Tag: Japan Beer
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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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Seventh Day of Christmas, Yo-Ho Brewing Company, Tokyo Black, Porter
The seventh day of christmas beers takes us back to a previous brewery. Yo-Ho Brewing has produced an English Porter that is just as much to style as the earlier Yona Yona Pale Ale. Earthy bitter hop aroma on the nose. Spicy hop aroma with a slight pine resinous scent. Really the smell if you…
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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…
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Fourth Day of Christmas, Karuizawa Brewery, The Karuizawa Beer, Clear
The Karuizawa Brewery takes its name from Karuizawa Japan. This mountainous region in Nagano Prefecture has long been a summer retreat area for the Japanese to escape the summer heat. Situated at the base of Mount Asame the cool temperatures have welcomed those that are trying to escape the summer heat. In 2011 the brewery…
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Second Day of Christmas, Yo-Ho Brewing Company, Yona Yona Ale
Yo-Ho Brewing company is located in Karuizawa Nagano, Japan. A relatively young brewery having been founded in 1996 Keiji Hoshino. His goal was to produce more of an American style craft beer instead of the German style beers that dominated the Japanese Market. Since then they have produced several fantastic beers that are very much…
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Dry Hopped Zwickl, Collaboration between Bitburger (Germany) and Deschutes (US) Breweries, Kellerbier, 4.9%ABV.
A collaboration beer is the result of two breweries working together to produce a single beer. This is seen as an opportunity for breweries to expand their fan base by tapping into the customers of the partnered brewery. This beer is one of those collaborations. Bitburger from Germany and Deschutes from Bend Oregon, USA. This…
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Star Wars Day; Kirishima Beer, Stout, Kirishima Shuzo Co.
This week is Golden Week in Japan. This is a series of holidays that all fall within a weeks time. They are Showa Day, Constitutional Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day. Because of the close proximity of these holidays this is the big travel and holiday time for many in the country. Today, May…
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Helios Brewery, Santa Beer, Christmas Beer, 7% ABV
As spring approaches here in Japan cleaning our house has taken center stage as we say goodbye to winter. As I was cleaning the refrigerator I found a beer hiding in the back behind the well expired left overs that were starting to take on the features of a misguided science experiment. During Christmas I…
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Beer & Book Review: Craft Beer in Japan, English, Mark Meli, 2013
Unlike many of the books on my shelf I can tell you exactly where I was when I bought this book and I even had a chance encounter with the author, although at a separate location and time. I met the author Mark at Koyoto Brewing Company. He was one of the few westerners at…
Luke Pernotto 