Editorial Comment:

APPROVED: A complete and precise temperature control system has been installed to enable us to remove the few remaining vestiges of flavour in ASAHI SUPER DRY by serving it at less than 0 degrees.

With the many media releases we receive at Australian Brews News, we can generally find it within ourselves to ignore the sheer vacuousness of PR lines such as “Last night, together with the country’s biggest celebrity and social influencers, Asahi celebrated the launch…” Afterall, that is what PR is. However, when it comes to the category-damaging nonsense of the statement “the opening of the first-ever Australian Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar allowed guests to experience Asahi Super Dry and Super Dry Black served to absolute scientific perfection – poured fresh and at subzero temperatures”, tongue biting proves impossible.

One of beer’s many inviting and most successful properties, besides its inherent sociability, is its ability to refresh. Particularly in this sunburnt country, a cold beer on a hot day, is a great treat and a noble reward.

That said, as we have recently seen beer begin to slowly edge away from its long-held role as being solely a weapon of mass consumption, a drink to be demonised by health authorities for its negative perceptions. At a time when flavour is coming to be celebrated as much as refreshment, when even the Brewers Association is coming to recognise that beer needs an image makeover, you might think that breweries would rein in their hyperbolic PR and look to celebrate qualities in beer beyond its ability to be flavourless alcohol to be consumed as cold as physically possible.

The only scientific perfection that Asahi shows is the understanding that the human ability to taste diminishes with lower temperatures, making Asahi easier to consume, preferably in great quantities. Yes, refreshment can be a positive, but making the hero out of sub-zero-degree beer service is merely to highlight how lacking in flavour the beer is. “Dry, crisp and refreshing”, while desirable attributes in some circumstances, are not adjectives that can be substituted for ‘flavour’. They actually describe the absence of flavour. And when you combine a beer with those characters with a -2 degree serving temperature, well, it has been said that you could drink any pale yellow liquid at that temperature.

Furthering beer’s perception as a flavourless refreshment might move a few units for Asahi this summer but it does nothing to build ‘Brand Beer’ or arrest the seemingly inexorable slide in beer’s fortunes. It does more to exacerbate it by confirming the broader public’s worst stereotypes about the liquid. It can also only serve to confirm alcohol regulators’ worst views of beer as alcohol without merit or redeeming features, another bonus for the category.

None of this is to say, of course, that Asahi is a bad beer. If your beer brand is simply a badge for you, and ingesting alcohol unencumbered by flavour is your aim, this is one of the greats. [MK]

Media Release

Celebs and special guests join Asahi to launch new concept bar

Friday 24th October: Sydney’s most discerning beer drinkers, together with the country’s biggest celebrity and social influencers gathered to celebrate the official launch of the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar as it opened its doors for the first time, last night.

Already a huge success in other parts of the world including Japan and Korea, the opening of the first-ever Australian Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar allowed guests to experience Asahi Super Dry and Super Dry Black served to absolute scientific perfection – poured fresh and at subzero temperatures – before anyone else.

Proving this is one bar not-to-be-missed this summer, Australian pro surfer Layne Beachley, rock star husband Kirk Pengilly and NRL veteran Nathan Hindmarsh were among the many who turned out to celebrate the grand opening.

Situated at 37 Bligh Street, right in the heart of the CBD, the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar boasts a relaxed vibe whilst exuding the sophisticated, premium nature of the Asahi brand. Giving a nod to its home-town, the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar is also serving up an innovative beer snack menu perfectly matched by the team at Love Local Hospitality – the creative genius behind The Corner House, a much-loved food haunt in Bondi.

The perfect place for after work, lunch time or celebratory drinks this summer, the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar opens to the general public today (Friday 24th October) and will remain until Friday 23rdJanuary 2015. Opening hours are from 4pm-10pm Monday – Wednesday and 12pm- 10pm Thursday – Saturday.

-ENDS-

Media Release

Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar opens its doors to Sydney this Summer

Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar

September, 2014: Asahi is set to raise the bar and quite literally lower the temperature of Australia’s preferred Japanese beer, when it opens its doors to the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar – the brand’s first-ever Australian pop-up bar – in the heart of Sydney, this summer.

Opening on Friday, 24th October, the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar will give Sydney’s most discerning drinkers the opportunity to taste Asahi Super Dry and Asahi Super Dry Black served to perfection – poured fresh, at sub-zero temperatures.

Already a huge success in other parts of the world, including Japan and Korea, the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar will be conveniently located on Bligh Street, in the Sydney CBD. Boasting a relaxed vibe and serving an innovative menu of bar snacks to complement the dry, crisp and refreshing flavour of Asahi Super Dry, Asahi is confident it will create an unforgettable and unrivalled experience for Sydney-siders, this summer.

Speaking of the excitement surrounding the launch of the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar, Asahi Premium Beverages Marketing Manager Michael Vousden anticipates a steady flow of beer enthusiasts, throughout the hotter months.

“We know once people try Asahi Super Dry in its perfect state – poured fresh and served extra cold – they’ll immediately appreciate the concept of the ‘perfect serve’. This in essence, is the driving force behind the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar.

“By chilling Asahi Super Dry beer to -2 degrees, the beer head maintains its high bubble density for longer, which creates a smoother texture, and ultimately makes it more refreshing. We’re looking forward to sharing the Asahi experience with as many people as possible this summer,” said Vousden.

If a nice cold beer on a sunny afternoon wasn’t incentive enough, Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar will feature Asahi Super Dry Black Extra Cold – Asahi Super Dry’s slightly maltier, fuller bodied, yet still refreshing and crisp variant – making it the first venue in Australia to feature the dark lager in draught.

Acting as the perfect platform, Asahi will bring the inspirational twelve-month program of Silver Sessions to a close at the Extra Cold Bar, this December.

The Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar will be located at 37 Bligh Street Sydney and will be open to the public on Friday 24th October through to Friday 23rdJanuary 2015. Opening hours are from 4pm-10pm Monday – Wednesday and 12pm- 10pm Thursday – Saturday.

-ENDS-

For further information on the Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar please visit www.asahibeer.com.au

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