A decent hard cider
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Dry Apple Brew Hard Cider
Brand: Kirin
Price: 160 yen
Place of purchase: Belx supermarket
Rating:
The description
Kirin Dry Apple Brew Hard Cider as described on the label is an alcoholic drink, not to be confused with "cider", the fizzy and tart drink you might get from vending machines and convenience store soda selections.
The good
As far as ciders go, this is a nice refreshing sparkling cider with lower alcohol content at 4.5% brewed from 100% apple juice. It's a nice break from chuhai the ubiquitous sparkling highball in Japan. It's got a good tart and fruity flavor with a slightly dry and sparkling quality. I'd say it's pairs well with what you'd expect - sharp-tasting foods. In terms of Japanese cuisine, it provides a good contrast with tempura, fatty fish, duck soup with soba, and pungent foods such as natto, sushi, and shiokara.
The not so good
One thing to take note of is that ciders can be very high in sugar content. But as far as Kirin's hard cider goes, it's not terribly sweet. Another thing is that the market for sparkling and sweet alcoholic drinks is dominated by chuhai, or shochu highballs that have barley-based shochu alcohol flavored with fruits including apples and other sweet and sour fruits. There's not a lot to compare Kirin's Apple Brew Hard Cider with as Japan's cider market is rather small, as it's not part of the culture here, despite the copious apple production of some prefectures.
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