For any restaurant, it’s important that the beer served goes with the restaurant menu, not to mention that it’s a good beer. Most customers first order beer to quench their thirst and then begin eating while still drinking beer. Their first impression of the beer’s match with the restaurant’s food affects their entire experience of the meal.

With its rich clean taste and elegant flavor, KIRIN ICHIBAN goes well with subtle Japanese dishes. In the new KIRIN ICHIBAN, I think that these qualities have been improved even further. It has a soft, rounded tastiness and gives a clean aftertaste even more than before. It tastes crisp and clean in the mouth, with no off-notes. It is a very well-balanced beer, and one that can be enjoyed with any traditional Japanese meal, from sashimi (sliced raw fish) to grilled fish to simmered dish to deep-fried fish and vegetables, finishing off with rice and soup.

The official fishing season in the Sea of Japan begins in September, when fish auctioned off in Kanazawa in the morning begins arriving at our kitchen by early afternoon. Akasaka Asada’s typical fall feature is blackthroat seaperch. We charcoal-grill this fish after salting it whole up to about 300 grams and in halves when larger. Blackthroat seaperch gets firmer and fattier as the fall deepens. As we grill it, a unique aroma rises in the air. Once cooked, its flesh is softly plump, and even its skin and fins are flavorful to eat. The beauty of grilled blackthroat seaperch is this special aroma and the sweet tastiness of its fat.

Eaten while drinking the new KIRIN ICHIBAN, this fish’s aroma and flavor should feel even clearer and sweeter, with a clean aftertaste. This is how we recommend blackthroat seaperch be eaten.
(Remarks by Minoru Shindo, Executive Chef)