Clear Asahi becomes a beer: major brewer changes category after liquor tax reform

From “new genre” to “beer”

Under Japan’s liquor tax law, beer-like drinks are divided into several categories according to the proportion of malt and the ingredients used. These are “beer”, “happoshu” (low-malt sparkling alcoholic drinks), and the “new genre” (also known as the “third beer”), which uses ingredients other than malt or has spirits added. The lower the tax rate on a category, the cheaper the product tends to be in shops. Since its launch in 2008, Clear Asahi has been popular as a new-genre product thanks to its crisp, clean taste. Now Asahi Breweries (headquartered in Tokyo) is renewing both the contents and the packaging and changing the category to beer. It has added “” to the product name and printed “Nama Beer” in large letters at the centre of the can, so that it is easy to see that the product has become a beer.

More malt, and a focus on freshness

The new recipe uses a higher proportion of malt and aims for a taste close to draught beer freshly poured from a tap in a restaurant or bar. Using its own “freshness process”, which suppresses the substances produced during brewing that cause deterioration, the company says it has achieved a clear aftertaste free of off-flavours. The alcohol content is 5%, and the cans show the amount of pure alcohol: 14 g for the 350 ml can and 20 g for the 500 ml can. It is brewed at six domestic breweries, from Hokkaido to Hakata in Kyushu. Keg products for restaurants and bars have also been switching over in stages since 6 October. The can design keeps the brand’s two signature colours, yellow and white, and the illustration of overflowing foam unchanged.

The liquor tax reform behind the “return to beer”

Behind this move is the liquor tax reform that took effect in October. Japan has been gradually unifying the tax rates on beer-type drinks. In this reform, beer received a tax cut, and interest in beer is expected to rise. With the low price of the new genre becoming less distinctive, Asahi aims to move a popular brand into beer and strengthen its presence in the beer market. In effect, the change in the tax system has prompted a change in the product’s very category.

Clear Asahi Nama is a product for the Japanese domestic market, but if you come across Japanese canned drinks in Asian grocery stores in Europe, take a look at the “品目” (item type) field on the back. Labels such as “ビール” (beer), “発泡酒” (happoshu) and “リキュール（発泡性）” (liqueur, sparkling) tell you which category the can was brewed under. Also, “nama” in Japanese beer means that it has not been heat-treated, which is the same idea as “namazake” in sake. If you like sake, comparing the labels of Japanese beers with this shared concept in mind can be fun.