Beer is the favorite alcoholic drink both in the U.S. and Japan. Then, what do you look for in your perfect glass?
Many Japanese people would say it’s the foam on top.
It may sound strange to some non-Japanese people because more foam means less beer and thus less value. But the quality of the foam has been a strong competitive edge in the $23 billion Japanese beer market.
The Premium Malt’s by Suntory is a great example of Japan’s obsession with the foam. The beer’s foam is so fine and creamy yet stable that you can even print an image on it with a 3D printer using malt extract. Suntory calls the character of the foam Kamiawa, meaning “foam created by God”. The divine proportion of beer to foam is 7 to 3 for the best taste and aesthetics, according to the company.
The Premium Malt’s was launched originally in 1989. The concept is “a beer that you want to meet over and over again like your loved one”. It took a while for the brand to take off until it received the Grand Gold Medal from the reputable global awards Monde Selection in 2005. Since then, Suntory has been refining the concept to reflect the market demands and most recently the focus is on the sublime foam.
In 2018, Suntory started a new campaign to increase the awareness of the new foam-focused Premium Malt’s and its sales quickly increased by 104% from the previous year. The number is remarkable, considering the generally stagnant domestic beer market. As of 2017, there were 25,000 bars and restaurants that served the beer and now the number is 40,000.
Why such a huge success?
Because the campaign is unique and extreme. The exact numbers are undisclosed, but certain bars and restaurants are certified as “The Master of Kamiawa” and some are granted the even higher status “The Super Master of Kamiawa” by Suntory. The goal is to guarantee the highest quality of beer foam possible.
To become a Super Master, you need to satisfy the following:
- The foam shows the ultimate creaminess.
- The surface of the foam is as beautiful as silk.
- The ratio of the beer and the foam is perfectly balanced.
- The glass is thoroughly cleaned to showcase the sparks of the beer.
It may sound easy to meet these criteria, but a subtle difference can disqualify you easily.
For example, if there is residual oil from a dishwashing machine on the surface of the glass, the bubbles become noticeably large. Dust from the drying cloth can also ruin the creation of the foam by evaporating the bubbles very quickly. The glass needs to be placed at a 45-degree angle with the brand-specific dispenser to keep the bubbles in the beer at an optimal level. The Super Master is also required to adjust the pressure of the keg hourly to the fluctuating temperature in the room and the dispenser must be thoroughly cleaned daily. (You can watch a Super-Master’s method here.)
Why You Should Care About The Foam
Is it worth pondering this much precision just to create a nice beer head?
Perhaps.
The perfect foam has important functions too. It works as a lid to preserve the beer’s flavor and prevents the liquid from oxidization, which leads to bitterness and darkening of the color.
Bar and restaurant owners can boost their sales effectively with the foam as well. Suntory introduced Ripples, 3D printers that can generate a latte-style art on the foam. To print an image, customers can select one from pre-programmed options or they can upload their own image from their smartphones to the printer.
One bar owner and Super Master of Kamiawa says, “Since we started using the printer, revenue considerably increased as many customers order multiple glasses to take more photos. They also bring in new customers by uploading images on social media.”
Suntory did not forget about consumers. The company offers a home version of the foam generating equipment called Kamiawa Server. By attaching the handy 4-inch gadget on the surface of a Premium Malt’s can, it generates 41,500 vibrations per second, which results in the perfect foam. It comes with a glass that can preserve the foam 20% longer than regular glass and sold for 980 yen (about $7) on Suntory and Amazon Japan websites.
The Premium Malt’s launched in the U.S., starting from San Francisco as a test market in 2015 and was introduced to New York in 2021. To boost the awareness of the brand, Suntory is planning a pop-up pub in New York this summer.
