Sake and whiskey might be the international pinups of the Japanese alcohol world, but beer is the local favorite. It is by far the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the country, making up 31 percent of all alcohol consumed yearly in Japan, according to a 2013 report by the National Tax Agency.

Beer was introduced to Japan in the 17th century by Dutch merchants, but local brewers didn't start producing it themselves until the early 19th century. Since then, the market has been dominated by three mega-breweries: Sapporo, Kirin and Asahi. All three produce nonconfrontational lager-style brews. They're thin on the palate and easily consumed — it's a style of beer local drinkers have become accustomed to.

Microbreweries that offered alternatives only sprung up after 1994, when the government relaxed taxation laws and restrictions on the lower limit of beer production. A single brewery was required to produce 2 million liters of beer each year, but after changes to the law they could legally produce as little as 60,000 liters.