At the final competition of the 2013 Asia Beer Cup, held in Tokyo, the judges selected Blue Nile--a happoshu (beer-like sparkling alcoholic beverage) developed jointly by Kyoto University, Waseda University and Kizakura Co. Ltd.-- for a bronze medal in the flavored beer category of the bottled/canned beer division.
Held annually since 1998 by the Japan Craft Beer Association and the Beer Taster Nonprofit Organization, the Asia Beer Cup is a competition of beer and beer-like beverages. This year, 165 brands of forty-nine breweries from six countries (Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam) entered the competition.
A happoshu product, Blue Nile was launched in 2007 as the second product in the Nile series. Using durum wheat (a species grown in ancient Egypt related to emmer wheat) and malt as primary ingredients, it contains as secondary ingredients delicately balanced proportions of yuzu (a citron native to East Asia particularly common in Japan) and coriander (a spice native to the eastern Mediterranean region). Blue Nile has been very well received as a beer-like beverage with its pleasant, fresh aroma and taste created by the three civilizations of ancient Egypt, the Mediterranean world, and Japan. To date, about 93,000 bottles of Blue Nile have been shipped.
Note
Happoshu
Based on the classification of happoshu by the Liquor Tax Act, Blue Nile is classified as a happoshu, not beer--despite containing more than 78% malt--because yuzu and coriander are added as undesignated secondary ingredients.