Family Pale Lager Style Japanese Lager
Country Japan ABV 4.9%
Price $$ Packaging 12oz/355ml, 16oz/473ml, 20.3oz/600ml bottle; 12oz/355ml, 22oz/650ml can
Characteristics Refreshing

Overview Sapporo made headlines in 2009 when it announced plans to brew beer from barley seeds that had spent five months in space. A lottery system gave lucky folks the opportunity to buy the beer at about $19 a bottle. A spokesman said the beer would taste the same as regular Sapporo.

Flavors and aromas Sapporo has a light nose that gives up a bit of malt and a suggestion of bitterness. The palate benefits from good carbonation, which presents the light malt and modest bitterness in a good light. We didn’t love this beer, but it has a sense of being essentially beer, which doesn’t hold for many of the lightly flavored beers we tried. In this style, however, we preferred Kirin Ichiban.