I have no idea about the choices of Japanese brews. Kirin, Orion, Asahi or Sapporo are the only brands I know. What are the differences between the Japanese ones and European lagers/ales? (I usually get Hoegaarden) And what are the recommendations for a good Japanese taste? Thank you very much.
Not sure what the difference is but I prefer the Craft beer coming from Japan like those from Kiuchi they have really good beers like their Hitachino espresso stout and their Hitachino Nest White Ale. There is also Yoho brewing. I just drank a beer from Yoho called Tokyo Black. Good luck with your beer expedition!!
Ginga Kogen is pretty good. It's an unfiltered wheat beer. Coedo makes some pretty malty beers that pair well with spicy foods.
Thank you very much for the comments above, but it seems that none of the brands mentioned above is available in HK...
You should be able to find Hitachino Nest. Their Espresso Stout is the best thing I've had from Japan and it's common overseas.
Hong Kong doesn't have superior beer options. Check out Three Sixty for a relatively good bottle selection. There's also some local bar's serving Belgians and some decent US beers.
The thing with Japanese brewers is that even the megas [Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, Suntory] release a beer with substance occasionally. Asahi Stout is a solid beer which I had a bottle of at Dry-Dock Shim(|n)bashi {and this is why Dry Dock Brwg. of Colorado, USA is available in Japan}. Some also tend to forget that Japanese megas were nearly alone in brewing black beers in the 1980s, even more so then contemporary German breweries. You have to check English-language resources to see when a potentially savory beer from a mega is issued. You may have to buy it at a combini.
