(Photo: hop harvest; care of Crosby Hop Farm, LLC) This article was originally published in JBT #32, the autumn 2017 edition. If you’re drinking a Japanese wet hop ale as you read this, consider yourself one of the lucky few. They are quite uncommon in Japan, and the breweries making them do a very respectable…

A growing handful of Japan’s roughly 400 craft breweries are using locally grown or brewery-grown hops, albeit usually in quite limited amounts. Japan just isn’t a large producer of hops, with the vast majority being imported. There is no doubt that sourcing raw materials locally goes far in mobilizing residents around a brewery here. It’s…

(photos & text by Brian Kowalczyk) The island of Itsukushima is a special place. It’s wholly protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to what is likely the most well-known symbol of Japan after Mount Fuji: Itsukushima Shrine. Simply doing a photo search on Google for “Japan” will turn up multiple pictures of the…

by Ry Beville Los Angeles is a city many associate with dreams coming true. Maybe that’s because it’s home to Hollywood, ground zero for the making of many an American fairytale of fame and success. For what it’s worth, many have found their way in America’s second-largest city, not just actors and actresses. Small towns…

India pale ales (IPAs) are the first beer style most people associate with the craft beer movement that has swept through America and many other beer-loving countries around the world. But lagers have played an influential role, too, and are still popular even if they don’t attract the same attention. In particular, Brooklyn Brewery’s flagship…