The Purine-Free Beers Of Japan

In Japan, having gout is not associated with a stigma. But there is considerable concern about hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome, which have spread rapidly as the Japanese diet has changed. So the big breweries have stepped up to the plate, and each of them have their own brand. Or several. Some microbreweries have even got involved, and there is a purine-free beer produced according to the "reinheitsgebot", the 500 year old German law that stipulates with what and how you can make beer.

Several rows of beer cans in a refrigerated display case, all of them alcohol-free and most also free from purines, the complex organic compound which is the raw material for uric acid, which forms monosodium urate crystals when the concentration of uric acid is higher than 6.8 mg/dL in the blood serum, and aggregate in connective tissue and cartilage if the level is sustained over a long time, and will cause gout attacks when the crystals are released into the fluid inside the joints, triggering an inflammation which is extremely painful. Since ordinary beers are very rich in purines, these beers and beer-like drinks have become extremely popular among Japanese gout sufferers, as they do not risk a gout attack from drinking them.

The "zero" section in the alcohol department of a typical Japanese supermarket.

HOW DO THEY TASTE?

The taste of most of these beers is, to adapt a quote from Douglas Adams, "not quite, but entirely unlike, beer". Which is to say that while the taste is mostly like beer, they do not quite taste like beer. But more like beer than anything else.

Purine-free beers with alcohol

A white and golden beer can with the text

This beer does not belie its name. It really does taste like beer.

Kirin koi aji, which has 60 % less purines than "normal" beer, is made with a process that reduces the carbohydrates in the product to zero. It has 2.5 % alcohol, and the taste is deeper than that of other similar beers. You could well imagine it being made with roasted malt, because it has a slight toasted flavor.

A beer can with Japanese text and a picture of the mytological Kirin beast, since the

Nodogoshi Zero is the no-purines version of the "Nodogoshi" brand of beer-like drinks.

Nodogoshi Zero is the purine-free version of the popular "nodogoshi" brand of beer-like drinks. Thanks to advertising and low price, it is extremely popular. And it is very refreshing, with a faint citrus tone, like a "weiss mit schuss", the famous Berlin weissbier with a little touch of lemons. Completely without purines.

A picture of a white beer can with blue text and a big red

Kirin Platinum Double has zero purines and 5.5 % alcohol.

Kirin Platinum Double has zero purines and 5.5 % alcohol. It has a rich and hoppy taste, but somehow flat and a little musty. It feels like something is missing from the beer, which of course is the case.

A blue beer can with Japanese text and the words

Sapporo Zero, which has zero purines and carbohydrates - but five percent alcohol!

Sapporo Gokuzero - Purine 0%, carbohydrates 0%, Alcohol 5%! Tastes a bit like elephant beer, but with much less kick. It is like a fortified beer, in that the alcohol dominates over the taste. But disregarding this, it actually tastes pretty much like any other beer. There is no wayntontell from the taste that this beer has zero purines.

Asahi Off is a low-calorie beer which has 22 kcal per 100 ml, and 4% alcohol per volume. But it has zero purines, the amino-acid complex that is the raw material for the enzymes the body uses to produce glucose, which is fuel for the cells. In the process of creating glucose the purines get turned to uric acid, which emwould normally be flushed out in the urine. If it gets stored in thenligaments and cartilage, the uric acid can be turned to crystals, which can cause a gout attack.

Asahi Off has no purines, but 4 % alcohol.

Asahi Off has zero purines and only 22 kcal per 100 ml, but it has 4% alcohol. And it tastes very much like beer. As a matter of fact, it is beer. Apart from the purines and calories. And it tastes really good.

Non-alcohol beers

Ryoma 1865 is a beer brewed according to the German "reinheitsgebot".

Nippon Beer Ryoma 1865 - Alcohol 0%, purine 0%, added carbon dioxide 0%. This beer is brewed according to the German "reinheitsgebot", which determines how a beer can be brewed, and what the ingredients can be. And apart from the taste being slightly flat, it is the best-tasting zero-purine beer I have tried.

Picture of a can of Asahi Off, a low-calorie beer (22 kcal per 100 ml) which also has zero purines. Normally beer, which is brewed from yeast, has plenty of purines which are released when the yeast cells die as they are poisoned by the alcohol they themselves created. These purines are used by your liver when it creates glucose from more complex sugars through a process which involves several enzymes created from purines. The end-product is uric acid which is the cause of gout attacks, in case the hyperuricemic person stores the monosodium urate crystals resulting from the uric acid overproduction. When those crystals are released into the joint fluid, it leads to an inflammation which is the source of pain during a gout attack.

Asahi Dry Zero Free, a purine-free beer from Japan which also is low calorie.

Asahi Dry Zero Free - this beer has zero almost everything: Zero purines, zero carbohydrates, zero alcohol. The taste is not zero, but it is not really like beer. It tastes more like shandy, or some other kind of beer-tasting summer cocktail. Perfect for a barbecue after a hot day, grilling vegetables.
This beer is unique is that there is an importer in the US, so you can get it from Amazon if you click here. This is an affiliate link.

