Posted on 01/16/2021 11:12:09 PM PST by nickcarraway
It was a sad day for beer lovers across Japan on Jan 8, when Sapporo Breweries put the lid on an exclusive new brew release just four days before it was due to go on sale.
According to the company, the new beer, called Kaitakushi Beer Tailored, used the same traditional manufacturing methods as Japan’s first beer factory, Kaitakushi Brewery, founded in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1897, and was set to be sold exclusively at FamilyMart convenience stores around the country on Jan 12.
However, the beer’s release was pulled from sale before even making it to stores, and the problem wasn’t connected to the beer itself but the cans they were packaged in, as they were found to contain a spelling mistake on the label.
▼ The cans had “Lagar” instead of “Lager” printed on them.
Sapporo decided this was an error that warranted cancellation of the new release, issuing a statement of apology that read: “Due to incorrect spelling found in a section of the Kaitakushi Beer Tailored product design, we have decided to discontinue sales. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to customers.”
However, customers were quick to let the company know on social media that they didn’t care about the spelling error – they just wanted to taste the beer they’d been waiting so long for. Others expressed concerns about unnecessary wastage, wondering what would happen to the product, given that it was likely to be canned and ready to go out to stores by the time the mistake was discovered.
As it turns out, Sapporo and Family Mart were carefully listening to their customers, as the companies sent out the following statement today: “On Jan 13, we cancelled the decision to suspend sales and would like to inform you that the product will now go on sale on Feb 2. We would like to thank you for your warm opinions and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to so many customers due to the policy change.”
They also explained the reason for the decision to go ahead with the launch, albeit now slightly delayed, saying: “We announced on Jan 8 that we would cancel sales due to a spelling error in a part of the design on this product. However, following the announcement, people voiced concerns about what would happen to the product and a large number of people expressed their desire for it to go on sale. Therefore, after careful consideration by both companies [Sapporo and FamilyMart] we took the opinions of our customers seriously and decided to revoke the decision to cancel sales.”
Both companies made it clear that the cans would be going on sale with the incorrectly spelt “Lagar” printed on them, while reminding customers that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the quality or ingredients of the beer inside the cans.
Needless to say, customers were thrilled with the announcement, peppering Twitter with celebratory emojis and comments like:
“Thank you, Sapporo! I’d been looking forward to this so I’m thrilled!”
“No need to apologize–these cans will become rare collectors’ items!”
“I don’t usually drink beer but I’ll be making an exception for this one!”
“I’m so glad the beer isn’t being wasted! I’ll definitely be buying them!”
“A happy result for everyone involved! Cheers to Sapporo!”
With so many businesses, and customers, doing it tough these days during the pandemic, it really is nice to see this story of a beer in limbo wrap up with a happy ending. With all the attention surrounding the new beer, it’s likely to become one of Sapporo’s quickest-selling limited-edition releases, though, so keep your eyes peeled for it at your nearest FamilyMart from Feb 2, where it will be available in 350-milliliter and 500-milliliter cans for 219 yen and 286 yen respectively.
All fermented beverages are equal: Lagar, Cidar, AAles, Stoats, Wane, Whiskay, etc.
...And they get sued for mis-labelling.
How do we know they read the instructions on how to make beer correctly if they can’t get such a small detail correct?
alcohol bureaus don’t like that
I’m sure they use rice as an adjunct grain. That means headaches for me if I drank it.
Same is true for Budweiser.
Great, now I want a Case.
Hysterical! Thanks, I needed a good laugh!
Poof reading is your fiend!
For those hoping to make a killing on this “rare” beer can variant, keep this in mind...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld_invert
A sheet of stamps with one color inverted slipped out, and once discovered, the USPS issued a huge number of stamps deliberately misprinted with the same error. The “rare” stamp is basically worthless now.
I see a collector’s item!
Dag Hammarskjold? Wasn’t he the Secretary general of the N.U.?
I remember when "Creap" came out. It was a clone of the American product "Pream" - which stood for "Powdered Cream". So some Japanese company stole the idea, and decided it'd be a great idea to call it "Creap" for "Cream Powder".
Another product - a drink concentrate that has no equivalent in the States - was "Calpis".
And can you imagine an American company naming a brand of soap like this? ---
Apparently they try to be apolitical by offering both a Red and Blue packaged version!
But the all-time snicker-inducing product name was a brand of milk, where the name was shortened from the word "Homogenized" ----
And though I’ve never seen a photo of this, an author swore he saw dosage directions on a bottle of medicine that said something like: “For symptoms of [........] take one pill every 12 hours until passing away”.
Yes. The stamp was issued in his honor after he died in a plane crash, sort of like what happened to Ron Brown.
Classics!
Spellbinding.
Sapporo makes a mighty fine beer. Also, they put out seasonal products for a limited time and often they are never seen again. A Winter’s Tale was awesome, as was Seven Stars, a beer with a 7% alcohol content.
The non-sensical signs have always been wonderful! The product of using English as a graphic image.
It is still called homo milk up in Canada.
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