Japan: New beer by Sapporo Breweries to hit shelves next month despite typo on its cans

A new Japanese beer will hit the shelves next month despite a misspelling on its cans as “lagar,” its maker Sapporo Breweries Ltd. has said, after the error set social media abuzz and drew consumer support, the Japan Times reported on January 14.

Many consumers shrugged off the major brewer’s mistake on the limited-edition cans instead of having printed the correct “lager.”

“Who cares? It’s too good to throw away,” one tweeted, while another, in a Twitter post, suggested, “Why not sell it as a ‘super limited’ misspelled edition?”

Buoyed by consumer support, Sapporo Breweries reversed its earlier decision and released a statement on January 13 saying it has decided to proceed with sales of the beer.

It has said the new beer uses the same traditional manufacturing methods as that of Kaitakushi Brewery, Japan’s first beer factory, which opened in 1876.The company caused a stir online last week after announcing a halt to sales of the product.

The beer was initially slated to go on sale on January 12. Sapporo Breweries said a last-minute inspection before shipping found the incorrect spelling on both the 350- and 500-milliliter versions.

While acknowledging the typo, it said, “There is no effect on the quality.”

The beer, co-developed with convenience store operator FamilyMart Co., will be sold from Feb. 2 with a tax-inclusive price of ¥219 for the smaller version and ¥286 for the larger one.

It will be available at FamilyMart convenience stores offering liquor across the country.

11 January, 2021