Best Japanese Beer: Japan's Top-Selling Brands, Compared

Japanese beer is dominated by lagers from four big brewers: Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo. They may look alike, but each brand has its own flavour profile. In the UK, Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo are now familiar names on supermarket shelves, but how they differ is less well known.

This guide compares the leading Japanese beer brands using sales data from Japan and the best sellers at Yutaka Shop Online, then explains why most Japanese beers are lagers, introduces Japanese craft beer and shows where to buy Japanese beer in the UK. Whether you are new to Japanese beer or already have a favourite, you will find a beer to suit you.

■ Best Japanese Beer: The Top-Selling Brands in Japan

The most popular beer in Japan is Asahi Super Dry, the number one brand by retail sales. In retail sales data from stores across Japan (True Data, June to August 2026), the 350ml can of Super Dry ranked first out of 1,667 products in the beer category, with a market share of 5.52%.

Here are the top 10 Japanese beer brands by brand share:

1. Asahi Super Dry: 27.57%
2. Kirin Ichiban: 15.86%
3. Sapporo Kuro Label: 7.09%
4. Kirin Harekaze: 4.90%
5. Suntory The Premium Malt's: 4.59%
6. Suntory Nama Beer: 4.46%
7. Asahi Nama Beer "Maruefu": 4.28%
8. Perfect Suntory Beer: 3.30%
9. Kirin Good Ale: 3.07%
10. Sapporo Yebisu: 3.03%

Orion, from Okinawa, ranks 13th with a share of 1.00%.

Super Dry's share is around 1.7 times that of second-placed Kirin Ichiban, well ahead of every other brand. Only two of the top 20 brands, Orion and Budweiser, come from outside the big four. The Japanese beer market is dominated by a small number of major brewers.

Repeat purchase rates (the share of buyers who bought the same product again) for the leading brands are also well above the category average of 14.33%.

• Asahi Super Dry 350ml: 26.50%
• Kirin Ichiban 350ml: 25.38%
• Sapporo Kuro Label 350ml: 24.94%
• Kirin Harekaze 350ml: 21.98%

Best-Selling Japanese Beers at Yutaka Shop Online

The best sellers at Yutaka Shop Online look very different from those in Japan. Grouped by brand, the 2025 ranking at Yutaka Shop Online is as follows.

1. Orion
2. Asahi Super Dry
3. Yona Yona Ale
4. Suiyobi no Neko
5. RePuBrew 69 IPA
6. Coedo Beniaka
7. Indo no Aooni

Orion, 13th in Japan, is number one at Yutaka Shop Online, and craft beers take five of the top seven places.

These rankings reflect sales, not quality or taste.

■ Japanese Beer Brands Compared

The major Japanese beer brands are mostly lagers, but their ingredients and brewing methods give each a different flavour profile. The easiest way to tell them apart is to check whether a beer uses adjuncts (grains or starches added alongside malt) such as rice or is brewed with malt alone.

Each brand profile below gives its sales ranking in Japan and, for brands among the best sellers at Yutaka Shop Online, its ranking there too.

Asahi Super Dry

Asahi Super Dry is Japan's best-selling beer and the brand that defined karakuchi (dry) beer. When it launched in 1987, heavier beers were the norm. Super Dry set out to combine kire, a clean, crisp finish, with koku, a satisfying depth of flavour, and went on to reshape the Japanese beer market.

It is a 5% ABV rice lager, brewed with rice, maize and starch in addition to malt and hops. Its light, crisp style makes it an easy first choice if you are new to Japanese beer.

It ranks first in Japan by brand share, at 27.57%, and second at Yutaka Shop Online, after Orion.

In the UK, Asahi beer is sold in many supermarkets, and some pubs serve it on draught. Yutaka Shop Online also stocks the Nama Jokki can, whose lid opens fully so that a head of foam rises naturally.

Asahi Super Dry Food Pairing

Asahi Super Dry has a crisp finish and never feels heavy, so it goes well with fried food and strongly flavoured dishes. Good matches include:

• Chicken nanban: Fried chicken dipped in sweet vinegar and topped with tartare sauce. The beer's crisp finish stops the richness from lingering.
• Karaage: The bubbles and crisp finish refresh the palate after the oil.
• Beef and green pepper stir-fry (chinjao rosu): The clean finish washes down a stir-fry seasoned with oyster sauce.

Kirin Ichiban

Kirin Ichiban is an all-malt beer and the second best-selling beer in Japan, with a brand share of 15.86%. Kirin Brewery launched it in 1990, and its name comes from its brewing method, which uses only the first-press wort (ichiban shibori) that flows naturally when the mash is filtered.

Kirin also makes Harekaze, launched in 2024, which ranks fourth in Japan.