The Suntory All-Free can with gold and blue print in Japanese on a white background. It has zero alcohol and zero calories, and guaranteed less than 0.04 grams of purines per 100 grams, so it is extremely unlikely to contribute to the build-up of uric acid crystals which can trigger a gout attack.

Suntory Karada o Omou All-Free is marketed as "body-friendly", with very little of everything.

Suntory Karada o Omou All-Free has 0.04 grams of purines per 100 grams of liquid, and zero alcohol and calories, as well as zero carbohydrates. It does not have much taste, either, but you could imagine that it is a light beer, like a Corona. If you are charitable.

Golden and green printed can with white background in Japanese describing how the contents has no purines, no alcohol, and no calories. As a beer, the contents of the can is very unlikely to trigger a gout attack even in a person with hyperuricemia.

Suntory All-Free has zero calories, and no alcohol.

Suntory All-Free Lime is another of the Suntory All-Free beers, and the basic taste is the same. It has no alcohol and no purines. But it has added lime taste. Unfortunately, this only makes it taste like a soft drink. Taste-wise, this is the farthest you can come from a beer.

A blue can with an image of a beer glass, and straws of barley in gold. The contents are alcohol-free and purine-free. Even if it is printed in small letters at the back, this non-alcoholic purine-free beer can not be turned to uric acid in the body and so not trigger any gout attacks.

An alcohol-free beer marketed for its meaty taste must taste great, right?

Sapporo Umamishibori has zero percent alcohol, and zero purines, although this information is hidden in small letters on the back. What it does not have is zero taste. This is probably the best beer of the bunch - it tastes like beer, and nothing else. It really deserves the name.

A white beer can with blue text and golden decorations containing an alcohol-free and purine-free beer-like drink made from soy beans. No purines and no alcohol means this is not likely to trigger a gout attack since even with hyperuricemia this drink will not stimulate the glucose production in the liver, which generates so much uric acid that it can not be execreted through the kidneys and which is stored as monosodiumurate crystals in cartilage and connective tissue, and when these are released into the joint fluid, they cause a gout attack as the joint gets inflamed when the body tries to rid itself of the crystals.

Suntory All-Free is a non-alcoholic, purine-free beer-like drink.

Suntory All-Free is non-alcoholic and purine-free. It is also very light, but even if it does not feel like shandy, it is heavily carbonated and does not really feel like beer. The taste is fairly meaty but somehow flat at the same time.

Suntory All-Free Collagen has zero alcohol and zero purines, but added collagen.

Suntory All-Free Collagenrich tastes almost exsctly the same as the other Suntory All-Free beers, and has zero purines and zero alcohol. But each can has 2000 milligrams of collagen, which is very popular in Japan for its effect on the skin, supposedly adding lustre and texture to the skin, if you drink it every day. Collagen has no taste however.

A beer can with golden barley straws and Japanese text, and medallions showing zero percent alcohol. The notice about zero purines is hidden under the contents information. Zero purines means the beer-like drink will not generate any additional uric acid for hyperuricemic persons, since their livers are running overtime producing glucose, with uric acid as a by-product. When there is sufficient uric acid that it can not be execreted through the urine since the kidneys are overloaded, so it is stored in the ligaments and cartilage. When the uric acid is released from the storage, the bodys effort to release it causes an inflammation which is the cause of the pain during a gout attack.

Kirin Zeroichi is an alcohol- and purine-free beer-like drink, and it has more taste than most of the competition.

Kirin Zeroichi has zero alcohol and purines, but the taste is quite rich and hoppy. If you close your eyes you could well imagine that this is a traditional beer, but like the other beer-like drinks it is made from soy beans rather than barley and hops.

White beer can with green Japanese text.

Gugutto-non-alcohol is a low-cost alternative to the big beer brands.

Gugutto-non-alcohol is a low-price zero-purine alternative. It is not bad, somewhat light in the taste (about the same as a Miller Light). Very lightly hopped, with a weak but distinct body. But close your eyes and you could well imagine it is an American-brewed beer.

THE SOYBEAN TAX REASON

One reason Japan has so many purine- and alcohol-free beers is the Japanese tax laws, which used to place beer brewn from malt, hops, yeast, and water in a higher tax class than similar drinks. So the Japanese breweries managed to make a beer-like drink from soy beans.
Usually referred to as "happoshu" this became so poular that it often outsells beer.
In 2019, the tax law was changed, equalizing the tax rate between happoshu and beer. This opened the field for experimentation - Japan has seen a growing population of sufferers from metabolic syndrome as diets have changed to include more meat and sugar (so it should rightly be called "meatabolic syndrome"). The symptoms of metabolic syndrome includes hyperuricemia - and its main symptom, gout.

SO WHERE CAN I GET THEM?

If you want to buy any other beers than Sapporo Super Dry Free and do not live in Japan, you may not be able to find them in your local supermarket. You will have to find someone to purchase them for you. Or when travel opens up, bring them. If you buy the non-alcohol versions, you can bring them through customs as easily as a can of Coca-Cola.