Shake, rattle and roll out

Kirin is to release a third-category “quasi beer”.

They do stretch our understanding of what is a beer to, well, yes, what. The proponents of the Purity Law will be spinning in their graves and a few bureaucrats will be scratching their heads in disbelief. But over in Japan, brewers seem unperturbed.

In an effort to dodge the hefty tax levied on beer, Kirin Brewery has concocted a drink, called Sparkling Hop, to be released in October. It looks like a beer, foamy head and all, but a beer it ain’t. According to media reports, the drink is made of a mix of happoshu and spirits. Although some Japanese and New Zealand hops are said to have been thrown in, Sparkling Hop is classified as a liqueur, which carries a lower tax rate than beer and happoshu. About 46.2 percent of the cost of a full malt beer is tax, compared with 35.6 percent for the low-malt beers known as happoshu. Beer in Japan can be made of wheat, rice, peas, corn or other starch sources, but to be labelled as beer, more than two-thirds of the ingredients other than hops and water must be malt.

By the way, happoshu can have an alcohol level of up to 20 per cent.

Sparkling Hop will be available at JPY135 (USD 1.17) per 350-mL can, with the company targeting consumers aged in their 20s.