Place – Japan
Drink – Kirin Ichiban
Date – July 2013
Price – 650 yen for a beer cocktail (£4.64)
Strength – 4.9%
Highlights – Drank as a beer cocktail, straight from the brewery
Kirin breweries are one of the main breweries in Japan, and from what I can work out, the Kirin Ichiban is their flagship beer. Although this can be found in all the bars and vending machines around Japan, we also managed to track down a Kirin brewery bar in the backstreets of Shibuya Tokyo, where this beer could be drank by itself or, as a half beer/half ice cream -similar to a slush puppy or even as a cocktail. Claire being the ‘del boy’ of Japan, ordered a Kirin cocktail with pineapple, mango and a glazed cherry on top. Being delivered with its own specially produced cocktail beer strainer, this drink soon got passed around by all and finished off in no time. On its own, this beer is malty, light and a nice accompaniment to Asian food, however mixed with a bit of pineapple/mango syrup it transforms to a perfect drink for at the end of the night when your belly just can’t handle any more beer. I give this beer a 3.5 pint award.
