Category: Uncategorized
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Thanksgiving in a thankless land
The greatest Thanksgiving celebrated in the worst land. Reminiscence of past Thanksgiving celebrations and realizing my favorite one was in a most unlikely place.
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New Year, New Sake
To start off the new year I tasted a Sake that was picked up when I hiked Mt. Fuji. There is a local superstition that says if you do not hike to the top of Mt. Fuji at least once during your time in Japan you will return. Seeing that this is my third time…
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Baird Brewing Company, Wasabi Japan Pale Ale, Shuzenji, Japan
As my final term paper for school continues along I am getting to the point where I am looking at areas where Japanese craft beer’s exposure can expand. One of the areas I think will help with exposing Japanese Craft Beer is using traditional Japanese ingredients in beer brewing. Japan has a wide variety of…
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Spring Valley Brewery, Kyoto
In 1869 William Copeland, a Norwegian-American living in Japan, started what is believed to be the first beer brewery in Japan. Some 154 years later while vacationing in Kyoto, Japan I visited the Spring Valley Brew Pub. While Spring Valley started as a small brewery through a series of acquisitions and mergers the business is…
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Local Beer Day
Established by Japan Craft Beer Association’s “Jibeer Day Selection Committee” marked by the date of the Beer Purity Law (reinheitsgebot)
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Orion Brewery, Orion The Draft Chiba Cherry Blossom
As most of the northern hemisphere is still in the grips of winter, here in Okinawa spring has sprung. This past week my family and I traveled to the northern end of the island to see the cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms, also called sakura, are the flowers of any number of species of Prunus trees…
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Eleventh Beer of Christmas, Chatan Harbor Brewery, Lager
The Eleventh Beer of Christmas brings us back to Okinawa where we started. Chatan Harbor Brewery started in 2016 and is part of the Terrace Hotel Group in Okinawa. The brewery is located just north of American Village on the west side of the island of Okinawa. American Village is a shopping area just outside…
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Tenth Beer of Christmas, Kizakura Brewery, Kyoto Beer, Golden Ale
As we come to the end of the twelve beers of Christmas we return to the Kizakura Brewery. Like many beer breweries in Japan Kizakura has its foundation as a sake brewery. This beer is even more unique as it has been brewed with koji mold spores that are usually used to brew sake. Koji…
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Ninth Beer of Christmas, Echigo Brewery, Niigata Koshihikari
Today’s beer is made by the Echigo Brewery that I highlighted Flying IPA earlier in the beers of Christmas. This lager is a repackaging of the brewery’s regular line up beer Niigata Koshihikari. The art work on the can highlights the characters or mascots of the towns in Niigata. In the Japanese culture there is…
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Eighth Day of Christmas, Baren Brewery, Coral Island Sunset Lager
The Eighth Day of Christmas Beer celebrates the 10 year anniversary as Friendship Cities of Morioka and Uruma. The Baren Brewery is located in Iwate Prefecture where Morioka City is located. If Japan is viewed as a Dragon with Hokkaido being the head facing into the Pacific, Morioka is located in the dragon’s neck. Uruma…
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Sixth Day of Christmas, Coedo Brewery, Shikkoku, Black Lager
This Beer of Christmas has its roots in a produce company which started in 1975. Kyodoshoji Corp was looking for ways to reduce waste the company looked to make “low malt beer” from excess produce. In 1996 the company received their happoshu license which allowed them to make alcohol with little or no malt. In…
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Fifth Day of Christmas, Kizakura Brewery, Kyoto Beer, Brown Ale.
Kizakura Brewery takes its name from a cherry tree variety that blooms later than others and has a yellow flower. This is different from other cherry blossoms which bloom white or light pink in the spring. Kizakura Brewery produces several lines of beverages. These are Lucky Brew, Kizakura Sake, Yuzu High-Ball, and Kyoto Beer. In…
Luke Pernotto 