I’ve tried my share of Happoshu and Happosei in my time and after trial and error have finally found one that I can live with. Sapporo’s Mugi To Hop Aka (麦とホップ赤, “Barley and Hops -Red) is the middle ground between its dark (kuro) variety and its standard happosei. A medium hue with a decent robust taste, this 5% alcohol not quite fully beer/liqueur  checks all my boxes: cheap, drinkable, made by Sapporo.