Looking Back - Beer Here | Linger in the East

Without wanting to get too personal, beer is a big part of my life, both professionally as purely as an enthusiast. I have had numerous occasions to visit breweries big and small in Belgium, both sections accessible to the public and others usually sealed off for laymen’s eyes. The incredibly variety of beers in Belgium result in a variety of breweries – some specialized in modern brewing techniques, others still working according to decennia old traditions.

BEER IN JAPAN

That variety doesn’t exist in Japan. True, there has been a rise in craft breweries under the influence of American developments, but more than 90% of the Japanese beer market is still controlled by the “big four”: Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo.
The myriad of small breweries and brewpubs mostly show a little bit of inventiveness, but at the same time most don’t venture further than some doubtful replicas of German beer styles. The 4 big ones mainly brew pilsner beers or at least stay very close to it.
But don’t get me wrong: I don’t care whether a brewery is big or small, whether it is corporate, family-owned or run by passionate beer lovers. If the beer is good it is good, if it is not good then it is not. In that sense I can only say that all 4 “big brewers” know how to brew a good lager. Ignore their cheaper brands that are only cheaper because of ingredient and tax reasons; their main brands like Asahi Super Dry, Kirin Ichiban Shibori, Suntory Premium Malt or Sapporo Black Label are top-notch pilsners.

The Kirin factory behind glass.

At Orion Happy Park a brieg stroll in between tanks was possible.

BREWERY VISITS

So for me, visiting breweries is a part of the drinking experience. Because of safety reasons and ISO standards it has unfortunately nearly become impossible to visit breweries. With this I mean it’s impossible to get close to the beer tanks or the bottling plants or any place where the actual work takes place. And so it is that only the big corporate breweries can offer tours of their breweries: with a lot of attention to the history of their brands and all safely behind glass.

During my years in Japan I visited three of such brewing plants. All of these had the same principle: a guided tour by a student worker that starts by introducing the main ingredients of beer, that gives a history lesson of the brand, then focusses on the actual brewery and its capacity. At that time they give you a look at some of the brewing equipment they have – but well understood safely far away and behind glass. At the end of the tour there is usually half an hour of free tasting. If you don’t drink: all of these breweries also produce juices and soft drinks, so your throat will definitely not have to stay dry.

1/ Kirin Ichiban Brewery Tour (Kirin Brewery Kobe/Sanda) (2012/5/12; 2017/3/25)
https://www.kirin.co.jp/entertainment/factory/english/beer/
What I found great about this place was the free shuttle bus shaped in the form of a can of beer!

2/ Suntory Kyoto Brewery (2013/4/14)
https://www.suntory.co.jp/factory/kyoto/
The nearby Suntory Yamazaki Distillery is probably more famous, but Premium Malt’s is Suntory’s best selling beer brand.

3/ Orion Happy Park (2019/8/12)
https://www.orionbeer.co.jp/en/about/happypark.html
The biggest brewery of Okinawa is responsible for the sympathetic Orion brand, but what a lot of people don’t know is that it is part of the biggest player on the Japanese market, Asahi. But does that really matter?
Orion Happy Park lets you see a little bit more of the brewery itself than the other ones listed above.

No, these brewery tours do not excel in originality, and despite some clear differences in taste, all beers are from the same category. So if you’re looking for some truly unique sneak peaks, or some details that you never know about, this might not be your thing.
On the other hand, the breweries offer these tours for free and serve you some of the most decent pilsners , and so you have nothing to lose if you like a good beer.

※None of these tours are conducted in English, but honestly, that shouldn’t be a problem to grasp what is going on.