Kirin Ichiban

Some of the classic beers featured in this blog have been brewed according to the same recipes for centuries; they were born in Medieval monasteries and celebrated in the palaces of the Renaissance.  Others have been winning awards at beer competitions since the 1700s.  Many of them, such as Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, are still brewed using centuries-old equipment and techniques.  I love the stories of these ancient beers, and  I love the dedication it takes to remain true to your heritage despite years of war, famine, and fires.  But there's always room for new techniques and new classic beers.  Kirin Ichiban is a shining example of this principle.

The Kirin Brewery is currently located in Tokyo, Japan.  Kirin prides itself on being one of the oldest commercial breweries in Japan: it was originally founded in Yokohama in 1869 as the "Spring Valley Brewery."  Their flagship brew - a Pilsner-style lager called simply Kirin Beer - has been the best-selling beer in Japan continuously since 1888.  In 1990, they took it up a notch with the release of a premium version of Kirin Beer: Kirin Ichiban.

"Kirin" refers to a mythical Chinese creature with the head of a dragon, the body of a tiger, the scales of a fish, and the hooves of a horse; a depiction of this beast can be found on the bottle. "Ichiban" means "first" or "best."  On its surface, Kirin Ichiban looks like your typical Asian Pilsner: it is clear, golden yellow in color, and weighs in at about 5.5% ABV.  However, two unique characteristics set Kirin Ichiban  apart from the other great beers of the world.

The first distinctive feature of Kirin Ichiban is that it is an all-malt brew.  This means that 100% of the fermentable sugars used to make the beer are derived from malted barley.  In contrast, most mass-produced American and Asian lagers contain sugars from adjuncts like corn, rice, or sorghum in addition to malted barely.  Adjuncts like these are cheaper to use than barley.  Not only that, but they can also increase alcohol content without having any effect on the body or color of the brew.  The down side, of course, is that adjuncts detract from the fine malty beer taste that we all appreciate.


Globally speaking, all-malt beers are by no means rare: most fine German and Bohemian lagers, traditional English ales, and American craft brews are all-malt.  But it is very unusual to find a mass-produced North American or Asian lager brewed without the help of any cereal grains as adjuncts.  For example, Sapporo - another major Japanese beer brand - is made with rice and cornstarch as well as barely.  Same goes for Coors and Budweiser, for that matter.

The second distinctive feature involves the way the beer is rendered from the malt.  Kirin Ichiban is brewed using a unique process called Ichiban Shibori, or "first press."  It's so unique, in fact, that Kirin bills itself as the only brewery in the world to use this strategy.  Basically, all beer brewing starts with a process called "mashing."  This involves soaking malted barley in water at temperatures varying from about 150 to 160 degrees.  During this period, natural enzymes convert the starch of the barley into fermentable sugar.  Once conversion is complete, the water is run off -- bringing the sugars with it, and leaving behind the bitter husks of the grain.  More hot water is then poured over the grain to extract every last drop of malty goodness -- a procedure known as "sparging."   All of this liquid, which is known as "wort," is then boiled along with hops.  After boiling, yeast is added and the sugars from the mash are thus fermented into alcohol.

"First press" means that all of the wort used to brew the beer comes from the initial run-off from the mash -- i.e. none of the subsequent "sparge" water goes into the beer.  The idea is to use only the purest extract from the barley: wort derived from the sparge contain less of the good sugars, and more bitter tannins from the husks of the grain.  In theory, the "first press" technique creates a brew with more alcohol, a milder flavor, and a fuller body.

The theory seems to work out pretty well.  Kirin Ichiban is refreshing and full flavored.  It is a deep golden color, much like the Pilsners of Germany and the Czech Republic.  The smooth, bright taste is also reminiscent central European lagers.  This isn't surprising, given the fact that Ichiban is brewed using the same noble European hop varieties that put Pilsners on the map in the mid-1800s.   However, the beer finishes a little sweeter, with a little less hop flavor, than its Continental cousins.

Most sources seem to cite Kirin Ichiban as the best premium Asian lager available in the United States.  Objectively, that assessment is hard to argue with (although my personal favorite Japanese beer is Asahi Super Dry...but that's a story for another post).  With its smooth taste, yet malty backbone, Kirin Ichiban is a great beer to go along with a summer BBQ.  As the label says, it's "brewed for good times"!