The gods came together in the heavens and Yona Yona beer started flowing. No really, it did.

Yona Yona began serving its now world-famous ales during Tanabata in 1997. The brewery was originally the vision of its parent company’s president, Hoshino Yoshiharu, who had traveled America and discovered the pleasures of craft beer, specifically ales. Today, Yona Yona is still committed to making only ales. Says CEO Ide Naoyuki, “If you want to make a beer with bold flavor, it’s an ale.”

Yona Yona’s mark on the Japanese craft beer industry is profound. Their classic real ale and associated hand pumps across Japan were a spark of marketing genius that created excitement and were for many a craft beer drinker the gateway drug into this world of higher tastes. Yona Yona also began canning from day one.

Explains Ide, “We wanted to make it easy to drink beer, especially at home. The big beer makers understood. Glass is heavy, it breaks and isn’t so good for the environment. Cans are light and convenient. They don’t take up as much space so supermarkets are more willing to stock them. From the start Yona Yona wanted to be a big company and cans seemed important to that. Unfortunately, we tried to do it ourselves and kept screwing up with cans full of foam. We eventually had to make an enormous investment in a canning machine.”

Smaller breweries can’t afford such equipment. The playing field just doesn’t seem level. But Ide interjects, “Even with the canning machine, it took us eight years to turn a profit! We simply knew that we wanted to make certain beers with certain flavors in a certain way. We were confident we could sell a projected amount and we just kept pushing on.” Yona Yona doesn’t publicly reveal its yearly production volume, but they are likely the top Japanese craft brewery. It wasn’t always that way, of course.

2002 was a bad year. Yona Yona wasn’t selling well. Nobody was. The boom had ended. They tried to get their beer into pubs, but pubs didn’t want it. They got a break when a popular pub in Tokyo starting serving them. The bar was patronized by other pub owners who took note of the new beer, and in that way it spread to other bars. The iconic hand pumps were something new to Japan, and they created a kind of performance for the customer. Drinking Yona Yona became an experience.

Ide, however, downplays the significance of real ale somewhat. “Real ale is still a niche business. Beer maniacs have embraced it, but the mainstream just hasn’t caught up yet.” Ide debunks a rumor that Yona Yona is going to quit producing real ale. “We will not quit real ale. In fact, we’re going to really push it in our new cans.”

They’re also going to push some exciting new styles this year. Hoppy IPAs anyone? Enter Taguchi Shohei.

Yona Yona’s head brewer Taguchi fell for craft in 1999 when he sipped some Anchor Steam. He later read Fritz Maytag’s book and began homebrewing in 2000, dreaming of one day becoming a brewer. Six years later, while working at an outdoor store and campsite in Gunma, a Yona Yona salesman came. Taguchi asked to be hired. He started on the lowest rung, boxing cans while looking wistfully at the brewery. Although denied the chance to brew several times, he persisted in asking and was finally given a chance.

Interestingly, Yona Yona has a pilot system for testing out new brews. It’s perfectly suited for a home brewer, but as Taguchi reveals, “The thinking is different at the brewery level. Consistency is key, whereas in homebrewing the changes are fun.” Taguchi says he is currently interested in trying out a sour mash and is studying how to get beer to better retain hop aroma without using a dry hop. “I want to brew for variation, breathe new life into beer.” He claims to not have any favorite beer but says he respects New Belgium Brewing (Colorado), especially their environmental policy.

Yona Yona’s new goals seem well suited to the emerging market. Remarks Ide, “We want to change Japan’s beer culture. Beer is happiness—that’s our mission. We want to start brewing more styles and have it drunk in more places. We want to make bolder beers and try all kinds of things.” He then drops a stunner. “We’re going to open our own pub in Tokyo later this year.” Taguchi, better get to work on those bold styles!

This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.