HOPPY, the "beer-like", purine-free drink - ホッピー
Hey guys!
スポンサーリンク
Any of you saw a poster that looks like this at restaurants or Izakayas in Japan,
and wondered what this drink was? (Sorry, this was the best picture I could find. lol)
Well, that's the drink I'm gonna introduce today.
It's called HOPPY, and it's a beer-like, purine-free drink!
Many Japanese people, especially middle-aged men has gout from drinking beer
and eating fish eggs, like Ikura and Mentaiko. Fish eggs contains a lot of purines,
and Japanese people eats a lot of them. This is probably the most common reason
that causes gout to Japanese people.
A lot of Japanese people that has gout switches from beer to HOPPY
after the first symptom because they don't want their gouts to get worse,
but they still want to drink something that tastes like beer.
There are also some people that chooses HOPPY instead of beer
to avoid gouts.
There are two kinds of HOPPY, the white (HOPPY Set Shiro), and black (HOPPY Set Kuro).
A lot of places has both kinds, but there are some places that only has one of them.
Personally, I like the black HOPPY better than the white. It tastes more like a beer.
Okay, now, let me show you how to make HOPPY!
First, you order which kind of HOPPY you want, and the staff brings your set usually like this,
with an HOPPY bottle, a glass with Shochu, and a muddler.
Then, you pour your HOPPY into the glass with Shochu, and stir with the muddler.
If your set did not come with a muddler, you could ask for it, or you can just
use your chopsticks. lol
This is it! This is how you make HOPPY.
There are some really generous stores that pours A LOT of Shochu into your glass
without even asking, that your HOPPY is enough for you to have refill Shochu 3 times!
My husband and I determines if the place we went was good or bad by looking at
how much Sochu they give us when we ordered HOPPY. lol
If you've never tried HOPPY before, you should the next time you see it on the menu.
You might like it!
Well, that's it for today.
Thanks for reading!! :D
