Beer

Majority of the beer sold in Japan is lager. You may notice the different prices in beer. This is due the the categorization and the tax that is imposed on each category.

In general there are 3 types of beer (actually, one beer and the two kinds of beer tasting liquor)

  • Beer(ビール)　This is the typical beer made from Malt. The most common is the pilsner style lager.
  • Happoshu (発泡酒) - Low malt beer. Direct translation is "bubbly alcohol". This is made from lower level of malt to avoid the high taxes.
  • Shin Ganru (新ジャンル) - New Genre Beer also called the Dai-san no Beer (第三のビール) - The Third Beer - Since the revision of the tax rates, the government increased the tax for Happoshu, so the beer manufacturers developed a new kind of beer to avoid the tax again. This type of beer is made with adding other liqueurs to the Happoshu without sacrificing its taste. It is the result of the cat and mouse game between the tax authority and the beer manufacturers. 

In general, a typical Japanese may drink the Third Beer at home as its only half the price of the conventional beers. Most restaurants will serve beer and not Happoshu or the Third Beer whereas budget izakayas may not.  Since the arrival of the third beer, the Happoshu market has shrunk until recently. The market is surviving with the introduction of zero purine body, zero carbohydrate happoshu for people on gout diets.
  
Japanese Beer
This is the Lager Beer Range. It cost double of the Third Beer.
Japanese Beer Beverage
This is the Third Beer range. Notice that they only cost around 600 yen for 6 cans of 350ml.
Picture
This is the range for zero purine body and zero carbohydrate happoshu. It has gained popularity since it's introduction.
Back to Alcohol and Beverages>>>