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| 画像の「アサヒ新生３」は「第３のビール」にあたる。麦も麦芽も一切使っておらず、大豆ペプチドなどを原材料としている。そのため酒税法上は「発泡酒」ではなく「その他の雑酒(2)」という扱いになる。＜画像提供：アサヒビール＞ |
Trendy Japanese #7:
Dai-san-no beer (the third-category beer) |
* 2005/8/24 配信 ALC Newsletter No.18(ALC
International Marketing 発行)より
* クリックできる語句には、語注がついています
"Dai-san no beer"
can be translated as "the third beer" or "the third-category
beer." It sounds like a movie ("The
Third Man") but this beer has
nothing to do with a car accident!
The third-category beer is the name of a new kind of alcoholic beverage. It tastes like beer, but is brewed from ingredients other than malt. But why don't they just use malt and make real beer? Well, in Japan, alcohol tax for beer is based on the percentage of malt used, and not the percentage of alcohol. So the less malt is used, the less tax is imposed. To make the price cheaper, the third-category beer uses various ingredients such as peas, soybeans, corn and so on, instead of malt.
Before the third-category beer was introduced in 2004, there were two categories for beer-like alcoholic beverages: one was of course traditional "beer" made from malt, and the other was "happo-shu (sparkling beer)" made using a smaller amount of malt. So the new alcoholic beverage without malt, or with just a little bit of malt was named "the third-category beer." Since its release, the third-category beer has been popular among beer- lovers, who like enjoying the taste of beer but at a cheaper price. Sales of the third-category beer tripled this summer compared to the previous half-year period, while sales of beer decreased.
However, there is a little concern growing in the minds of those beer-lovers ─the government might raise taxes on the third-category beer as early as this autumn! Beer-makers, as well as consumers, are upset about this because if the tax is raised, then it will spoil all their efforts to make a beer-tasting beverage at a cheaper price. But if the tax is actually raised, will consumers still buy the new beer even if it's not as cheap as it is now? To attract consumers with its taste as well as its price, beer-makers are now trying, and will continue to try hard, to create an exceptional taste.
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