Japan: Third-category beer range to expand this year

Japanese brewers are launching a range of new beers belonging to the so-called ‘third-category’ group, The Independent communicated on January, 31.

Third-category beers are cheaper than conventional beer because they get around government tax laws by containing no malt.

Kirin plans to launch a new brew, called 1000, that uses hard water and contains elevated amounts of calcium and magnesium to give it a distinctive flavor.

Asahi Breweries is to release Strong Off, which has a relatively high alcohol content of 7 percent and 60 percent less carbohydrates, whilst Suntory is using seven different types of hops into its new Relax beer-like drink.

Sales of third-category beer - which is formally categorized as a "beer-like alcoholic drink" - have been rising since their introduction five years ago, thanks largely to a Y28 (€0.22) tax rate on a 350 milliliter can, as opposed to a Y77 (€0.60) tax on regular beer, which has more than 66.7 percent malt content.

Japan's four largest brewers reported a drop in sales for the fifth straight year in 2009 (minus 2.1 percent to 472.5 million cases).

But while overall sales were down, third-category beers are accounting for an increasing amount of the total.

In 2010, sales of third category beers are predicted to account for fully 30 percent of total sales.

"This sector of the beer market has increased rapidly in the last year and other companies are releasing new products to try to tap into the market, but our Nodogoshi-nama is the leader with 40 percent of the market," Nahoko Abe, a spokeswoman for Kirin Brewery Co., said.

And at around Y130 (€1.01) for a 350 ml can, it is substantially cheaper than regular beer, which retails for Y210 (€1.63).

With regular beer sales sliding, Japanese brewers are focusing more efforts on developing new tastes in the third-category beer sector.

03 February, 2010