Popular alcoholic beverages for at home drinking in Japan 2020
The most popular alcoholic beverage among Japanese consumers for drinking at home was beer, according to a survey conducted in Japan in 2020. Daisan beer ranked second with over 55 percent.
Daisan beer, also referred to as new genre beer, is a recently introduced product to avoid liquor taxes, by replacing malt with wheat, pea, or other grains and pulses in the production process.
Domestic alcoholic beverage market
The alcoholic beverage market in Japan encompasses a large variety of brewed, distilled, and fermented products. Among the broad product range, beer and liqueurs made up the lion’s share of domestic production volume of liquor. While Japan is well known for its traditional production of rice wine (sake), the country is also known for its large export market of whisky and other hard alcoholic beverages.
Heated competition among breweries
The Japanese liquor market offers a competitive landscape, with domestic manufacturers emerging as leaders. Major manufacturers included the four breweries Asahi, Suntory, Sapporo, and Kirin, who contributed significantly to domestic beer production.
However, smaller microbreweries are entering the market among a growing interest in craft beer. The various flavor profiles help microbrewers to stand out among the leading breweries as craft beer sales showed an upward trend in recent years.
Daisan beer, also referred to as new genre beer, is a recently introduced product to avoid liquor taxes, by replacing malt with wheat, pea, or other grains and pulses in the production process.
Domestic alcoholic beverage market
The alcoholic beverage market in Japan encompasses a large variety of brewed, distilled, and fermented products. Among the broad product range, beer and liqueurs made up the lion’s share of domestic production volume of liquor. While Japan is well known for its traditional production of rice wine (sake), the country is also known for its large export market of whisky and other hard alcoholic beverages.
Heated competition among breweries
The Japanese liquor market offers a competitive landscape, with domestic manufacturers emerging as leaders. Major manufacturers included the four breweries Asahi, Suntory, Sapporo, and Kirin, who contributed significantly to domestic beer production.
However, smaller microbreweries are entering the market among a growing interest in craft beer. The various flavor profiles help microbrewers to stand out among the leading breweries as craft beer sales showed an upward trend in recent years.
