Recently You Can Get Local Edition Beer With A Major Beer Company

Japanese people love local specialties and local food which are only available in an area tend to be very popular. Recently one of the major beer company Kirin focus on the fact and start making local edition "Kirin Ichiban" in each prefecture. "Kirin Ichiban" is one of the most famous and popular product of them.

Recently "Kirin Ichiban made in Yokohama (Yokohama factory limited edition)" was released and it was available in West Tokyo area. Also I had a chance to go to Aichi prefecture last week and found "Kirin Ichiban made in Nagoya (Nagoya factory limited edition)".

Backside of the beer cans there are explanation of each local edition. For example, backside of "Kirin Ichiban made in Yokohama", it says that "We made a special taste to fit the atmosphere of Yokohama city where has been in a harmony with exotic culture in the long history. Please enjoy the sophisticated taste made in Yokohama exclusively" and there is an illustration of a famous historical building in Yokohama.

Regarding "Kirin Ichiban made in Nagoya", on the back of the can there is an illustration of famous Nagoya-jo castle and an explanation that tells "We made a very tasty beer with a strong color and flavor which will be chosen by people in Nagoya who are good at see the true value of things."

You might wonder how much differences there are between them and usual Kirin Ichiban. I compared them with usual Kirin Ichiban. The color of "Kirin Ichiban made in Yokohama" is darker than usual one as you can see in the lower right hand side photo. The taste of "Kirin Ichiban made in Yokohama" and "Kirin Ichiban made in Nagoya" are both very different from usual Kirin Ichiban.

Although nowadays we can find many local craft beer in Japan, it would be also fun to try those local edition Kirin Ichiban and compare them to usual Kirin Ichiban which is sold worldwidely when you visit different areas!