Quality Control in a glass
Written: Dec 29 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A good beer to go with your sushi and wasabi
Cons: Lacks any flavor
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| andaryl's Full Review: Asahi Super Dry |
When you visit the Asahi website, the first impression you get is that this is a beer made to the highest technical standards. In fact the whole website is a testament to Japanese quality control, and as we all know that’s what the Japanese are famous for. The brewery seems to promote its beers on quality, laying out their standards, achievements and mission. Their “Freshness Management Program” was set up in 1992 in “the pursuit for absolute freshness”.
The reference to “dry” in the Asahi Super Dry implies that it is not sweet, and Asahi was the first example of this, brewed since 1987. This beer became popular so quickly in Japan, that it soon made it’s way to the USA and is now available in over 40 countries. While some may debate the numbers, Asahi themselves claim that Super Dry is the 3rd highest selling brand in the world (20 million barrels in 1998), behind only Bud, and Bud Light. For interest sake, they list Skol and Corona Extra as 4 and 5 respectively.
Asahi Super Dry is brewed “under supervision” by Molson Breweries for the USA market. At first glance I had taken the “under supervision” to be a nice little marketing phrase, but once you read anything about this company you realize how serious they are about the quality of their product. You actually wonder if Molson know what they let themselves in for.
The thing to remember about this commitment to quality, is that they’re not trying to build the next space shuttle, merely brew a beer. So how does the beer itself stand up?
I got mine in a nice 22 oz bottle, with the straightforward but attractive silver label. It pours to a pale golden color with good carbonation, but almost no foam, despite my best efforts. The odor is pretty clean and simple with only a mere hint of hops. On drinking it’s very light in body, but the carbonation is fairly lively on the tongue. It gives off a very clean, crisp and clear taste with just a little hop in an almost non-existent aftertaste.
Such is the intention of this beer that it has very little flavor at all. The company has clearly succeeded in producing a refreshing and clean, dry brew. While I like beers of a little more substance, I understand that clean dry beers are very much in demand and can therefore see this as being a very successful product. I’d certainly recommend it to the non-beer drinker.
One point I should make is that I had this beer without food, and am convinced that I would have enjoyed it much more if I was eating. This certainly seems like a good sushi and wasabi beer, and is probably what I’d order if in a Japanese restaurant. Furthermore the fact that I’d had a Sam Adams Winter Lager an hour earlier probably didn’t help the Asahi too much either.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andaryl
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Member: Andrew Smith
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