What to drink instead of Kirin Ichiban
Kirin Ichiban is sold as Japanese and brewed in Britain, at Bedford, Bedfordshire, at 4.6%. The version sold in Japan is 5.0%, 0.4 percentage points stronger.
By Mark Porter. Last checked 11 September 2026. Where Kirin Ichiban is really brewed, with the pack wording and the sources.
What the front says, and what the back says
Japanese brand, kirin mythical beast logo, Japanese script on pack, 'first press' brewing story
'Brewed by: DAMM 1876 Ltd., 5A Bear Lane, SE1 0UH, London, UK. Kirin Europe GmbH, Berliner Allee 26, 40212 Düsseldorf, Germany.' Tesco does not display an explicit country of origin field on this listing.
Where it is brewed, against where the brand comes from
| The brand comes from | Japan, from 1990 |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Kirin Holdings Company Limited, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan |
| Brewed for the UK at | Bedford, Bedfordshire (Damm 1876 Ltd) |
Strength, and what it means in a pack
A pint of Kirin Ichiban at the UK strength of 4.6% holds 2.6 units. At the 5.0% sold in Japan it would hold 2.8, so the British pint holds 0.2 fewer units than the same quantity of the beer sold in Japan.
Instead of Kirin Ichiban
| Beer | Why it is on the list | Strength here |
|---|---|---|
| Tsingtao Premium LagerThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Qingdao, Shandong in China. 4.7% here, 0.1 percentage points stronger than Kirin Ichiban. | 4.7% |
| Chang ClassicThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Cosmos Brewery Co., Ltd, Ayutthaya in Thailand. 5.0% here, 0.4 percentage points stronger than Kirin Ichiban. | 5.0% |
| Budweiser Budvar OriginalThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Republic. 5.0% here, 0.4 percentage points stronger than Kirin Ichiban. | 5.0% |
| Peroni Nastro AzzurroThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Rome, Padua and Bari in Italy. 5.1% here, 0.5 percentage points stronger than Kirin Ichiban. | 5.1% |
| Heineken SilverThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed in the Netherlands. 4.0% here, 0.6 percentage points weaker than Kirin Ichiban. | 4.0% |
| Pilsner UrquellThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Plzen in the Czech Republic. 4.4% here, 0.2 percentage points weaker than Kirin Ichiban. | 4.4% |
Chosen by rule, not by taste, and no beer pays to appear: how the list is made.
Where Kirin Ichiban is stocked, and when we last checked
| Supermarket | Product page | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| Tesco | The listing | 5 September 2026 |
| Morrisons | The listing | Date not recorded |
| Ocado | The listing | Date not recorded |
Every beer sold as Japanese · What to buy instead, beer by beer