Japan's Craft Brew Industry

The fact that the self-proclaimed King of Beers, Budweiser, lost market share last year can be directly attributed to the rise in popularity of craft beers in the US.  Indeed, craft beers have been gaining momentum over the last decade as consumers look for more flavorful beer on a more local level.

While it's not fair to say that this phenomenon is global, I can say that it certainly seems to have planted its roots in Japan.  Admittedly, the amount of craft beer in Japan is way behind the US, however, the quality is quite competitive.  Case in point, at last month's 2010 World Beer Cup held in Boulder, Co. Baird's Brewing Company from Numazu, Japan tied for the most gold's with 3:

• Numazu Lager – American-Style Amber
• Country Girl Kabocha Ale – Specialty Beer 
• Saison Sayuri – Belgian- and French-Style Ale

That is no small feat considering the competition included 642 brewers from 44 countries and 47 states offering 3,330 entries for 90 beer categories.  My wife and I were lucky enough to visit Numazu back in March for my birthday with the sole purpose of satisfying our craving for delicious craft brews. You can imagine from the 3 gold medals, we weren't disappointed!

This experience did something a little unexpected.  It helped to plug us into a neat little pipeline of brewers beginning to pop up all over Japan and growing in strength and ingenuity.  For years, craft brewing in Japan was discouraged due to some archaic laws banning home brewing.  However, these laws were relaxed over the last decade, and beer entrepreneurs have begun taken hold.

Our experience at Baird's in Numazu led us to another strong brewer in Ise, Japan (Ise Kadoya), where we visited last month on a day trip.  We met the owner himself, who has traveled extensively in the US over the past few years to learn from masters of the craft beer art there - Dogfish and Stone to name a few.  Because of our efforts in searching for a decent IPA, he rewarded us with a bottle of his own IPA from his personal stash.  It was delicious both for the flavor that included 10 varieties of hops and for the fond memories of meeting the brewer!

The more we dig in, the more we begin to find that there are several craft breweries making headway in Japan.  There's even a new publishing started by some of the brewers encouraging the industry's growth and communication.  It even included a listing of all the craft breweries and their locations currently in Japan.  These craft beers haven't quite found their way to the mainstream market, or the grocer's shelves, but isn't that what craft beers are supposed to be about?  It's about the unique flavor from each individual brewer or region.  I only wish we had more time to search out some of the other brewers!  For now, though, I will relish the memories of Baird and Ise Kadoya.  Who knows?  Maybe with Baird's success in the World Cup of Beers last month, it may soon be available in America!!