Asahi Super Dry

This is your typical Japanese macrobrew right here. It can be found EVERYWHERE in the metropolis of Tokyo, and is pretty standard convenience store fare around the archipelago. On tap, it is generally found in establishments catering to session-oriented crowds (students, groups of businesspeople, etc.).

Poured from a can into a pint glass.

A: Crystal clear off-gold in color. Head made of uneven bubbles which disappeared quickly leaving some suds on top and a ring around the collar of the glass.

S: Not a whole lot going on above the surface. Very faint smell like the beer was already warm even though it just got pulled from the fridge.

T: Like a lot of rice brews around the globe, this is pretty bland. Something resembling malt combined with something resembling yeast. I am having a hard time identifying anything resembling hops. At the same time, it's easy to drink. Nothing crazy going on in the aftertaste besides a lingering sweet grain vibe. Flies below the radar from front to back.

M: Carbonated and easy to gulp. Slightly arid.

D: Disappears quickly and would be a good BBQ or picnic beer. There's something 'no-nonsense' about this beer, and it probably has to do with the dry finish.

As I said, this (along with several other beers in its price range) is indicative of what a "Japanese beer" is all about. Easy-drinking, nondescript, unassuming, how-many-have-I-had? beer.

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 11-18-2009 12:11:26 | id: 1040731

Poured a clear yellow with a respectable head that dissipated to a collar. The aroma was pretty much missing in action, no skunk or anything. The taste was very crisp (dry as advertised), mild grain flavor, fairly tasteless. The feel was light bodied with ample carbonation. Drinkability was good.

This beer appeared to be brewed with the idea of giving no offense, and it succeeded. Nothing really wrong with it, just not the bomb craft beer drinkers expect. There are plenty of beers I'd rather drink, but in a pinch, I'd drink it again without any qualms.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-14-2009 19:37:52 | id: 1038053

Appearance - 2.0
Pours a finger of bubbly white head that quickly disappeared over a clear pale gold body.

Smell - 2.5
A little medicinal and that's it.

Taste - 2.5
Very little flavour whatsoever, slightly bitter, somewhat minty, husk, medicinal noticeable alcohol flavour, very dry in the finish. Suitable for the delicate flavours of sushi, and for thirst quenching on hot, sweaty summer days.

Mouthfeel - 3.5
Light to medium bodied

Drinkabiliy - 3.0
Boring, I wouldn't try it again.

OVERALL - 2.55
Not a terrible beer, but far from good. I've read that Asahi Super Dry is one of the best selling beers, which goes to show that what is popular and what is good are two entirely different things.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-09-2009 12:19:54 | id: 1034455

According to the label, this beer is for all seasons (i tasted in the fall).

A: Golden color, foam head is compact, creamy and rich, with a median duration, looks like snow;

S: Essentially rice and cooked vegetables, lightly salted and very pleasant;

T: White rice and malt, salt and background notes of dry hops;

M: Dry, but not super dry like they say on the label, medium body and good carbonation for style lager

D: The best Asian beer I ever drank, much better than the Sapporo Premium, i liked with salmon.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-05-2009 17:23:41 | id: 1031512

Pours out to a clear pale golden, forming a tall white head with excellent retention and impressively solid sheets of lace, with moderate carbonation. The aroma is rather nondescript. It certainly smells like beer, with some type of pale malt and likely lots of rice, some distant esters of fermentation and no noticeable hop character. The mouth-feel is light bodied and watery. The taste is as nondescript as the nose. Flavor of beer with a mild grainy sweetness, very mild to nonexistent bitterness, and a little aftertaste of adjuncts. Easy to drink, but not really fulfilling. Nearly devoid of character, and easy to drink several of these in a row on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 10-23-2009 22:19:12 | id: 1022541

I had this one day at anb airport in Japan. And it was on tap. It tasted very good and was very refreshing.
Now tasting this in a bottle in Australia i know it wouldnt be so good. Ive had few Asahi stubbies in nightclubs in Australia, but being in nightclub mode, i didnt care of the taste.