The Kirin Ichiban sold in many UK supermarkets has a different ABV from the Japanese version, while Yutaka Shop Online stocks a 330ml bottle at 5% ABV, the same as in Japan.

Kirin Ichiban Food Pairing

Kirin Ichiban is brewed with malt alone and has a rich body, so it goes well with full-flavoured dishes. Good matches include:

• Yakitori (grilled chicken skewers): The rich malt balances the sweet and savoury tare glaze.
• Sukiyaki (beef and vegetables simmered at the table): Its full flavour holds its own against the sweetness of soy sauce and sugar.
• Tempura: The light, crisp batter and the malt flavour complement each other.

Sapporo Beer

Sapporo beer is said to be the oldest beer brand in Japan and is one of the easiest Japanese beers to find in the UK. Its history began with a brewery that opened in Sapporo in 1876.

Kuro Label (known in English as Black Label), made for the Japanese market, and Sapporo Premium Beer, made for export, are different beers. The Sapporo Premium Beer sold in the UK has typically been 4.7% ABV.

Like Super Dry, Kuro Label is a rice lager brewed with rice, maize and starch as well as malt and hops.

In Japan, Kuro Label ranks third by brand share, at 7.09%.

Sapporo Food Pairing

Sapporo Kuro Label is well balanced, with no single dominant feature, so it goes with almost any dish. Good matches include:

• Jingisukan: Grilled lamb, a Hokkaido speciality. The beer cuts through the fatty meat cleanly.
• Fried oysters: Even with fried food, the finish never feels heavy.
• Gyoza (pan-fried dumplings): The beer's balanced flavour suits the juicy filling and crisp base.

Suntory The Premium Malt's

Suntory The Premium Malt's is Suntory's flagship beer and the brand that made all-malt premium beer mainstream in Japan. It took its current name in 2003 and won the Grand Gold Quality Award at Monde Selection for three consecutive years from 2005. It is brewed with natural water and European aroma hops, mainly Saaz hops from the Czech Republic.

It ranks fifth in Japan by brand share, at 4.59%.

It is not widely available in the UK, so it is one to try on a visit to Japan.

Suntory The Premium Malt's Food Pairing

Suntory The Premium Malt's has a floral aroma and a rich malt body, making it a beer to enjoy slowly with a meal. Good matches include:

• Steak: The depth of the malt balances the savoury meat.
• Roast beef: Its floral aroma adds another layer to the flavour of the beef.
• Gratin: The flavour of the beer holds up even against rich, cheesy dishes.

Orion Beer

Orion beer is a light, easy-drinking lager from subtropical Okinawa. It is brewed by Orion Breweries, founded there in 1957. As a regional brand, it has a large share of the Okinawan market but a much smaller presence on the Japanese mainland, which sets it apart from the big four.

In Japan, Orion The Draft is brewed with malt and hops, plus adjuncts including rice, maize, starch and barley grown in Okinawa. The Orion sold at Yutaka Shop Online, however, is brewed in the UK. Its light, easy-drinking style also makes it a good starting point for anyone new to Japanese beer.

Orion ranks 13th in Japan by brand share (1.00%), one of only two brands from outside the big four in the top 20. At Yutaka Shop Online, by contrast, it is the best seller. No other brand shows such a clear difference between sales in Japan and at Yutaka Shop Online.

Few UK supermarkets stock Orion beer, so Japanese grocers and online shops are the most reliable places to find it.

Orion Food Pairing

Orion is light and easy to drink, so it goes well with Okinawan home cooking and izakaya (Japanese pub) favourites. Good matches include:

• Champuru: An Okinawan home-style stir-fry of bitter melon, firm Okinawan tofu and more, paired with a beer from the same island.
• Okinawan fried food: Its light character washes down izakaya favourites such as deep-fried taimo (Okinawan taro).
• Taco salad: Salad topped with spiced taco mince, an Okinawan favourite. The beer does not mask the spices.

Yebisu Beer

Yebisu beer is Sapporo Breweries' premium brand, known for its rich malt body and firm bitterness. It dates back to 1890.

Although it is made by the same brewer as Sapporo Kuro Label, it tastes quite different. Kuro Label is a rice lager brewed with rice and maize, while Yebisu is an all-malt lager brewed only with malt and hops.

It ranks tenth in Japan by brand share, at 3.03%.

Like Suntory The Premium Malt's, Yebisu is not widely available in the UK.

Yebisu Food Pairing

Yebisu has a full body and pronounced bitterness, so it goes well with strongly flavoured dishes. Good matches include:

• Kabayaki eel (grilled eel): The bitterness cleanses the palate after the rich, sweet and savoury glaze.
• Yodare-dori (Sichuan-style chicken in spicy sauce): The rich malt stands up to the heat and savoury depth of the sauce.
• Salmon chanchan-yaki (salmon grilled with miso and butter, a Hokkaido speciality): Yebisu's firm bitterness balances the rich miso and butter.

