Beer Around the world

We are on the penultimate stop of the trip in Japan. We have been here already to the cultural central region. By popular demand, we have returned, but this time are travelling from the far north to the far south. Last time, we focused on imperial and religious sites. This time, the focus is more on the modern side of Japan and its wide variety of climates and landscapes.

We only arrived late last night after two flights, a train, and a taxi. About 15 hours in total from Bangkok. So our first taste of Japanese culture was very brief but enjoyable . You see, we are in Hokkaido, the home of Japanese beer, and in particular, we are in Sapporo .

Although Flo generally says when I offer her a beer, " Oh I don't think so" or "Probably not", that usually changes after I go shop to either a mild "can I have a taste", or that she simply takes one,... or two ... or even three. So I never just shop for myself.

On a trip around the world, there are a few places with good wines, but nearly everywhere has its own local beer. Many of which never make it to the specialist beer shops in Europe. The standards like here in Japan are high, even if they can never surpass the best of Germany and the Czech Republic.

What over half can do is offer really good beer at low or very low prices. Special mentions here for Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Chile. They also have decent size bottles and cans. Here, the clear winners are Chile (1.5l bottles) and Mongolia (2.5l bottles).

Sapporo beer is not the cheapest, but boy, did it taste good after that long trip. And Flo? Well, she went from "a taste" to "where has MY beer gone?". I'll give you 3 guesses.Read more