MIchael and The Exotic Beer Weekly - This Week Sapporo

The Exotic Beer Weekly.

With MIchael Wiggins and occasionally PAtrick.

Some background info with MIchael.

I'm just an average Aussie drinker. Not a connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, but I like to think that under normal circumstances I can tell the difference between stout and, say, red wine.

Convinced of the superiority of Australian beer, I was raised on a steady diet of Toohey's New. When feeling slightly upper-class I'd tipple on Pure Blonde. When funding was desperately low, VB. The most risk I ever took with culturally diverse beer was drinking Corona without lemon.

So upon realising that there was literally an entire world of beer out there, an inkling of an idea sprung into my mind, where it quickly matured and diversified like yeast and hops fermenting into beer. I decided it was time I gained some of this 'culture', and have some good times in the process. I will drink beer from all those countries I never dared to before, and, assuming my faculties remain intact, rank and review each one. And thus, Exotic Beer of the Week is born.

This week: Domo Arigato Mr Sapporo

I was a little wary when choosing Sapporo as my inaugural Exotic Beer of the Week. I had been told that Japanese beer was decried in most circles. However, my spirits lifted like bubbles rising to the surface of a cold brew when the good folk at Sapporo convinced me, through advertisements, that “the Japanese didn’t invent beer, they just perfected it”. I got a little more excited when I read that it was brewed in Canada, and any country that gives the world Jim Carrey cant be too bad, right?

Anyway, at $16 a six-pack the price was right, and that sealed the deal. After taking my first cautious sip, I was pleasantly surprised. That same tangy after-taste I've come to know and love, with a slightly oriental twist. At 5% alcohol, it’s a little stronger than standard Australian beers, but you can hardly notice; it goes down so smooth. I found that I was savouring the taste, actually enjoying this beer. I suppose like everything the Japanese do, and their beers are no exception. They have spent centuries perfecting their technique to brew, and with solid results. 

I award it 4 ninja out of 5.