Japanese: サッポロ生ビール黒ラベル (SAPPORO nama BIIRU kuro RABERU – Sapporo draught beer black label)
Brewery: Sapporo
Style: Lager
ABV: 5%
Price: 207円
Strapline: “The taste you will always enjoy,Sapporo draft beer gives you the relaxing and refreshing quality malt and hops. This is the beer that’s great for your good times.” [sic]
There is something distinctly Other about Sapporo. It starts with the can, which is decorated in brutalist, almost Cold War style iconography. A golden star on a black roundel, the single word “SAPPORO” with the kanji for ‘fresh’ (‘draught’ in the context of beer) looming underneath, also in gold – all on a field of white.
It’s a lager – true enough – but it is noticeably more bitter than the flagship beers of the other breweries. I am transported by the flavour to the mysterious northern city of the same name in the beautiful frozen waste of Hokkaido. I soar over the ocean and see the mountains emerge from the deep. In the summer they will erupt in green, red and purple. But it’s winter now and the snow is their lord. Below me, in the distance, I can begin to pick out the shimmering lights of Sapporo, resisting the dominion of ice. I glide closer and can see houses and people, hear the music. It beckons, and I drop further, ready to enter. I’m coming home. But as my feet are about to touch the ground the doorbell rings, my eyes open and I am back in Osaka. And it’s the bloody NHK man at the door demanding I cough up 2,000円 for my TV licence fee.
Of course, I’ve never actually been to Hokkaido, so all of the above is sheer speculation. Apart from the NHK man. That’s true. Persistent buggers too. Then again, I suppose it’s a good price for the sheer volume of bizarre that you get pumped into your living-room every evening.
To return to the point, the flavour is pretty good, especially if you are a fan of a more bitter style. For some strange reason I have consistently failed to get a good head to form and stay formed when I pour this beer, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and take responsibility for my inept pouring. It was a good way to conclude my survey of the main products of each brewery. It may be my favourite of the four (though the race is closely run), but perhaps that’s just because when I drink it I close my eyes and imagine Hokkaido.
Konbini Beer 