Tag: Kirin

Drink Like a Kiwi

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The country badge for New Zealand. Have 5 beers from New Zealand to gain level 1. It levels up to 100 (that’s 500 beers).NewZealand

New Zealand is known for its hops, especially its fruity varieties such as Nelson Sauvin and Motueka. It stands to reason then that the style of New Zealand Pale Ale is a fruity, hop forward version of Pale Ale.

The brewing industry in New Zealand is dominated by Lion breweries (Kirin) and Dominion Breweries (Heineken) with a third player trailing some way behind: Independent Liquor (Asahi). The big two have also bought up many small breweries such as Emersons, Macs and Panhead (all Kirin), Tuatara and Monteiths (Heineken).

Despite this, New Zealand has a wide range of active craft breweries. Ones to look out for include Garage Project, Moa, Behemoth, Epic and Stoke.

Down Under

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AustraliaHave 5 Australian beers to claim this badge, the country badge for Australia.

Like in many countries, the industry in Australia has consolidated around two main players, in this case Lion (owned by Kirin) and Fosters Group (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev). Ironically, Fosters lager is not very popular in Australia despite being the best selling Aussie brand internationally.

An Australian Pale Ale is its own recognised sub-style. They tend to be fruity and slightly yeasty with a low hop bitterness. Very easy drinking for a hot climate!

Australia is also home to some great craft breweries. As well as the family owned Coopers, look out for Moon Dog, Redoak, Stone & Wood, Burleigh Brewing or the Balmain Brewering Company.

As is the trend worldwide, number of notable craft breweries have also been bought out by the major players, such as Little Creatures & White Rabbit (Kirin), Pirate Life (Anheuser-Busch InBev), Mountain Goat & Cricketers Arms (Asahi), and Feral Brewing (Coca-Cola Amatil).

Rising Sun

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The country badge for Japan. Have 5 Japanese beers to claim this one.

Japan is known for its easy drinking rice lagers and four major breweries dominate the market: Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo. These four companies are big business and all own substantial holdings overseas.

Japan also has a growing craft beer scene with Baird Brewing being one of the more notable start ups in Asia.

Tower of Beer

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tower

For this one, have 5 beers brewed in England. And remember, they all also count towards the God Save the King badge!

As we’ve touched on the modern domination of commercial lagers in Britain already, let’s focus on England’s strong brewing traditions.

Ales originally dominated this part of the world, and while there may be some truth to the stereotype of English beer being warm and flat, Ales are remarkably versatile and range from easy drinking Golden and Mild Ales to Extra Special Bitters to Brown Ales, Old Ales, London Porters and even Russian Imperial Stouts. English brewers were relatively slow to adopt hops, yet it is also the birthplace of the hoppy IPAs that were exported all over the British Empire from working class Burton and later provided the foundation for the craft brewing revolution.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) group was launched in 1971 and has grown to now be the largest single issue lobby group in the UK! CAMRA assists small breweries and promotes traditional styles and techniques such as beer being served from Casks rather than Kegs.

There are too many ale breweries in England to list, but the larger ones include Greene King, Fullers (now owned by Asahi), Adnams, Marston’s, Timothy Taylor’s and Shepherd Neame.

Of course, as the home of IPA, England has had a craft beer revolution of its own. Beginning with Thornbridge who released Jaipur in 2005, other breweries worth seeking out include Beavertown (part owned by Heineken), Meantime (fully owned by Asahi), Magic Rock (Kirin), Camden Town (Anheuser-Busch InBev) and Vocation brewing.

The Backpacker

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This is a regional badge covering all of South East Asia: Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and, somewhat surprisingly, Taiwan.Backpacker

Each of these countries has its own generic lager, with the most widely known being Singapore’s Tiger beer (owned by Heineken). Others include Thailand’s Singha and Chang, The Philippines’ San Miguel Pale Pilsen (Kirin), Indonesia’s Bintang (Heinekin), Vietnam’s Saigon and Hanoi, Cambodia’s Ankor (Carlsberg), Laos’ Beerlao lager (also Carlsberg) and the ROC’s Taiwan Beer.

Fun Fact: Taiwan Beer sponsor a basketball team (called the Taiwan Beer) in their national basketball league.

There is also a slowly growing craft movement with a notable mention going to the Pasteur Street Brewing Company in Vietnam. Craft beer faces significant challenges in the region, both because of the dominant Muslim religion in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and a ban on breweries that produce less than 10 million liters a year in Thailand.