Asahi Super Dry

Brewed by Asahi Breweries
Style: Pale Lager
Tokyo, Japan

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

piss yellow with a foamy head that eventually fades away, , smells cornbready in a way, not too strong at all, taste is dry, bitter, a bit off, but weak and ricey. harsh but filling mouthfeel, idk, wont bother with again.

Pale Lager month installment number 12: I’ve always been fascinated by the whole "dry" beer thing... is there seriously a market niche of folks who drink primarily macro pale lager and seek out a beer that is specifically "dry"? I’m not saying that dry lager is a bad thing, just wondering what’s behind the marketing with these beers. Asahi Super Dry pours... you guessed it! pale and yellow. The head is nice though, very big and tight and fluffy on the top... pretty well retained too. The aroma is very one dimensional, and that dimension is pretty damned boring, akin to a very watered down Riesling with some white grape and mild floral aspects. It’s miles from smelling offensive though, that’s for sure. The flavor is moderately (not super) dry with a mild bit of fruitiness up front and a bit of light bitterness, overall this is very similar to seltzer water. Again it’s not offensive, but it’s not much of anything really.

I like it but don’t love it. Nice appearance and initial taste but is let down by its after taste and aroma. Still worth a try though.

Not bad. Wasn’t actually brewed in Japan which was a shame. Just your basic pale lager. Quite enjoyed the bottle none the less. Very smooth, small bubbles but nothing to write home about.

It seems like no matter what country you go to, their best-selling beer is a pale adjunct lager. I’ve never understood this since these beers are very difficult to brew consistently and they lack flavor. The only thing going for them is their drinkability. And when it comes to Japan things aren’t any different, as Asahi Super Dry is their "No. 1 Beer" according to the can. While I’m not an expert on Japanese cuisine or culture by any means, I still don’t get why this is the top beer there.

I poured a 500ml can into a football-shaped glass.

Appearance: Dark gold hue, almost crystal clear with slight haze. Large carbonation bubbles visible en masse. Forms a surprisingly large, bright white foamy head which eventually dissolves and leaves no lacing.

Smell: Since this is from a can you wouldn’t expect skunkiness, but I did detect a slight green bottle-like aroma here. I find macro pale lagers all tend to have a scent like this whether canned or bottled. There’s a slightly sweet rice scent and an otherwise generic-to-the-letter cardboard "beer smell" here. It’s not wretched, but it’s far from appealing.

Taste: Based on the appearance and smell, I literally "braced for shock" as I took my first swig of Asahi Super Dry. I was pleasantly surprised that my palate was NOT assaulted with anything sour and foul-tasting as is often the case with those green bottled lagers. Not that it was hit with anything pleasurable, either. What’s most prominent about this beer is that there’s nothing prominent about it at all. The palate is bland, neutral, pain, mild and whatever other adjectives you want to use to describe a lack of flavor.

Since this is a Japanese macro adjunct it’s no surprise it’s made with rice as an adjunct, yet it doesn’t taste nearly as sweet as its American counterpart Budweiser. It has a slight startchy-like flavor akin to crackers, which is slightly sweet. This increases as it warms, but at a point the green bottle-like components begin to come out too, with a sour, green apple tang. It’s tolerable to be sure, but there’s really nothing to enjoy about this beer’s palate.

Mouthfeel: Starts off as a typical fizzy yellow beer with plenty of carbonation burn when drank very cold and quickly. Softens up to a more watery consistency as it warms.

Drinkability: For beer that calls itself "Super Dry" I find Asahi to be anything but. It’s actually a little refreshing, but then again it’s a bland lager so that could be due to its overtly watery qualities. At 5% ABV it’s very drinker-friendly, although I probably wouldn’t session it unless I had access to plenty of salty snacks and used this to quench my thirst.

Overall, a mediocre/below average macro lager. There are other brews of the style that are far worst, but I’m still not giving this one a free pass.

33cl bottle at Sumo’s, Scheveningen. Decent white head. Normal pils colour. Ok.

Fresh, crisp and clear pretty much sums this one up. Rather good for the beer it’s trying to be. Damn expensive per pint in Perth though

Astringent. Not much aroma. Sort of like Coors, with a bit more flavor. Blech.