■ Japanese Lager: Why Most Japanese Beer Is Lager

Most Japanese beer is lager because brewing in Japan began with German techniques, and that tradition continues today. At the brewery that opened in Sapporo in 1876 (the forerunner of today's Sapporo Breweries), brewing was led by Seibei Nakagawa, who had trained in Germany. Bottom-fermented lager, which ferments at low temperatures, went on to become the mainstream style in Japan.

The style most closely associated with Japan is rice lager, brewed with rice, maize or other adjuncts as well as malt. It is sometimes called Japanese rice beer in English, but malt is still the main ingredient. There are three main reasons Japanese lager is considered so easy to drink.

• A crisp finish: Karakuchi (dry) does not simply mean not sweet; it refers to kire, a clean, quick finish.
• Lightness from adjuncts: Adding rice or maize produces a lighter beer with a shorter finish.
• Made to go with food: In Japan, beer is usually served chilled with a meal, and many brands are designed not to overpower food.

Even so, these lagers vary considerably in flavour depending on their ingredients.

Rice Lager vs All-Malt Lager

Based on their ingredients, the major Japanese beers fall into two types: rice lager and all-malt lager.

Neither type is better than the other. For a clean finish, choose a rice lager; for malty sweetness and body, choose an all-malt lager.

■ Japanese Craft Beer

Japanese craft beer is beer made by small breweries. In 1994, an amendment to Japan's Liquor Tax Act lowered the minimum amount a brewery must produce each year to get a beer licence to 60,000 litres, and new breweries opened across the country.

Japan has no legal definition of craft beer, and the term generally refers to beer from the small breweries founded since 1994. At first, this new wave of beer was called ji-biru (local beer), and after the initial boom faded, it regained popularity as craft beer in the late 2000s. While the big four focus on lager, craft brewers produce a wide range of styles, including ales, IPAs and stouts. In recent years, the major brewers have also started moving into craft beer. Kirin's SPRING VALLEY, for example, often ranks among the best-selling craft beers on Japan's major online shopping sites.

Coedo Beer

Coedo beer is brewed by COEDO Brewery, which began brewing in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, in 1996. Its core range covers everything from a pilsner to a black lager and a sweet potato amber, showing how varied craft beer can be even within a single brewery. Its black lager, Shikkoku, is also a reminder that craft beer is not limited to ales.

For more on the background to COEDO, see our blog post "What Makes COEDO Beer Special? Craftsmanship, Beniaka & Kawagoe Roots".

Coedo Ruri

Ruri is a 5% ABV pilsner. Clear and golden with a white head, it is the flagship of the range and a good place to start.

Coedo Shiro

Shiro is a 5.5% ABV hefeweizen, a German-style wheat beer. Being top-fermented, it offers a clear contrast with bottom-fermented lagers.

Coedo Kyara

Kyara is a 5.5% ABV India pale lager. Brewed as a lager but hopped like an IPA, it sits between the two styles.

Coedo Shikkoku

Shikkoku is a 5% ABV black lager. It has the toasty aroma of roasted malt and won the Grand Gold Quality Award at Monde Selection in 2008.

Coedo Beniaka

Beniaka is a 7% ABV amber beer brewed with roasted Kintoki sweet potatoes from Saitama Prefecture. Kawagoe has long been known for its sweet potatoes, and Beniaka makes the most of this local speciality. It is the sixth best seller at Yutaka Shop Online.

Coedo Japan Pale Ale

Japan Pale Ale is a 5% ABV pale ale. It is brewed with rice and yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit), two of Japan's signature crops, and has a distinct yuzu aroma.

Yo-Ho Brewing (Yona Yona Ale)

Yo-Ho Brewing, based in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, has brewed Yona Yona Ale since 1997 and has led Japan's craft beer scene. Unlike the major brewers, which focus on lager, Yo-Ho centres its core range on ales and IPAs.

Its flagships are Yona Yona Ale, an American pale ale, and Indo no Aooni, a Japanese IPA. Both often rank among the best-selling craft beers on Japan's major online shopping sites.

At Yutaka Shop Online, Yona Yona Ale ranks third, the Belgian-style white beer Suiyobi no Neko fourth, and Indo no Aooni seventh.

Hitachino Nest Beer (Kiuchi Brewery)

Hitachino Nest beer has been brewed since 1996 by Kiuchi Brewery, a sake brewery in Ibaraki Prefecture founded in 1823. Known around the world for its owl label, it is one of the easiest Japanese craft beers to find in the UK.

The range covers many styles, including Hitachino Nest White Ale, brewed with wheat; Japanese Classic Ale, an IPA matured in cedar casks; and Yuzu Lager. As a beer made by a sake brewery, it is also a good choice for sake lovers.

