News: Beer “On the Rocks”?

Beer on the rocks? Now available in Japan:

Kirin Brewery Co. will release a new brand of canned beer in late July called “Ice + Beer” that is meant to be drunk over ice in a glass. The company was inspired by the recent trend of drinking wine or sake over ice, and also thought consumers would prefer colder drinks this summer due to electricity-saving efforts that could see reduced use of air conditioners.
The Yomiuri Shimbun [LINK]

According to the article, the beer will have a stronger aroma and taste to compensate for being watered down by the ice. I quite like the idea of people popping a few extra beers to keep cool, in return for using the air conditioner less…

While travelling in Japan in 2009, we took some very long train trips up north, and that’s where we were introduced to the concept of “Cup Ice”, literally a cup of ice cubes that you would buy, and poor your warm beverage over to cool down. Travelling always left us with an extra can of beer or chu-hi that we hadn’t gotten to, and this ingenious, 100 yen solution was greatly appreciated.

– Christopher
Photo of a Japanese traveler enjoying a beer over ice for breakfast on the train to Hokkaido, 2009. Photo by Christopher Butcher.

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  1. Pingback: » News: Japanese Beer Gets Colder With Frozen Foam Oyatsu Break!

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