Move over candy cigarettes. The drink is called Kodomo-no nominomo, literally translated as "children's drink. Here on this happy beer bottle is a happy picture of a little boy or girl holding a full brew with a nice foamy head. But don't worry, there is no real alcohol in this beer, instead it is full of Guarana and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)! How many other countries would you find a non alcoholic caffeinated beer aimed solely at children gaining popularity. This is from the same country as THIS (Not Entirely SFW). I can't wait until next week, when the caffeinated candy Naruto Crack Pipe goes into supermarkets!

This is the copy translated from their website:
"Moms and Dads toast, but children want to participate too!. Children love to toast. Mom and Dad get to experience such feelings, kids should too, right? Perfect for birthday parties and the Party season, the Cherry Blossoms at the Festival, an outdoor barbecue. The Toast is filled with opportunity. Let's let the children toast too!"

Taste: 8
Fortunately, this did not taste like a beer, although it looked exactly like one when I poured it into a glass. There was a big frothy head and had the color of a nice thick beer. It tasted of green apples, and had a very nice soda flavor. I was actually hoping this would taste bad enough that kids wouldn't touch it (remember how nasty candy cigarettes actually tasted? they were like those horrible party mints in a slightly more pleasing shape), but no, it tastes like a great apple pop.
Nutrition: 5
This is some interesting foamy soda, sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup AND Sugar. The third ingredient is Guarana Extract. Although how much caffeine is in this drink is unknown, my taste and caffeine sensitivity would put it at about 50-60mg for the bottle. There is Alginic Acid as a thickener, and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) as a very unusual drink preservative.

Packaging:8 or 2 depending on your level of offense.
There is either a cute little boy or cute little girl illustration on the beer bottle, both hearkening back to a bygone era when it was perfectly acceptable for kids to swill beer. My guess from the art that it was around 1930-40. It is a very beautiful bottle, and the nostalgic use of text, imagery and info is very beautiful. There was website info and nutrient information aplenty. MY only (non-moral) problem with this is the lack of caffeine information. If your kid is all about the pilsner but and IBC Root Beer is too tame, this pretty can is going to be right up your future alcoholic kid's alley.

A great review of this is on my friend Gil's site