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 of non-alcoholic beer. Most of those beers are purine-free as well. Some microbreweries have even got involved, and there is one purine-free beer produced according to the "reinheitsgebot", the 500 year old German law that stipulates with what and how you can make beer. If you follow the process the beer becomes packed with alcohol hand purines (from the dead yeast cells), but if you apply modern Japanese filtering technology you can get rid of both the alcohol and the purines, without degrading the taste much.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 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
Both the purine-free beers with alcohol and without are not made using traditional processes, with one exception. But if you are familiar with the way a modern brewery works, it is more like a chemical processing plant than a microbrewery anyway. To make beer can be both a craft and a process.
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. Making beer according to the "reinheitsgebot" means craftsmanship is very important in the production - but removing alcohol and purines is done through modern chemistry. You can read more in my little book "Gout Simply Explained" about why alcohol and purines are bad for you if you have hyperuricemia, the condition underlying gout.
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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.
This beer is unique is that there is an importer in the US, so you can get it from Amazon.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
You can learn more about hyperuricemia works and what you can do about it in my little book "Gout Simply Explained", which you can get by clicking on this link, where there are several stores which will deliver it directly to your computer.
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.
You can learn more about hyperuricemia works and what you can do about it in my little book "Gout Simply Explained", which you can get by clicking on this link, where there are several stores which will deliver it directly to your computer.
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.