There is a major misunderstanding that I would like to clarify before all iCommoners descend upon Sapporo for this year's iSummit. That misunderstanding is that Sapporo Beer is the only beer in town. Of course, we can't deny that Sapporo Beer is tasty (especially after a hard day of work); however, we are in the process of making the best beer ever with the help of our friends at Free Beer and Sapporo's own Canadian Brewery.

Don't get too excited - the beer isn't free as in "it won't cost money," but the recipe for the Free Beer has been published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence so that we are all free to make or create a derivative beer. What will make our Free Beer the best beer ever? Well, it is a secret that I am held to by samurai code. So, you will have to come to Sapporo to find out. Our Free Beer will be served (for free) at the Kick Off event and at the Mayor's Reception. In addition, you can purchase the Free Beer all day long at the iSummit and also during the excursion to Moerenuma Park (let's make this a 4-day summit that none of us will remember...all for the purpose of supporting the Free Beer concept, right?!?!)

Japan is a country that loves its beer. Even if you are a fan of Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin or any of the other major brands, there is something great about a beer that is brewed locally. Don't let the name "Canadian Brewery" fool you. It is one of Sapporo's finest microbreweries and will be making the iSummit Free Beer for us. These guys really know what they are doing. At the Japan Asia Draft Beer Cup 2008, they won a Gold Medal for their "India Pale Ale (I.P.A.)" in the American Ale Category and a Silver Metal for their "Coliander Black" ale in the Flavor Ale Category. I hope that you are looking forward to tasting their Free Beer as much as I am!

Lucky for us, the annual Beer Garden event will be held in Odori Park during the time when the iSummit is going on. To give you an idea of just how big and crazy the Beer Garden event is, just imagine that last year 574,842 liters of beer (equal to 1,149,684 jugs of beer) were consumed over a period of 20 days by approximately 523,00 people! Odori Park is just a few blocks away from the Grand Hotel; so, it might be worth a night out!

Today's Japanese Language Lesson

The one word that all iCommoners must learn before arriving in Japan (Note--you will be tested) is "cheers" in Japanese. So, can we all try saying KAMPAI? The pronunciation is "com" as in "commons" and "pie" as in "blueberry pie."

Pictures: FREE BEER, by AGoK on , CC BY 2.0 and scenes from inside the Canadian Brewery, courtesy of Canadian Brewery.