Fuji to Hood: A Japan/Portland Beer Collaboration Brewfest

Here’s an event which should appeal to Portland Japanophiles and beer lovers, neither of which there is a shortage.

On April 21, Fuji to Hood will be held from 12 noon to 4pm in The Bindery Annex building in Portland. Ten beers and one cider, all collaborations between Portland-based breweries and Japanese brewers. Each was brewed using one or more Japanese ingredients --some fairly commonplace, and some quite unusual (indigo beer anyone? How about a shiso brew?)

A ticket costs $25, and includes one Fuji to Hood event glass and 12 drink tickets. .

Here are the brewers, the collaboration beers, and the special ingredients used:

Breakside Brewery / Far Yeast Brewing

Sweet Osmanthus Saison

(kinmokusei flowers)

5.9%  / 25 IBU

Burnside Brewing Co. / Yokosuka Brewing

“Who’s Umami?”

(shiitake powder)

5.8%  /  21 IBU

Cascade Brewing / Y.Market Brewing

Shiso Sour Red Basil Ale

(fermented red shiso leaves)

7.5% / 9 IBU

Culmination Brewing  /  Ise Kadoya Brewing

Oishi Nashi

(yeast from a tree at Ise Shrine and Asian Pear juice)

4.8%

Ecliptic Brewing  /  Heiwa Shuzou

Shi Shi Saison

(sansho and yuzu peel)

6.8%  /  IBU 20

Ex Novo Brewing  /  Rise & Win

Going Postal Citrus Sour

(yoko citrus and indigo leaves

5.4%  /  IBU 46

 

quite a color to this one! Maybe there's no SRM label for it.

Gigantic Brewing  /  Harvest Moon Brewing

Oni Kawaii

(black rice and marionberries)

4.2%

Hopworks Urban Brewery  /  Nihonbashi Brewing

Hinoki Lager

(sake kasu and Japanese cypress chips)

5%

Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider  /  Son of the Smith Hard Cider

Yaoyorozu, aka 8 Million

(Nagano wild yeast and Nagano apple blossom honey)

6.8%

Upright Brewing  /  Kyoto Brewing Company

Pacific Herbs

(rice, sansho, mikan peel, and shiso leaf)

4.4%

Widmer Brothers Brewing  /  Spring Valley Brewing

Sudachi Ace

(sudachi and kabosu)

2%

https://fujitohood.com/

https://www.facebook.com/fujitohood/

京都醸造株式会社 / Kyoto Brewing Company: Among the Top 10 New Breweries in the World

,Here's some news:

The RateBeer awards for 2016 have been announced.

Our friend, KL, is attending the annual RateBeer Best event in Santa Rosa, CA, and he quickly let us know that Kyoto Brewing Company was selected as one of the top 10 new breweries in the world. Number eight, to be exact. And that is out of over 5,400 breweries whose beers started receiving ratings from the 4th quarter of 2014.

http://www.ratebeer.com/ratebeerbest/newbrewers_012016.asp

Kyoto Brewing opened for business in the early part of 2015, and they began producing great Belgian-inspired (actually, American- and Belgian-inspired) ales right out of the gate.

We have known the lead brewer, Chris Hainge, for several years, following his progress first as a homebrewer and then as a professional brewer. 

Have a look at their website: http://kyotobrewing.com/

You can also follow what they are doing, including news of events and beer releases, on their Facebook page.

Congratulations to Chris, Paul, and Ben!

Kirin Beer Buys Into Yo-Ho Brewing

According to an article in Nikkei Asian Review, Karuizawa-based Yo-Ho Brewing Company has agreed to sell a 30% stake to Kirin Beer, one of Japan’s four major brewing companies.

Yo-Ho will benefit from Kirin’s distribution network, while Kirin will gain from the ever-increasing sales by Yo-Ho, which is Japan’s largest craft beer maker.

Kirin’s business has been in dismal shape of late; the company has even been surpassed in sales by Suntory Holdings. On the other hand, Kirin’s main rival, Asahi Group Holdings, has made net profits 13 years in a row.

Yo-Ho will retain control of management and (we hope) of production processes as well.

Several craft beer makers in the US and Europe have sold part of their holdings to major brewing groups, and quality seems not to have suffered.

 

Yo-Ho produces several beers, including its flagship Yona Yona Pale Ale, Aooni (IPA), Tokyo Black Porter, and Suiyobi no Neko (Belgian White), most of which are widely available in convenience stores throughout Japan.

Some craft beer fans, including me, do feel that the overall quality of Yo-Ho’s beers has declined over the past couple of years. This could be due to control problems from expanded production or, more likely, from less care of the finished product during distribution and storage. How often have you spotted cases of beer sitting on the backs of trucks in the sun or stacked up in liquor store display windows?

 

We shall see if this new hook-up helps or hinders either or both companies.

Here is a link to more information (in Japanese) on Yo-Ho's website:

キリンビール社との業務提携契約 および資本提携契約締結について

and on Kirin's website:

ヤッホーブルーイング社とキリンビール社の業務提携契約

および資本提携契約締結について