Asahi - what makes a good work xmas party?

I've been in plenty of work Xmas do's in my time but last night was a ripper due to the one thing it didn't have...

...the long winded boring speeches.
Not even one.

None of this. Thank god.

Nothing kills Xmas festivities quicker than a stop down from management and a highlight reel of everything that's gone on during the year. No embarrassing made up awards, no visions towards what we need to achieve next year as a group, no talk about how much money sales has made (protip: we all know about commissions and if you're not earning one, you don't need to be reminded of the people who are making more money than you.)
There was one particular year when the boss attempted to get two people who didn't want to go anywhere near the dance floor to do an awkward dance together.
I still cringe thinking of it today.

Last night's work do ticked many boxes:
- Pre event drinks on the company credit card. In my case 3 relaxing schooners of Lazy Yak. It's delicious and I look forward to reviewing it properly in the future.
- Lots of food. Tonnes of the stuff. From countless chicken sticks on the boat to a full carvery and Mexican diy setup. Fill yourself silly on succulent roast pork? Be our guest.
- A location that people enjoyed going to. You wouldn't find a single person there last night who said 'oh god, not this island..'
- Okay the beer selection at our destination wasn't great (Corona's or light beer) but they were chilled. - No speeches. So refreshing.
- Plenty to do at your destination so you don't get bored out of your skull waiting to go home. There was table tennis, a dance floor, a bar, plenty of seats, pumping music, hell even a rope swing. I commentated some boat race drinking games, I flunked out on the table tennis table, I ended up swinging upside down. Glorious.

So it was a great night and coupled with a busy weekend so far (I bought some altcoins for my first step towards becoming a gabillionaire, caught up with the brother in law, took the kids to a party and didn't get much sleep) I finally took a couple of minutes to pour out an Asahi and reflect on all the recent fun. So would the Soukai's crisp father trump up more points than it's soapy feeling child? Let's find out:



So what am I smelling here?: A metallic tinge which overpowers everything else.

Initial thoughts: Nice looking head that runs off into the ether mighty quick. The super dry part on the label is not a misprint, it's completely dry with a cape and power ring on. Crisp when chilled it's got a very dry bready decent finish on it and my god am I craving a dirty great bowl of teriyaki chicken or pork gyoza to go with it. It's not bad by itself but it would really match some delicious Japanese cuisine.

Overall: With more flavors the original is better than the Soukai version but as a standalone beer for an afternoon reflection session, I'd choose something else. When out at a nice Japanese restaurant however, this would be the bee's knees.

 3.5 out of 5 successful work Xmas parties.