A quick drink after work.
A recommended drink for summer.

It's the season when the sun is shining brightly. The summer heat is filling the Yoyogi office. The glass-walled building is like a sunroom. Fighting the heat every day, we are working hard on web development today as well.

This is the season when we crave water more than usual. There are many plastic bottles and various drinks on everyone's desk. Some people must have carbonated drinks, some prefer fruit juice, some like iced coffee, and some prefer hot tea even in the summer... Your drink preferences can reveal some unexpected personalities.

And what I enjoy most is having a quick drink after finishing work.
Beer, wine, sake... there are many delicious alcoholic drinks. This time, we asked Monosasu members what kind of alcohol they would recommend to drink in the summer.

I want to fully promote "Summer is the time for sake"

It's already been five years since I discovered sake. Not content with just drinking it, I travel a few times a year and visit sake breweries. The appeal of sake is that you can find delicious sake anywhere in the country. Just pair it with local food to create the perfect pairing. And best of all, it's great value for money! Even if you drink it almost every day like me, it's easy on the wallet (laughs).

So what I would like to recommend is definitely "summer sake."
This is not a brand of sake, but a campaign that started a few years ago to encourage people to enjoy more sake in the summer. So, there is no set definition, but sake breweries are releasing summer-only sake one after another.

My top pick is the "sparkling" type of sake. From cloudy sake with a slight sparkle to a champagne-like taste. After all, when you think of summer, it's fizzy! The bottle in the photo is Tedorigawa Junmai Daiginjo "kasumi." As the cool, summery image of the label suggests, the elegant, tangy fizziness is complemented by the sweetness and acidity of tropical fruit.

By the way, it is also popular among sake lovers to make their own sparkling sake at home using a machine that can make carbonated drinks . Of course, this can be done at home too. There are endless ways to enjoy sake.

When you think of sake, you think of hot sake in the winter... right? Of course, that's great too, but there's now sake that you can only drink in the summer! I want to fully recommend sake in the summer.

Enjoy a summer moment with a homemade cocktail

I was thinking about making a cocktail at home, and recently I've been trying the "Mojito." It seems to have originated in Havana, Cuba, and I think it's perfect for summer.

The ingredients are very simple. Mint leaves, lime, sugar, rum and carbonated water... The ingredients alone are refreshing, but it's difficult because it's simple. The taste changes completely with a slight difference in the amount of ingredients, so I haven't yet achieved a taste that I'm satisfied with (laughs). Cocktails...there is a lot of depth to them.

By the way, the other day I broke a glass that was perfect for cocktails, so I bought a new one, the one in the photo. I looked around the neighborhood, but I couldn't find a glass that I thought was perfect. After walking around for 2-3 hours, I found a bargain at GLOBE ANTIQUES in Ikejiri. I think the glass makes the food taste better (laughs).

Making cocktails at home is a bit of a hassle and a lot of work, but it's fun and gives you a sense of accomplishment. They look nice, so that's another reason for the satisfaction. I recommend making cocktails at home!

Just gulp it straight from the bottle, it's delicious

If you were to ask, "What kind of drink do you like to drink in the summer?" most people would probably think of beer.

Me too.

Basically, I can drink anything and it tastes good, but when summer comes, I find myself craving Coors LIGHT, so I buy boxes of it to drink at home.

Coors is a well-known American beer. It is also sold in Japan, but many large supermarkets and liquor stores do not stock it, so some people may not be familiar with it.

Looking at the global market share by brand, the data is from 2015.

1. Snow/Snow Flower Beer - China (5.4%)
2. Tsingtao/Tsingtao Beer China (2.8%)
3. Bud Light America (2.5%)
4. Budweiser America (2.3%)
5. Squall Brazil (2.1%)
6. Yanjing/Yenjing Beer China (1.9%)
7. Heineken Netherlands (1.5%)
8. Harbin, China (1.5%)
9. Brama Brazil (1.5%)
10. Coors Light America (1.3%)
Source: Business Insider The 10 best-selling beer brands in the world

It ranks 10th in global market share.
I was curious about the high market share of brands from China, the United States, and Brazil, as well as some unfamiliar brands, so I looked up beer consumption by country, and it all made sense.

1st place China 41.77 million kl (22.4%)
2. United States: 24.24 million kl (13.0%)
3. Brazil 12.65 million kl (6.8%)
4th: Germany 8.41 million kl (4.5%)
5. Russia 8.4 million kl (4.5%)
6. Mexico 7.98 million kl (4.3%)
7th place Japan 5.25 million kl (2.8%)
8. United Kingdom 4.37 million kl (2.3%)
9. Vietnam 4.11 million kl (2.2%)
10. Spain 3.9 million kl (2.1%)
Source: Kirin Company, Limited "Kirin Beer University" Report 2016 Beer Consumption in Major Countries

Beer consumption by country correlates with market share by brand. But the Chinese market is formidable...

So, we can see that Coors is the second most popular beer in the world's second largest market, the United States, after Budweiser.

I actually first heard of this beer when I was in college. I saw a senior student who had just returned from studying in the US gulping it down at a bar, saying, "This is delicious."

Craft beer is hugely popular around the world.
It could be said that this beer is the opposite of craft beer, which is popular for its "small-scale production and small-scale consumption," "rarity," "regionality," "individuality," "appeal to enthusiasts," "the maker's passion and commitment," and "story." It is "the mass-produced, mass-consumed, popular beer."

As for the taste, it is clean, refreshing, crisp and light.
Some people may find it a little thin, but that suits me, especially when drinking at home.

For some reason, when I drink Japanese beer at home, I feel like it has a strong flavor and I have to work hard to drink it. When I drink it at a restaurant, it's delicious, though. Taste is a vague thing. When I don't have Coors, I drink Kirin's Tanrei Green Label, which is refreshing.

If you're thinking, "I kind of understand that," then I recommend Coors.
If you see it in a store, why not give it a try? Don't pour it into a glass, just gulp it straight from the bottle.

Summer is all about sake, cocktails to enjoy at home, and America's most popular beers.
Each of the three selections gave us a glimpse into their own unique preferences.

Ah, my throat is getting dry.
If you've worked hard today, how about going for a drink?