Craft Beer in Japan!

My extensive research is finally starting to pay off ladies and gentlemen as I have stumbled upon some Japanese craft beers. It was 5:45AM and I was just trying to find some caffeine at the local 7-11…apparently where I’m spending the most of my time in Japan. While wiping the sleep from my eyes, I stumbled upon some craft beers tucked away in a fridge in the back. Like a man in the middle of the Sahara hallucinating he sees water, a drunken traveler thought his eyes were simply playing a trick…craft beer…in Japan? Alas it was no trick, it’s real! Now, a little history.

Japan had some of the harshest brewing laws you’d find this side of the Pacific. In fact, making craft beer was flat out illegal until 1994 when Japan pulled its head out of its ass and was tired of drinking rice beer. Deregulation has lead to a boom in craft brewing in Japan and everyone from Kirin to the locals are trying to strike while the iron is hot. Leave the rice for sushi, grab some hops and let’s roll. Yo-Ho is no exception. The brewery started as a subsidiary for a resort company however with the deregulation on craft breweries, they’ve moved production to the mountains of Karuizawa (Google it and be blown away) and haven’t looked back since. They were named “Brewery of the Year” in Japan in 2010. As my man Walter Sobchak would say, not exactly a lightweight.

First casualty was the For You and Me from Yo-Ho Brewing. A farmhouse style saison. You may hear that term thrown around but a farmhouse saison is really nothing more than a Belgian style ale with a bit of hoppiness and additional spice added to it (it’s much more complicated than that of course). The spices added to the brew can be a variety of things. In this case, Yo-Ho doesn’t take too many chances. It is your standard saison. Slight scents of cloves and bananas with that slight touch of hoppiness. Medium bodied and refreshing. The saison is one of the more perfect beers for fall and on this rainy ass day in Japan, it really hits the spot. Shout out to my friend Suzie for the “Sorrey” sticker. Humble brag.

Next up we have the Suiyoubi No Neko or “Cat on Wednesday” according to Google Translate. Also from Yo-Ho. Exactly what you’d expect a Japanese beer to be called. Just take a look at the can.

This particular gem is a Belgian White Ale. The beer has that classic White Ale smell of bananas and a hint of bubblegum. I’m a sucker for Hefeweizens because I studied abroad in Germany so I’m cultured and shit. But if you handed me a can of beer and said this is a Japanese Belgian style White…well I’d just expect the worst. What do Japanese brewers know about Belgian Whites? I thought they only do lagers…well…think again! While I don’t think this beer could stand up to the likes of an Alagash Tripel (snob!), it is definitely a step in the right direction. Goodbye rice lagers and hello Belgian ales!

Grand Kirin IPA – like Anheuser is doing in the states, Kirin is trying to establish itself in the craft market. However unlike Anheuser, Kirin is marketing its own craft-styled beers. I didn’t bother looking at what people are saying about it online because I feel it would only get slaughtered online. I can imagine if Bud released a “Budweiser IPA”. People would dump on that quicker than the video of Trump tossing Bounty rolls to hapless folk in Puerto Rico. “The only power you need is a little elbow grease using Bounty!”. Stick to beer, Bailey. Right, so the Kirin IPA isn’t half bad. Kirin rolled out its IPA in 2012 as a way to jump on the craft beer bandwagon which was gained steam in Japan. It’s awesome to see. I mean if I could sell all my shit, wear a kimono with socks and flip flops, and make beer then I’d be set for life. The beer is quite hoppy with hints of citrus. I thought the beer had a nice finish wasn’t overly hoppy on the backend.

Overall, today was a big step forward with my beer research. I feel like I’m only scratching the surface and I can’t wait to see what is underneath these layers. Next up, we have a sake brewery tour in Kanazawa. Cheers!