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.
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.
Non-alcohol beers
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 was one of the original "all-free" beers without alcohol and calories, and also without purines. It is not designed to be body-friendly, so it tastes much better than the Karada o Omou beer. It could well be an ordinary 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 purines. 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.
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.
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. So let me try to help you. Below, you can order a package of four popular non-alcoholic purine-free beer-like drinks. Postage is included, but if there is any discussion with your local customs, you will have to take it yourself.
Four non-alcohol no-purine beers from Japan
$75.00
Japanese low-purine beers come in many varieties. You can read more on the low-purine beer page.
Here, I picked four - which also are no alcohol beers. No stress on your liver, and no discussion with your local customs. And as I tasted them myself, I know they are very close to real beer. But without purines.
The taste of these four no-purine, no-alcohol beers is maltier and fuller than that of many other beers, Even those with a full compliment of alcohol. Maybe it is because the brewers have tried especially hard to create umami, the "meaty" taste, in their beer.
When you order, I will package and ship them with the regular mail, which usually takes two to four weeks.