featured here. I try not to use overtly male-oriented ads but today is an exception. We all have celebrities, male and female, that we’re more attracted to than others. For me, one of my most enduring starstruck crushes has been on Phoebe Cates, most famous for Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins. But many actors also did ads in Japan, which during the 1980s was quite lucrative so many who wouldn’t do ads in the U.S. just couldn’t turn down doing them in Japan, and Phoebe Cates was no exception. She did a series of ads, usually in a bikini, for Asahi Breweries sometime during the 80s. Also, I should point out that the reason for all this is today is Phoebe Cates’ 47th birthday.

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The campaign also included television spots, like this one on YouTube. Since it was for their Asahi Draft Beer, they used the slogan “Live Beer” in the TV spots and on branded beer glasses in the print ads, such as the ones below.

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Sometimes in a big floppy hat, sometimes not.

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Most of the ads I’ve seen have been cropped and don’t show the full ad, sad to say.

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Japanese Paper Beer

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origami
Most people have probably heard of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. But the Japanese propensity of coming up with unusual hobbies knows no boundaries. One of the tamer examples is the related art of making 3D paper models. Using vector software like Pepakura, 3D models are created in 2D and then sheets are created to cut out and build the paper models. I stumbled on one of these while searching for another image. It’s of a waitress serving beer to a bar patron. The title of it is Bunny Beer Maiden because the waitress is dressed in a bunny costume, a popular Japanese fetish theme. Instructions and more photos are also at Papercraft and also at Paperworks’ And Wind Until, which has even more views of the component parts of the paper models.

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First a vector drawing is created on a computer, and then individual pieces like a dress pattern are created that must be carefully cut out for assembly.

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After being put together, the server in bunny costume looks like this. See many other angles here.

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Here’s a close-up of the glasses of beer.

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And the customer with his beer. See many other angles here.

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And here’s the entire scene with the server, the customer and tables and chairs, all of which are made out of paper.

Beer In Ads #69: Japanese Anime’s Kotobuki Beer

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Friday’s ad is a strange one, I don’t actually recall where exactly I found the image. I don’t believe it’s actually for a brewery’s beer but instead is a Japanese anime character called TsumugiKotobuki. According to one description, she’s a “high school student who walks in on the ‘light’ music club. She is inspired to join the club as a keyboardist and wields damn freaky eyebrows.” Actually I may have that wrong, as there appear to be a number of Japanese carton characters with the name Kotobuki and a different first name, like the several in the show Gals!. Whatever the truth about her is, I still thought it interesting that a cartoon character can be shown so happily holding a mug of beer. It’s just nice to see a culture that’s not so puritanical.

kotobuki-beer

Beer In Ads #22: Sapporo’s At The Dance

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Thursday’s ad is from Japan, and is for Sapporo beer. The ad is from 1934 and pictures a woman sitting and enjoying a beer, presumably at a dance watching the other couples cut a rug. One oddity; is it just me or does that glass in her hand look pretty small? Or is she perhaps a giant? Either way, it seems a little out of proportion. It’s also interesting that apart from the kanji writing and the woman’s obvious ethnicity, it could be any western ad for beer.

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U.S. Select Beer Taste

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I stumbled on the photo of a peculiar beer below while looking for another image. It was on Holy Taco, a humor website as far as I can tell.

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Best I could find out is that it’s a Japanese beer made by what appears to be a fairly large global food and drinks company called SC Foods Co., Ltd. The beer is called U.S. Select Beer Taste and is fairly resplendent with patriotic imagery from using a red, white and blue palette to the U.S. flag, an outline of the lower 48 and even part of the Statue of Liberty.

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It’s certainly an odd duck. But what fascinates me most is wondering what it tastes like. I mean that in an abstract sense. I know in reality it’s likely a clone of a tasteless American-style macro lager or similar low-calorie light beer. Or is it? What is the perception of the “select beer taste of the U.S.?” Is is still the former big three, or has craft beer managed to upstage that as an antiquated image of American beer?

I also can’t help but wonder, if it is an American light lager, why? The three major brands in Japan — Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo — aren’t substantially different from Bud, Miller or Coors. So if you’re going to label it U.S. Select Beer Taste, then it has to mean something to the intended consumer, which appears to be the Japanese. They have to perceive it as being something different than their own beer, don’t they? And if so, then doesn’t it follow that U.S. Select Beer Taste might be more craft-oriented in taste? It wouldn’t taste like a German, Belgian, Czech or English import. Sadly, I couldn’t find any ratings for the beer on either Beer Advocate of Rate Beer, so I don’t really know if it’s more Dale’s Pale Ale than Bud Light.

So what exactly is American Beer’s Taste perception in Japan and around the world? Among brewers and the über beer geeks certainly our reputation for quality is unsurpassed and the craft industry has staged a remarkable comeback for American beer since the low point of the 1970s. But that’s among the small, niche customer for whom beer matters. To the general consumer, I’m not so sure. Budweiser and Coors both sell surprisingly well in Great Britain and Bud is even making modest progress in Germany. What do you think U.S. Select Beer Taste is?

Jewel Pet’s Garnet Drinks Beer

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rocky
I confess I’d never heard of Jewel Pet before now. As far as I can tell, Jewel Pet is one of those saccharinely sweet Japanese cartoons in the Hello Kitty mold. In fact, it was created by the same company, Sanrio. It’s a cartoon for kids in Japan so far at least 52 episodes have been produced. Here’s one description of the show:

In a magical land, small animals learn magic and are then turned into Jewels to travel to the magic forest. While her classmates are busy being transformed into jewels, Ruby, a rabbit, is off playing. The stork delivering the Jewel pets to the forest is overcome by a gust of wind, and the Jewels spill, falling to Earth. Ruby, who is being punished for going off and playing instead of becoming a Jewel with her classmates, is sent to Earth to retrieve her friends.

One fan, with apparently a lot of time on his or her hands was worried their favorite character, a bunny named Garnet, would lose air time as new Jewel Pets were discovered each episode, but was relieved to find that wasn’t the case.

What’s happened, rather, is that a troika of pets (Ruby, Garnet and Sapphy) has taken over. Each episode, after sharing the limelight with the new Pet of the Week, they pretty much banish it from ever rearing its ugly head in town. I’m relieved!

What surprised me about all this is the scene below shows Garnet drinking a beer! Remember this is a show aimed at kids around 8-years old, plus or minus. You have to love the Japanese when they don’t think anything at all about showing beer during a kids show. Apparently nobody screamed about corrupting the young, which almost certainly would have occurred if it had aired here. If you want to watch some episodes in Japanese, there are a few online.

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“That’s beer!! Garnet, stop that bunny!”