Today is the Chinese (Lunar) New Year, celebrating the Year of the Dragon, and being that this is a beer blog, you know there’s something beery involved. As it turns out, Sapporo USA is commemorating the Year of the Dragon with the release of a limited-edition six-pack in collaboration with artist Tokyo Hiro. The company’s PR agency recently sent me one of these six-packs to check out.

To be clear, the beer itself is the same (Sapporo Premium Beer); only the packaging is the limited-edition part. A dragon motif wraps around the cardboard box carrier, with a striking look. I wish the can branding had also incorporated the artwork as well. Here’s a bit about the art from the press release:

Hiro’s artwork features two dragons flowing around the package and the Sapporo can. The open mouth on one dragon wards off evil spirits while the closed mouth of the other keeps good spirits in. The two together are representative of the end and beginning of the New Year. Red accents harken good luck, as is traditional in Japan this time of year.

I’ve never reviewed Sapporo here before I don’t believe, so I thought I’d do a quick review to highlight the beer and the Lunar New Year today. The full press release with details on the Sapporo-Hiro collaboration is posted at the bottom of this page.

Sapporo Premium Beer is a pale lager with 4.9% alcohol by volume, and Untappd tells me 18 IBUs as well. You can see in the picture above that it’s a crystal clear, golden color, pouring with a white head—a pretty classic “beer” look when considering pale lagers. It’s an all-barley malt beer, with a grainy, slightly sweetly toasty aroma, and that extends into the flavor, with good toasted bread notes, some raw grain, and it finishes light, crisp, and dry. It’s easy to drink and fairly refreshing.

It’s a good beer, as pale mass market/industrial lagers go. I feel like it has more character than a lot of comparable American lagers.

It’s not actually brewed in Japan, however—at least, not the beer available in the U.S. Sapporo the company (Sapporo Breweries) bought the Canadian company Sleeman Breweries back in 2006, and much of the beer sold in North America is brewed there (at least until the company’s upgrades in the formerly-Stone Brewing Richmond, Virginia brewery are completed).

Sapporo is also the company that bought (and recently closed) Anchor Brewing in 2017, and bought Stone Brewing in 2022. So there’s a lot going on there.

Here’s the press release:

2024 is the Year of the Dragon and Sapporo U.S.A. is celebrating with an artist collaboration six-pack now available nationwide for a limited time. The dragon-themed package is Sapporo U.S.A.’s first nationally available six-pack and an eye-catching display of Tokyo Hiro’s distinct east-meets-west style.

Tokyo Hiro is best known for his tattoo artistry and has designed album covers, merch and more for professional athletes, bands and brands like Bad Religion, The Offspring, Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Fender, Adidas, Hurley and others. Sapporo and Tokyo Hiro are joined by their Japanese heritage, passion for artistry and pioneering spirits.

Hiro’s story mirrors that of Sapporo’s first Brewmaster, Seibei Nakagawa, who left Japan at the age of 17 at a time when leaving was strictly forbidden. He learned the craft of brewing in Germany and went on to become Japan’s first German-trained brewmaster. His adventurous spirit still guides the company’s principles today.

With a pioneering spirit of his own, Hiro was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and began spending time in the U.S. in high school. He walked away from his prospects as a professional baseball player for his infatuation with American culture, punk rock, metal and tattoo artistry. Seeking to bring deeper impact to his life and work, Hiro supports the Rock & Roll Rescue. Founded by his wife, the organization close to Hiro’s heart works with high profile musicians to raise awareness, support, long-term care and financing for rescue animals. Hiro is an artist, musician, activist and a true embodiment of the Sapporo brand.

About the Year of the Dragon six-pack artwork
Hiro’s artwork features two dragons flowing around the package and the Sapporo can. The open mouth on one dragon wards off evil spirits while the closed mouth of the other keeps good spirits in. The two together are representative of the end and beginning of the New Year. Red accents harken good luck, as is traditional in Japan this time of year.

“When I was learning to tattoo under Bob Roberts of Spotlight Tattoo, he would always tell me, ‘east meets west, that’s your style,’ explained Hiro. “I feel so lucky to work with Sapporo on this project because we both understand what this means. Sapporo adopted German brewing in Japan in the same way I’ve combined my Japanese and U.S. experiences.”

A limited quantity of signed and numbered Tokyo Hiro artist screen prints will be available via a text-to-win sweepstakes in early 2024. The 18”x24” prints feature Hiro’s Sapporo Premium dragon wrapping around the iconic Sapporo bottle in celebration of the collaboration.

Fans of Tokyo Hiro and the Sapporo brand can now experience Hiro’s distinctive style and artistic approach in a documentary-style video at SapporoBeer.com/TokyoHiro.

Sapporo is the oldest beer of Japan and the number one selling Japanese beer in the U.S., growing 7.6% year-over-year within the rapidly expanding Import beer category. Locate the new six-packs in stores using Sapporo’s beer finder. For more information, visit SapporoBeer.com and @SapporoBeerUSA on Instagram.