In my quest to enjoy all the beer that the world has to offer I've found I've been almost exclusively focusing on North American and European beers. While it makes sense to one beer drinking region at a time I'm still left with the ugly feeling like I'm ignoring a good chunk of the world's beer. With that in mind I decided to try Sapporo beer.

If you've ever been in a cheap sushi restaurant you've seen ads for Sapporo. Of the beers of Japan this is the one with the most international exposure. As usual, being the most well known doesn't make it the best. The Sapporo Premium I bought came in a whopping 20.3 ounce bottle. This "Salaryman Special" is for those who aren't kidding around when they set out to have something to drink. When poured out the beer is pale yellow with a small, fizzy head. Pale beers tread a fine line between having a golden, sunshiny color and looking like a urine sample. Guess which area I thought Sapporo fell into? The odor it had reminded me of nothing more than Bud Light.

Trouble is, it tasted like Bud Light as well. Maybe it's the rice that is added to the brewing process of Sapporo. The official Sapporo website claims that "rice imparts qualities to the beer that help it pair well with light foods" but more often than not in brewing rice is used as a cheap filler. There's a difference between a light taste and a watery taste and Sapporo's list of ingredients don't do it any favors. Like all good beers Sapporo claims to come from a long tradition and proud heritage that dates back to 1876, but I can't imagine anyone getting too worked up over a beer with such an icky after-taste.

I suspect part of my problem comes with the context I was drinking Sapporo in. Instead of trying Sapporo in a casual setting I tried it by itself while I jotted down notes about my initial impressions. Yes, I take my drinking seriously. Sapporo seems designed to be drank with a cheap dinner or slugged down at a concert. Put into it's proper setting I'm sure Sapporo is a perfectly serviceable beer. When I tried to view it as a high quality import beer or a beer that defined an area it's not surprising that it came up short. In the end Sapporo is fine for what it is but since there are plenty of mediocre local beers to choose from I doubt I'll be spending the extra money for Sapporo again anytime soon.

Comments, questions, and recommendations can be sent to gleep9@hotmail.com. If you're done here head on back to either the Beer or Main page.