It started with a glass of draft beer.
My oldest son came home after a long time away. So it turned into a small drinking party.
The place was a shop run by the wife of my older brother. My older brother married into another family many decades ago, and he was not there that night. So it was his wife who was at the shop. It is a coffee shop in the daytime, and sometimes a bar at night.
The people there were my wife and me. My oldest son, home after a long time. A couple who are our friends. And my nephew and his wife. I say nephew, but he is a man in his 40s. My nephews are the children of my older brother and his wife.
We saw each other after a long time, and we drank.
Someone Said Beer Is Good and Happoshu Is Not
Around the time I put down my glass of draft beer, someone said it.
“Beer really is good.”
“Happoshu, well, not so much.”
Happoshu is a Japanese drink category made with a lower malt ratio than beer. That has kept the tax on it lower than the tax on beer, though Japan is now moving to one rate for both.
Some people said that and laughed.
I listened to that talk, and I thought this inside my head.
Do you really know that taste?
I Did Not Say It Out Loud
I did not say it out loud, but there was more to it.
Look, you are a smoker. Your sense of taste is already half gone. Why act like an expert?
If I hid the labels and lined them up, you probably could not tell which was which.
That is what I thought.
But I did not say it.
If I push back too hard, it turns into a fight between grown-ups. We have been drinking, so that is even more true. Nothing is more trouble than an argument over drinks. It leaves a bad taste afterward.
So it ends with a “Hmm.”
That is my own way of doing things, built up over my years into my 60s.
The Draft Beer Ran Out
Partway through, I asked for another draft.
Then a voice came from the back of the shop.
“Ah, there is no draft left.”
Was it sold out, or was there little to begin with? To be honest I do not remember that part.
Anyway, at that one line, everyone at the table cried out.
“What, no way.”
Our first drinking night in a long time, and the draft beer ran out. I never expected that.
That was when another voice came from the back of the shop.
“No way.” “Are you stupid?”
The ones making noise in the back were those nephews in their 40s. In the shop of their own mother, the draft beer ran out, and they were heckling from behind.
Were they really angry, or just fooling around? I do not remember that well either.
There was no choice, so after that it was canned beer and happoshu.
Someone Said Again That Beer Is Good
Then someone said it again.
“Beer really is good.”
I looked at the can and thought this.
Do people really know the difference that well when they drink?
What if the labels were hidden, and the drinks were poured into cups and put in front of you…
Beer. Happoshu. Non-alcoholic beer.
If they were lined up, could you really name them?
Could I Name Them If the Labels Were Hidden?
I will say it honestly. I am not confident.
Beer tastes fine to me. Happoshu is fine to drink too. With non-alcoholic beer, maybe I could not even tell the difference.
When I think about it that way, I no longer know how true it is when someone says flatly, “beer is good.”
Are we drinking the taste? Are we drinking the mood? Or are we drinking the label?
That difference may be less clear than we think.
I Think We Drink the Label
I get the feeling that people drink the label.
If it says “premium,” that alone makes it feel special.
If we eat at an expensive place, it somehow tastes good.
If it is from a famous maker, we feel safe drinking it just for that.
Beer is probably the same. We drink it thinking, “This is that famous premium beer,” so it tastes good.
If the label were peeled off and the brand hidden, what would happen then?
Still, if a person can enjoy it through belief, I think that is fine too.
If you drink for the mood and have a good time, that is enough in life.
But when someone drinks with a knowing face, I sometimes want to push back inside my head: “Do you really know?”
I do not say what I really think out loud. I let it go with a “Hmm.”
That is how drinking parties are.
In the End, That Night Tasted Good
I do not remember exactly what I drank that day.
Was it beer, or happoshu? I also have a feeling that I switched to local shochu, a Japanese distilled drink, partway through.
But that night was fun. That much I remember.
My oldest son was there, my nephews were there, my wife was there, my friends were there. In that shop, we heard “no way” from the back, and we all laughed.
The taste of a drink is probably decided by who you drink with.
Whatever is in the glass, if I can laugh with the person next to me, that is fine.
Whether the label says beer, happoshu, or non-alcoholic beer, it does not matter.
A Good Time Beats an Expensive Drink
Having lived into my 60s, this one thing I believe.
A good time tastes better than an expensive drink.
If I get to drink at that shop again, I am thinking of going with shochu from the start. I lose track of what I am drinking partway through anyway, so I may as well drink what I like from the beginning.
And if someone starts saying beer is good and happoshu is not, I will probably think the same thing inside my head again.
Do you really know that taste?
And without saying it out loud, I will say “Hmm” with a laugh and drink my shochu.
That is probably the best way to drink.
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