When cold beer isn't enough, now it's frozen

Japan's Kirin Brewery has launched its new beverage in LA. It says the slushie-topped brew stays frosty for 30 minutes.

Just in time for summer's last hurrah, or maybe the season's final set of heat waves, comes an answer to many a beer drinker's prayer: a really cold, frosty brew.

And when we say cold, we mean frozen. Japan's Kirin Brewery, a part of Kirin Holdings (KNBWF +0.76%), has unleashed upon the world its latest invention, Kirin Ichiban Frozen Beer. The draft beer is served via what looks like a converted frozen margarita or slushie machine, and according to a company press release is "topped with a 23°F frozen beer foam that keeps the beer chilled for 30 minutes."

The frozen beer is currently available at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, as well as some "select restaurants and bars" elsewhere in the city. Kirin officials said they brought the beverage across the Pacific after it became a big hit in Japan.

"After test-launches in Honolulu and Orlando and overwhelmingly positive feedback, Kirin Ichiban Frozen Beer is ready for a larger presence in the U.S.," Randy Higa, president of Kirin Brewery of America, burbled in the press release. "We couldn't think of a better place for this beer to make its California debut than sunny Los Angeles."

Along with La-La Land, Kirin also has plans to launch its frozen beer at locations in Honolulu, New York and at the Japan Pavilion of Walt Disney (DIS -0.41%) World's Epcot theme park in Orlando, Fla.

But how does it taste? According to a review in the FoodBeast blog, frozen beer "doesn’t taste like much of anything really," although the frozen-yogurt-consistency of the foam did indeed keep the reviewer's beer chilled for a half hour, or a few innings, on a hot day at Dodger Stadium. And FoodBeast noted the 16-ounce beer slushies retailed "at the inflated you’re-stuck-at-a-sports-game price of $10, but may vary at other locations."

The Zagat restaurant rating guide also weighed in on the new Kirin product. "The foam is a lot stiffer than you'd expect," wrote reviewer Lesley Balla, "and the best way to get around it, we found, was to poke a hole in it, even if we still got foam on our nose."