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Sapporo Premium Beer occupies a slightly different position than Asahi Super Dry in the Japanese lager market, it’s notably more malt-forward and less aggressively dry, with a slightly fuller body and a more rounded finish. Cloning it requires a less extreme approach to adjunct loading and attenuation than the Asahi clone, targeting what Sapporo calls its “yoika” (pleasant, mellow) character. I’ve brewed this clone successfully and it’s a more approachable starting point for homebrewers new to Japanese lager styles.
Sapporo Premium Beer clone recipe (5 gallon / 19L batch)
Target stats: OG 1.050, FG 1.010, ABV ~5.2%, IBU 18, SRM 3–4, pale straw with slight gold. Grain bill: 6 lbs (2.72 kg) North American 2-row pale malt, Sapporo uses North American barley for its North American production (Sapporo Breweries has production facilities in the US); for a more authentic Japanese-market character, use a blend of Japanese 2-row (if available) and Pilsner malt. 1.5 lbs (680g) flaked rice, rice adjunct, less aggressive than Asahi’s proportion. 0.5 lb (227g) flaked corn, a small corn adjunct addition that contributes slight sweetness and body compared to all-rice adjunct formulations. 0.25 lb (113g) Munich malt, small addition of Munich malt that contributes the rounded, slightly bready malt character that distinguishes Sapporo from the starker Asahi. This is the key differentiating ingredient, do not omit. Hops: 0.5 oz Perle or Hallertau (60 min), 12 IBU. 0.3 oz Saaz (60 min), 6 IBU. Total IBU: 16–18. Sapporo Premium has slightly more perceptible hop character than Asahi Super Dry, there’s a mild herbal/Saaz note in the finish that is part of its mellow character. Yeast: Fermentis Saflager W-34/70 or White Labs WLP830 German Lager Yeast, clean, moderately attenuative lager strain. Target FG of 1.010 is standard attenuation rather than the extreme Asahi target. Water: Soft, low-mineral, calcium 40 ppm, sulfate 25 ppm, chloride 60 ppm. Sapporo, Hokkaido’s water source is naturally soft; the slightly higher chloride vs Asahi’s recipe reflects Sapporo’s marginally fuller, rounder character. Process: Step mash: 52°C (126°F) protein rest for 15 minutes, 65°C (149°F) for 45 minutes, slightly higher saccharification temperature than Asahi clone to leave more body-contributing dextrins in the wort, achieving the fuller Sapporo character. 72°C (162°F) for 10 minutes, 76°C (169°F) mash out. 90-minute boil. Ferment at 10°C (50°F) for 2 weeks. Diacetyl rest at 17°C (63°F) for 48 hours. Lager at 2°C (35°F) for 6 weeks. Fine with gelatin. Carbonate to 2.5–2.6 volumes CO2.
Common Questions
What’s the difference between Sapporo and Asahi, aren’t they the same style?
Sapporo Premium and Asahi Super Dry are both Japanese premium lagers but they occupy distinct positions within the Japanese lager category, and the differences are meaningful in a focused tasting. Asahi Super Dry is defined by its almost aggressive dryness, it finishes with virtually no residual sweetness, and the “Super Dry” character means the beer seems to disappear instantly from the palate. Sapporo is noticeably mellower and more rounded, there’s a slight malt sweetness in the mid-palate and a slightly fuller body that makes it more food-friendly and more approachable for drinkers who find Asahi too stark. The hop character is slightly more detectable in Sapporo, the Saaz-derived herbal note in the finish is part of what Sapporo markets as its “mellow” character. Kirin Ichiban (the third major Japanese premium lager) occupies yet another position: it’s brewed using a “first wort” single-pass brewing process that produces a slightly sweeter, more complex malt character than either Asahi or Sapporo. For homebrewing purposes: this recipe’s 65°C (149°F) saccharification temperature versus the Asahi clone’s 60°C (140°F) produces the FG difference (1.010 vs 1.006) that defines the character gap between the two commercial beers. The Munich malt addition (absent in the Asahi clone) contributes the mild malt roundness that is Sapporo’s defining differentiator.
