Holiday beer 1: Kirin Megumi - One graceful giraffe?

It's dangerous kicking off your holiday beer tasting the minute you set foot through the door in the first hour of your holidays - there's always the temptation to celebrate with more than one, especially after a big week.

But I refrained at just one for my Friday night (impressive feat that!) and the first holiday beer cab off the rank was the Kirin Megumi. Could this redeem things for the land of the rising sun after the washy slight soapy experience that was the Asashi Soukai? Let's find out!



WHERE IS IT MADE?: Australia actually. Very similar to the Asahi Soukai - brewed here under the Kirin License.

SO WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO REVIEW A JAPANESE BEER BREWED AND BROUGHT OVER FROM JAPAN?: Good question. I'll probably review something European and read in tiny letters on the back of the label, 'Made in Japan'.

HOW MUCH DID IT SET YOU BACK?: Well it was bought as part of the holiday tasting sampling collection, a collection I made up on the spot last week. So I can't be specific on price but most of them ranged between $3.50-$4.50

DO I KNOW WHAT KIRIN MEGUMI MEANS?: Er...judging by the label..White Medium? (According to Google Translate it's just a name. But I tried another translate and got 'Giraffe Grace' which I don't think is correct...). Back of the label says 'Gift'. So it's a Kirin Gift.
Not a giraffe,

FLIGHTS SEEM CHEAP TO JAPAN AT THE MOMENT: They do. It'd be very tempting if I hadn't let my passport expire...

INITIAL THOUGHTS: You get the initial smell when you pop the top and then the aroma kind of exits for the rest of your session. Similar to the taste - it's delightfully drinkable but with some similar styles to light beers I've had in the past, there's really not much jumping out here. In fact you really have to take a big mouthful and swirl it around to really pick up on any flavors shining through, You could quite easily pound down a few of these easily in an afternoon without feeling bloated.
Pissed yes, bloated no.
Love the light bronze colour too.
Head hung around less than the aroma did. Blink and you'll miss it.
Could quite easily polish this off in under 2 mins.
But is there anything emerging here that would have me reaching for another shortly after? No not really. Unless I was at a Teppanyaki BBQ or something...

WHAT TO EAT IT WITH: Unsurprisingly this would go extremely well with Japanese flavours as it will in no way get in the way of any of them. I'd like to think this was the intention of the beer as I see it complimenting Japanese food hot or cold quite nicelt

OVERALL: If I could sum up this beer in a word, it wouldn't be Giraffe. That's a terrible description of a beer and doesn't make any sense:

'Hmm, it's a bit Giraffe don't you think?'.

It is graceful though but that's not the word either. It's 'Clean' - that's the word I would use. It's not overbearing, not overpowering, it doesn't hang around for long after you've finished one and non beer drinkers wouldn't screw up their face after taking a sip. On it's own there's nothing really going for it, coupled with a fantastic Japanese meal though? It'd do okay.

By itself: 2.5 out of 5 bowls of sushi rice
With appropriate food: 3.5 out of 5 servings of Gyoza.