Suntory | Matthew Toy

I thought it about time to do a round-up of the various beers I’ve tried over the past few weeks. I must admit to quite enjoying this series, as I really don’t know what to expect with each drink I try.

To start things off, we have two beers which are from the same brewery. Yaho Brewing is proving to be an excellent source of tasty beers, I must say. The first one shares the same name with the very enjoyable “A beer for you and me” that I got not long after arriving. Whether it is actually the same beer is up for debate, but it shares the funky looking frog motif and is equally tasty. Really enjoyed this one, it is equal parts easy drinking, smoothness and tasty flavour.

If you see this frog on a beer, it is likely to be a tasty

The second from this brewery is the Yona Yona Ale. Not much to say apart from it being a very solid and enjoyable pale ale. They are nearly double the price of their cheapest rivals (£1.80 to 90p) but totally worth the extra spend in my books.

Another winner!

From Suntory we have 金麦 or “Gold Wheat” beer. Apart from really liking the design of the can itself, there isn’t a lot I can write about this middle-of-the-road beer. Nothing wrong with it, nothing all that right. In a word: Inoffensive.

Average

Speaking of refreshing looking can designs, next we have a Lemon Beer from Grand Kirin. The name is something like ひこうき雲と私 or literally “the aeroplane cloud and me”. I imagine it loses something in the translation.

On the beer itself, I found that the lemon flavour is there, but it is quite muted. Not a bad idea, I like the idea of a refreshing summer beer, but I don’t think this is it for me. Overall, it wasn’t too bad really, decently drinkable, but doesn’t really commit to the concept – it isn’t beery enough and not lemony enough either.

Was expecting something, but not quite this

The Suntory Beer Recipe (a blueberry flavoured beer) wasn’t ever going to be great, but I at least thought it would be interesting. It does have a bit of a fruity flavour, but it was underwhelming and left me wishing for something more exciting.

Similar to the lemon beer above, it just doesn’t commit to the concept to make it worth not having a less weird and better tasting normal beer.

I really need to stop experimenting…

Finally, I had much higher hopes for this Kirin “Prime Brew” beer, but sadly it left me thinking… “Meh, okay”. It was drinkable and if pushed I could have a few, but it really wasn’t a “prime” anything and left me wanting for something more flavoursome.

Prime Brew huh? Not that impressed

My adventure continues…

I spend a fair amount of time at convenience stores here in Japan. Those of you who have been to Japan will understand, and for those who haven’t, please allow me to explain. Convenience stores (or konbini/コンビニ) are everywhere in the city, and just about everywhere not in a city as well. There are at least 3 within 150 meters of my apartment, and I’m not even in a downtown area. Anyway, there are many of them and they are great for:

They have very tasty pre-made meals (more on this another time)
They have all the little knick knacks you could want (tweezers to noddles to pet food, etc)
They are open fairly late
They have a fun range of alcoholic beverages

There are many other good points, but that last one is the reason for this post. I’ve decided to to a semi-regular (i.e. when I feel like it) series on the myriad of various drinks available from these convenience stores, from the straightforward to the silly. All in the name of science! And also in the name of recovering from a whole day of Japanese study. But mostly it is about the science.

Anyway, first a disclaimer:

I make no pretence of having any real skill or knowledge of alcoholic beverages, above having drunk them and also being in possession of taste buds and a keyboard.

So please allow me to introduce the inagrual drink… The Strong Zero Bitter Orange 9% from Suntory.

Suntory Strong Zero Bitter Orange 9%

By the way, I’m not going to structure the reviews along any specific lines, mainly I just want to have a bit of fun, drink new drinks and maybe learn something new and interesting.

Anyway, moving swiftly on, the Suntory corporation helpfully provides some suggestions right on the can:

Those being:

A warning that it is a strong drink at 9% alcohol
It is not sweet and contains fruit peel
Have with a meal

Good advice/information to know.

So how does it taste? Well, as the can rightly says, while it has a strong citrus flavour, it isn’t a sweet drink. It has a strong, unmasked alcoholic flavour that would not appeal to those who enjoy a drink that is mild and understated. It is very fizzy and is kept very cold, which only sharpens the experience for me. Oh and I should point out, it is quite bitter. Like, “my face might collapse inwards” bitter. Which is great if you are into that, but if not… Well, you shouldn’t have bought a drink with “bitter” written on it and you really only have yourself to blame.

I’d say this drink is for those occasions when you want something a bit refreshing and surprising. It isn’t a session drink, where you could finish one after another, but on a warm evening after a long day at work/practising kanji, it is quite enjoyable and thoroughly intoxicating. I’m about three quarters done and I am already thankful for spell-check, if that’s any indication of strength.

So there you go, my first review done – I feel a warm glow of satisfaction/intoxication now.

Adventures around the world

Category: Suntory

Beer Roundup / ビルラウンドアップ

Review: Suntory Strong Zero – Bitter Orange 9%