Japan: Asahi launches new regional beer under the Clear Asahi brand

Japan’s largest beer producer, Asahi Breweries, has added a new taste to their popular Clear Asahi brand, with a release designed especially for the country’s Kansai region. Called “Kansai Shitate” or “Kansai Tailored”, the beverage has been created to suit regional dining flavors, with a focus on two of the area’s most famous saucy dishes: okonomiyaki (savory pancakes) and takoyaki (fried octopus balls), Japan Today reported.

The new beer can features an image of the two local delicacies on the front of the can, along with the tagline “Kansai no shokutaku wo motto oishiku“, or “Making the Kansai dining table even more delicious”.

The limited-edition beer is produced at the company’s Suita beer plant, located in the Kansai region, and marks 125 years of operation for the factory. Plant tours reached a record 150,000 visitors last year so, as a gesture of thanks, the company worked hard to produce a beer especially suited to local tastes.

The back of the can reveals the new brew goes well with sauce-based dishes, producing a round taste that’s full of flavor when paired with local foods.

In a first for the beer group, this is a regional release, available for purchase only in the Kansai region, which includes Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga, Nara and Wakayama Prefectures. Available in 350-milliliter and 500-milliliter cans, the beer has been on sale at stores throughout the area from June 21.

08 July, 2016