Without revealing my source, but to provide some credibility, an acquaintance of mine who’s friendly with a lot of the Japanese-chef scene in LA and other industry players were reminicising about the conveniences of Japan, and I offered that I really missed the Asahi one finds there.
He then proceeded to tell me that among the most common Japanese beers in the US market that one finds on draft (Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin), Asahi is the only one that US businesses get from Japan. He explained that bottled Asahi comes from Asahi USA, but draft Asahi comes from the JP headquarters because they don’t inject the kegs with the stabilizing preservative that increases shelf life as Sapporo and Kirin do. As such, the Asahi kegs have a very short shelf life of about 2-3 weeks, which might explain why I rarely encounter it in draft form.
This thread is two-fold: 1) Can anyone corroborate this? 2) Do we know where in the LA area one can get Asahi on draft?
Okay, maybe 3) Where can I get that Japanese Asahi anywhere in the US? I do find Bottle Logic’s Rice Lager a good substitute, but I also want that Asahi!
when I went to the MTC expo I was told it’s brewed in japan - they were pouring those mini kegs from tap. But if I ever go to MTC for a pickup I’ll ask to look at one myself
This is one of my biggest annoyances - most of the “Japanese” Beer (tap or bottle) we get in the US is brewed and bottled (or kegged) under licensing - at places like Anheiser Busch, Peroni, Coors, Molson.
It doesn’t taste the same as Japan, and the creamy head isn’t the same.
Some of the Asahi on draft (here) - but by no means all - is truly Japanese, and AFAIK any time you see Suntory Premium Malts on draft, it’s “real.”
All Asahi in kegs (only comes in the torpedo kegs) is brewed in JP and shipped to the US. There are some retail packaged Asahi brewed in Japan, too - the big 2 liter cans with the handle.
As for shelf life, guessing they mean 2-3 weeks after tapping. That is good practice for all keg beer, though. The kegs are surely good for far longer than 3 weeks because they are shipped here via cargo ship.
Lagers such as Asahi should drank be as fresh as possible. A couple weeks on a boat is not going to be a good thing for lager. It’s like asking for some US made Bud while you’re in Japan. Doesn’t make a lot of sense.
chatted with waitress at Iccho last night. She confirmed that all draft Asahi is made in Japan. Which is why Asahi draft is usually at a premium to other Japanese drafts. Oh and Iccho does serve Asahi draft and it is properly icy cold and delicious.
