Beer-wine-liqueur mash-up from Kirin Beer

Written by: Rebecca Milner on December 2, 2007 at 11:26 pm | In MARKETING IDEAS |

Beer campaigns typically go in for a masculine look, but not this new campaign for Kirin’s “Sparkling Hop.” Check out this stylish young man swilling his beer as if it were wine.

On closer inspection, “Sparkling Hop” is actually a kind of happoshu (a near-beer malt beverage) with an addition of barley spirits that give the drink a slightly fruity flavor.

Happoshu is cheaper than beer (compare Kirin Tanrei brand happoshu at ¥144 a can to Kirin Ichiban brand beer at ¥206 a can) because the low-malt content is designed to exempt the beverage from the pricey tax levied on beer. Beer sales versus happoshu sales are used as an economic marker in Japan, with higher beer sales being an indicator of a healthy economy. Despite its sophisticated image, Sparkling Hops which is classified as a liqueur because of the sprits, is only ¥127 a can! It seems that Kirin is offering an economical option to would-be fashionable young men who can’t afford to splurge on trendy oshare (stylish) imported beers.

But how does it taste? I decided to subject my boyfriend (who I think is pretty stylish) to a “tasting.”

We used flute glasses for the full effect although this is probably unnecessary (and I’m sure he would have rather just drunk it out of the can). The taste falls somewhere between beer and cider (and soda water), ideal for people who don’t really like the taste of beer, and at only 5% alcohol it is very nomi-yasui (easy to drink). It gets a diplomatic ma-ma (so-so).

Tags: beer, beverages, FMCG, Kirin
Category: MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS