Japan in review- drinks

Since there were vending machines and convenience stores everywhere we went in Japan there wasn't much opportunity to go thirsty.  I tried to keep a list of all the different drinks we tried, I know it's not complete and I may not have gotten my notes 100% correct, but better than nothing.

Beer
- Asahi Clear
  - Tastes like a light rice beer, slightly bitter bite. Not much to say.

- Asahi Dry Black
  - A richer bodied dry, it is dark but doesn't have much heaviness. Very tasty.

- Asahi Light Something
  - Couldn't tell for sure what this one was called, but it was being advertised quite a bit.  A light beer (18 calories / 100ml.)  Was good for a light beer.


- Asahi Super Dry
  - Mild dry ale.  Very good but nondescript.  I couldn't find a photo if I took one.

- Kinshachi Golden Ale
  - Malty, medium bodied, nice hop flavor. Very very good.

- Kirin Classic Lager
  - Light tasting rice based beer. Comparable to Miller or Budweiser.

- Kirin Green Label
  - Very mild light tasting beer, not much more to say.


- Kirin Honkaku Karakuchi Mugi
  - Almost tasted like Bud Lime without the strong lime. Maybe I'm way off but it was a weird one.

- Kirin Nodogishi

  - A little more bitter light beer, not quite an IPA.  I think I crushed the can before taking the photo and forgot to grab another.

- Kirin Original Lager
  - Mild tasting with a little sweet, reminds me of regular Lienenkugel.

- Kirin Sakura Lager

  - Might be the original lager in a seasonal can, but seemed lighter than I recall from the regular

- Kirin Stout

  - A stout obviously, has nice rich chocolate taste but not thick enough for me- not really watery, it's good.


- Kirin W Tanrei Double
  - Heavy bodied, something about it makes it want to almost be a bit skunky but isn't quite there- it's good.

- Kirin Tanrei Draft

  - Pretty light and malty flavor, seems like it wants to be an IPA but doesn't have the bite.

- Sapporo
  - Mild ale, standard rice beer.

- Suntory Malt Pilsner

  - Tasted like a heavier MGD mixed with a bit of malt liqourness.

- Suntory Gran Dry
  - Smooth dry beer, good but forgettable.



- Suntory Rich Malt
  - Very nice thicker bodied malty beer.


- Suntory Rich Malt : Sakura Can
  - Sakura themed can, I don't know that it actually contained sakura. A medium bodied beer, not bad.


- Suntory Royal Bitter
  - Like a very malty IPA. Not overwhelming bitterness- it's like a mild aftertaste and then the rich malt flavor takes over. Good.

- Yebisu Premium - All Malt Beer

  - Obviously very malty beer, with a bit of an edge.  Seemed like what a heavier, more full bodied Rolling Rock would be.  Hard to pinpoint.

- Yebisu Premium - Joel Robuchon
  - Similar to a Killians Irish Red, solidly rich and slightly bitter.  Really good.

- Yoho Suiyoubi Ni Neko
  - White Belgian style, tastes like a wheat beer but a bit smoother than a lot of Belgians.  Solid.

- Yoho Aooni
  - An IPA, a sharp bite with a mellow aftertaste.  Really nice.

- Yonasato Tokyo Black
  - A real nice porter, smooth again and not very thick bodied.

Other Alcoholic

- Kirin Strong Lemon
   - Like a Mikes Hard Lemonade but much more of a real lemon squeezed lemonade taste

- Kirin Double Strong Zero
  - same as strong, just stronger, just about the same can.  Amy's favorite was the lemon/grapefruit flavor.

Non Alcoholic
- Burn Energy Drink

  - A strawberry flavored energy drink. The can indicated there we BCAA's (amino acid supplement used for fasted workouts) so this is also probably one of the many diet associated drinks they have on the market here.  Half of the non-alcoholic drinks seemed to have a health/diet related benefit being touted.

 

- DragonballZ Cola Zero
  - I watched DragonballZ and the original when they got played on US TV with the English subs- so when I saw Vegita on a can I had to have it. It's a standard cola. In a DBZ can. That's all.  I fell down some stairs a few minutes after this, I credit it for helping prevent any serious injury.


- Hardwild
  - A good canned coffee if I recall correctly (was one of the first days, didn't make any notes.)


- Healthya
  - Another fitness drink, kinda sour lemony flavor.


- I Lohas
  - Flavored waters of a couple varieties, had very nice subtle taste.


- Itoen Stylee Sparkling Lemon
  - Wasn't sparkling water like I was expecting, just a lemony water. Kind of bitter, wasn't horrible.


- Kirin European Style tea- Sakura and Peach
  - Obviously a seasonal drink, very tasty tea with peach flavor with a twist- not sure if it actually has sakura pedals in it, but tasty either way.


- Kirin Mets Zero Cola
  - Very tasty diet cola, seems to have a mild spice to it- maybe ginger..  I could be wrong.  It was my go to soda.


- Lifeguard : Original Bionic Drink

  - Touts 7 vitamins, 7 amino acids, and Royal Jelly. Tastes like a mix of an energy drink (e.g. Monster) mixed with Gatorade- both of which I like, and I like this. 

- Match

  - Another energy drink/sports drink mix, citrus and fizzy- good.

- Pepsi Nex
  - Seems just like a standard zero/diet cola, was pretty much every restaurant soda machine.  Never got it in a can/bottle, so no photo.

- Pepsi White
  - Reminds me of OK Cola, but with a bit of bubblegum or melon taste to it. Very very awesome, I didn't see it often enough.

- Pocari Sweat
  - Another fitness type drink, tastes very much like original style yellow Gatorade but milder and less syrupy. I really like this stuff.  I can't believe I didn't grab a photo of this, I probably drank at least a bottle of this a day.

- Suntory BOSS Black
  - Ubiquitous coffee in a can, really good.  Drank it too fast and forgot to get a photo.


- Suntory BOSS Cafe Au Lait
  - Again a coffee in a can, again really good.


That's about all I can find for now, will update if I find anything I missed.