Ice Cold!

For those that didn't know, Japan is a beer drinker's paradise. Although there are only four main breweries, Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo and Suntory, they put out new varieties and flavors of beer every month for every occasion. Be it a new "moon watching" ale or a "cherry blossom viewing" lager, you'll never find yourself lacking for choices of brew here. And the can designs are always fascinating as well.

So in honor of the snowy weather here, I went out and tried two of the new winter beers, Kirin's Shirokirin, or "White Kirin", (kirin means giraffe in Japanese, by the way) and Sapporo's Fuyu Monogatari, or "Winter's Tale". After careful tasting, I found the Sapporo too bitter and the Kirin too light, to be honest. But with a little arm twisting, I'm sure I can be convinced to go out and try Asahi and Suntory's winter samplings...