Meiji Restoration Ryoma Sakamoto: A Taste of Japan in Japan

Spend enough time in Japan and Sakamoto Ryoma finds you. He is on the poster in the history aisle of the bookshop, in the television drama your coworker keeps recommending, and in the argument at the izakaya about who really changed the country. If you have wondered what the fuss is about, a bottle with his name on it is a good place to begin.

A dark beer for a restless samurai

Meiji Restoration Ryoma Sakamoto comes from Nippon Craft Beer’s themed line in Tokyo, part of a modern themed series sold under the Ōkuma Shigenobu name. It is a Japanese craft strong dark beer at 7.0% ABV. The brief gives no detail on the recipe, so we will not describe the malt or the finish.

The name carries the story. Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867) was a samurai who brokered the Satchō Alliance against the Tokugawa shogunate. He did not live to see the Meiji era his work helped bring about, which is part of why he is remembered so intensely.

The strength and the dark style suit a figure like that. This is the strongest beer in the themed series we have covered, a bottle for slow drinking and long conversation rather than a quick round. It is a themed expression, so the label is as much a part of the experience as the glass.

How Meiji Restoration Ryoma Sakamoto is drunk at home

In Japan, a round starts with Kanpai (乾杯) (KAHN-pie), “dry the cup,” raised with eye contact. The same characters appear in Chinese gānbēi and Korean geonbae, three East Asian cultures sharing one toast.

A strong dark beer like this belongs to the nomikai, the after-work drinking party that is the foundational Japanese social ritual. It goes with yakitori, the grilled chicken skewers that define the after-work table, especially the ones finished with tare sauce. Edamame arrives first, young soybeans with salt, the universal opener before anything else is ordered. As the night goes on, otsumami takes over: the pickled, fried and dried small bar snacks that keep the table busy between rounds. Come hanami in April, cherry-blossom parties under the trees bring sake and beer out together, and a stronger dark beer is a good choice for a cool evening under the blossoms.

How to drink it in Japan

Pour it into a glass and give it a few minutes, since a 7.0% beer is easier to appreciate slightly cool than ice-cold. From the conbini, pick up a pack of smoked cheese from Lawson; the richness holds up to a strong beer. For a Japanese dish, try it with nikujaga, the soy-simmered beef and potato stew, a homestyle dish with enough weight to match.

It suits the cooler months, November through March, when a strong dark beer feels right. At a Tokyo izakaya, a bottle of craft beer can run ¥900 or more. By the case at Omori Mart, the per-bottle price comes down noticeably.

Get Meiji Restoration Ryoma Sakamoto delivered in Japan

Meiji Restoration Ryoma Sakamoto is available now at Omori Mart, sold by the case in 330ml bottles.

Free shipping on orders over ¥15,000
Pay at FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, or Lawson, plus bank transfer and card
Delivered nationwide across Japan

Rakuten and Amazon Japan don’t carry this themed release. If you like beers with a story behind them, this is where to find one.

[Shop Meiji Restoration Ryoma Sakamoto →]

Kanpai (乾杯) is the word every other toast in this shop comes back to. Raise the bottle to the man who brought rivals to the same table, dry the cup, and drink to the ones who change a country before their time.