More Japanese Craft Beers to Try

Yutaka Shop Online also stocks craft beers from breweries across Japan.

Baeren Brewery was founded in 2001 in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, and brews traditional European beers in old copper brewing kettles brought over from Germany. The Day TG Pilsner is a 4.5% ABV pilsner made with Czech Saaz hops.

From RePuBrew in Shizuoka Prefecture, Yutaka Shop Online stocks Hon-Nama Italian Pils (5% ABV), a pilsner with a dry finish, and 69 IPA (7% ABV), a West Coast IPA with bright citrus aromas. Both won silver at the Japan Great Beer Awards 2024, and 69 IPA is the fifth best seller at Yutaka Shop Online.

■ What to Eat with Japanese Beer

In Japan, snacks eaten with drinks are called otsumami, much like bar snacks in the UK. Classic partners for beer include edamame, kaki no tane (soy-flavoured rice crackers mixed with peanuts), surume (dried squid) and karaage (Japanese fried chicken).

The basic rule is to match the food to the flavour profile of the beer. The table below lists Japanese otsumami by beer type, along with alternatives that are easy to find in the UK.

Beer and snack sets are also available.

■ Where to Buy Japanese Beer in the UK

Japanese beer is easy to find in the UK, and there are three main places to buy it.

• Supermarkets: Mainly the major brands, such as Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin.
• Japanese grocers: They also stock brands that are hard to find in supermarkets, such as Orion and craft beers.
• Online shops: You can compare brands more easily and order snacks at the same time.

Yutaka Shop Online stocks Japanese beers ranging from major brands to craft beers.

Where Is the Japanese Beer Sold in the UK Brewed?

Much of the Japanese beer sold in the UK is brewed under licence in Europe or in the UK rather than in Japan. The Asahi Super Dry sold in the UK is brewed in Rome by Birra Peroni, part of Asahi Group. The Kirin Ichiban on general sale is brewed in the UK at 4.6% ABV. Since August 2026, Carlsberg Britvic has held the UK licence for Sapporo, covering both brewing and distribution.

A beer brewed in a different place may not have the same strength or flavour as the Japanese version. To see where a beer was brewed, check the label for wording such as "Brewed in" or "Brewed under licence".

■ Japanese Beer FAQs

■ Summary: Find Your Japanese Beer

Japanese beer is dominated by lagers from the big four brewers. Brewing in Japan began with German techniques, and bottom-fermented lager became the mainstream style. Asahi Super Dry leads sales in Japan by a wide margin, while Orion is number one at Yutaka Shop Online.

When choosing, look at the ingredients. For a crisp finish, try a rice lager such as Asahi Super Dry or Orion; for a malty body, an all-malt lager such as Kirin Ichiban or Yebisu. If you would like to try other styles, such as ales and IPAs, start with Japanese craft beer from breweries such as COEDO.

Beyond beer, chuhai, a canned drink originally made by mixing shochu (a Japanese spirit) with soda, is popular in Japan.

• True Data – retail sales data from stores across Japan (June to August 2026)

  Brand shares, rankings and repeat purchase rates for beer in Japan.

  View source
• Sapporo Breweries – "150th Anniversary of Our Founding"

  The 1876 Sapporo brewery and the German origins of lager brewing in Japan.

  View source
• Suntory Holdings – "History of Suntory: Timeline from 2000"

  Background on Suntory The Premium Malt's (in Japanese).

  View source
• USDA Foreign Agricultural Service – "Liquor Tax Reform Japan"

  The 1994 amendment to the Liquor Tax Act and the rise of craft breweries.

  View source
• Carlsberg Britvic – "Carlsberg Britvic Adds Sapporo to its Premium Beer Line-Up"

  UK licensing and brewing arrangements for Sapporo.

  View source
• Kirin Brewery – "Kirin Good Ale"

  Details of Kirin Good Ale (in Japanese).

  View source
• Brewers Association – "Craft Beer & Food Pairing Guide"

  General guidance for pairing beer styles with food.

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• Asahi Breweries – "Zuba-uma! Otsumami Recipes"

  Food pairing ideas for Asahi Super Dry (in Japanese).

  View source
• Kirin Brewery – "Kirin Recipe Note"

  Food pairing ideas for Kirin Ichiban (in Japanese).

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• Sapporo Breweries – "Recipes That Go with Beer" and "YEBISU Magazine: Food"

  Food pairing ideas for Sapporo Kuro Label and Yebisu (in Japanese).

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• Suntory – "Recipes That Go with The Premium Malt's"

  Food pairing ideas for Suntory The Premium Malt's (in Japanese).

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• Orion Breweries – "Orion Story: Recipes"

  Food pairing ideas for Orion beer (in Japanese).

  View source