So first think, its premium priced, so youd think it would be premium taste. well it isnt. Infact the bottle i had had even been brewed in Thailand, so i cant see why it should be premium priced....

Very drab taste, i wont go into details, but 'very watery' is what kept coming to mind as i drank this.

I wont drink this again, unless im in Japan again, then i might have one on tap if there isnt anything else around.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 10-07-2009 19:13:48 | id: 1011508

09/30/09- Purchased at Trader Joe's in San Mateo, CA.

Presentation- 12oz bottle, no freshness info noted. Poured into a standard pint glass.

Appearance- Pale yellow in color. 3/4 inch head on pour which evaporates quite rapidly. Leaves some light spotty lace.

Smell- Has that macro rice-like aroma I am not too fond of. Maybe a dash of hops, but mostly the grain-rice nose. Smells a note perfumy.

Taste- Really doesn't have much of a flavor at all. Some rice-grain aspects, maybe a hint of hops, but really no real taste to it.

Mouthfeel- A bit on the seltzery side with a mid to higher range of carbonation level. No real aftertaste.

Drinkability- I'll pass on this any time if Sapporro is available. That's my benchmark for the rice lager catagory.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 10-03-2009 01:30:35 | id: 1008093

In a quick liqour store run today I decided to give this beer a shot. The unfamiliar name and Japanese characters enticed me into what was ultimately an average drink.

I feel I have chosen a completely average beer with no strong characteristics in either direction. It is mild and VERY EASY to drink, but offers no true reward to the palette.

From the bottle the beer pours easily without any signs of what I consider to be excessive carbonation. The foam is attractive and substantial, being fed by many quick ant-like lines of bubbles. Color is light amber with nice clean looking transparency - a very light looking beer.

The smell is sweet and mild - not overpowered by carbonation - but inspires no real confidence leading into the first taste.

The taste is mild and weak - like a warm citrus bitter. Left over is a nutty, oily aftertaste that lingers on persistently, as if calling for another swig to exchange fresh taste with old. I can't definitively say that I don't like the taste, but if offered a different beer I would not hesitate to move on.

Asahi super dry is a completely average beer with no truly offending characteristic. It is mild and extremely easy to drink. I prefer a low level of carbonation and in that repsect this beer gets an A. In all other respects Asahi Super Dry earns a solid C+. If it were cheap, I would reccomend it for beer pong because it is mild easy to drink, but at about $3 a pint, any real possibility of habitual purchase is absurd.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 08-31-2009 06:03:00 | id: 986782

Poured into a pint glass at 40.

Appearance: A nice straw color that has a two finger foamy white head. The head has some retention to it. The body of the beer is clear.

Nose: Malt, yeast and rice.

Taste: Malt, yeast, and rice, there is a subtle fruitiness in the background.

Overall: This mouth feel is crisp and light. This beer is okay nothing great to write about.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 08-28-2009 02:17:25 | id: 984565

I had a couple bottles of this at a Thai restaurant in West Lafayatte, IN on 8/12/2009. Poured from a 12oz brown bottle into a pint glass.

A= This beer poured a clear medium gold color with a 3/4" snow white head. The head dropped to a thin ring after a minute or two, and left behind just a few streaks of lace on my glass.

S= Not a lot to the aroma...very clean with a slight hint of malt and an even lighter hint of grassy hops.

T= This beer started off a little dry and got progressively drier as the swallow progressed. Some light grainy sweetness in the front which quickly disappears in the middle as a decent little hop presence emerged. The finish was super dry and crisp.

MF= Light bodied, with a thin and dry mouthfeel. Lots of prickly sensation as the effervescence of the carbonation combined with the light body.

D= This isn't a world class beer by any means but it was interesting and paired well with spicy Thai cuisine. I am not sure I would want this beer on its own (i.e. not paired with food) but for what it is and for the purpose of accompanying an asian meal I found it quite drinkable!

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 08-14-2009 04:15:39 | id: 975328