Beer of the Month - Febrewary

The beer of the month for February is Sapporo Premium Beer {5% abv}. I was laboring over what I was going to pick this month, but it all became crystal clear after going to a Japanese Steakhouse for my buddy Mike's birthday celebration. I hadn't had a Sapporo in quite some time, but when I heard it was on the beer list I immediately ordered a lovely 22oz aluminum can. When I later looked for these 22oz cans for the picture, I ran into storefronts selling bottles only; check out the Sapporo website to see what the can looks like.

Sapporo's notoriety comes from being Japan's oldest beer brand. Back in the 1870's Sapporo's founder, Seibei Nakagawa, trained in Germany to learn advanced brewing techniques. He returned to his home in Sapporo City, the first Japanese German-trained brewmaster (braumeister) in the world. There have been many aspiring brewers that travelled to Germany (or surrounding areas) to learn superior techniques, but unique to Seibei-san, he returned to make beer using all local ingredients. In 1876, the resulting brew Seibei-san produced under the Sapporo name became rapidly popular throughout Japan, and by 1964 it began being imported to the USA. The large star on the Sapporo label dates back to the origin of the company, symbolizing not only the pioneering spirit of Japanese inhabiting Sapporo region in the late 19th Century, but also symbolizing the Sapporo brand being at the very forefront of the Japanese beer industry.

Sapporo Premium Beer has a very crisp, light flavor which results from the use of aroma hops as well as brewing method. It makes perfect sense as a Japanese beer, given the amount of lighter fare common in the land of the rising sun where seafood is a mainstay. I would equate this brew much to a white wine, shining when paired with a meal starring pork, chicken, fish or shellfish. Sapporo Premium Beer is an easy drinking lager and shouldn't be limited to a seasonal snag. 2 stars.