Is the color of your beer boring you? Probably not, but that hasn’t stopped Japan’s Abashiri Brewery from creating colored beer.
Okhotsk Blue (or Ryuho Draft) is the latest addition to the brewery’s already unusual assortment of beers – for instance, Bilk, a bizarre mix of beer and milk. Okhotsk Blue, as its name suggests, is blue. It isn’t the company’s first strangely-tinted beer, though. Okhotsk Blue joins Abashiri’s other colored beers, Hamanasu Red draft and Shiretoko Green draft, to form an odd line of rainbow-pigmented brews that no one really asked for.
Reminding one of a blueberry-flavored wine cooler, Okhotsk Blue owes its color to blue seaweed. While that may not be a strong selling point, the brew’s chief ingredient might make up for it: melted iceberg water. The beer is named after the Sea of Okhotsk, which provides the melting icebergs that float onto Haokkaido beaches each year – where, presumably, Abashiri brewers wait patiently to scoop them up.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Colored Beer
- Creating beers with unconventional colors, such as blue, red, and green, offering a unique and visually appealing drinking experience.
- Unusual Beer Ingredients
- Exploring the use of unconventional ingredients, such as blue seaweed and melted iceberg water, to create distinctive flavors and attract curious beer enthusiasts.
- Rainbow-pigmented Brews
- Developing a line of beers with a variety of vibrant colors, offering a visually stunning and Instagrammable drinking experience for beer connoisseurs.
Where This Applies
- Craft Beer
- Craft breweries can capitalize on the trend of colored beer by experimenting with unique flavors and colors to attract adventurous beer lovers.
- Food and Beverage
- Restaurants and bars can offer rainbow-pigmented brews as a novelty drink option to attract customers who are looking for unique and Instagram-worthy experiences.
- Tourism
- Breweries located near natural sites like beaches or mountains could leverage the use of local and unique ingredients, such as iceberg water, to attract tourists seeking authentic and unconventional experiences.
