I love fresh pilsner. Most Japanese have ample opportunity to drink major brand pilsners– it’s a part of life here. But if you peruse a book about beer, you’ll notice pilsners are actually divided into subcategories. There’s one brewery in Japan that’s making three of the styles at an elite level: Ushiku Brewery.
As the brewery’s name suggests, it’s located in Ibaraki Prefecture’s Ushiku City, inside Chateau Kamiya. The brewery is a division of alcohol producer Gôdô Shusei, one of eleven companies under the umbrella of Oenon Holdings, Inc. Other companies in the Oenon Holdings group are actually involved in a wide variety of alcohol production, from shochu and sake to wine and liqueurs.
That a company like this branched into craft beer shouldn’t seem so strange. The three staff members responsible for shochu production and development, as well as sake production, were dispatched to Germany, where all their equipment originated, to learn how to brew beer. Their training lasted 140 days, involving practical production work at breweries large and small, and courses at the world-famous brewing academy Doemens. Thereafter, they traveled to neighboring Czech republic, Austria and Belgium to observe brewpub operation. With that experience under their belts, they applied for and received their brewery license in July of 1996. Chateau Kamiya added new beer brewing equipment to their existing winery and restaurant in what resulted in a complete renovation for the establishment. Once production commenced, they officially became the first craft brewery to open in Ibaraki Prefecture.
The original line-up when the brewery opened included Helles, Dunkel, Braumeister Original (a dortmunder) as well as some seasonals. The brewery’s main beers since have remained German-style, with the exception of a stout. The brewery’s Helles has only gotten better over time. The subtle, never-cloying malt sweetness is its prominent characteristic, with a balanced bitterness on the finish. Their Dunkel, likewise, is more aromatic than most in the category, offering malt flavor that doesn’t grow old. Braumeister is more bitter than the Helles and has quite a bite to it. All have light, creamy carbonation, making them quite sessionable.
Like most breweries of the late 1990s, their restaurant filled with giddy guests after their opening. Things would settle down some, but with roughly 400,000 visitors coming to Chateau Kamiya yearly, they didn’t experience the precipitous decline in guests following the collapse of the early ji-beer boom.
Chateau Kamiya was established in 1903 through the auspices of Kamiya Denbei, known primarily for launching the famous Kamiya Bar in Asakusa where guests could drink his iconic Denki Bran brandy. As the Chateau of the name suggests, it got its start as a winery, complete with vineyard, but Denbei was considering beer production, too. From 1873 Denbei worked for many years in Yokohama where we know he probably had a taste of beer from Spring Valley Brewery, which later evolved into Kirin Beer. It seems Denbei wanted to brew a Tonbo (dragonfly) Beer. While he was never able to realize his ambition, the actual label for the beer is on display in the archival museum of Ishikawa Shuzo, makers of the “Tama no Megumi” brand of beer.
Current head brewer Kakui Tomoyuki studied biotechnology in college and joined the company in 1999, having previously taken a liking to alcoholic beverages. He was assigned, however, to a research division for enzymatic pharmaceutical products, and worked for years thereafter as a researcher engaged in the study and development of reagents for the screening of colorectal cancer. All the while he took greater interest in the craft beer produced elsewhere in the company and began actively pursuing the endeavor first by volunteering at beer festivals. He eventually made his desire for a transfer known and became a brewer at Ushiku Brewery in 2004.
“Our ‘Pilsner’ has an herb-like aroma from the hops that asserts itself like no other, while the ‘Braumeister’ has achieved superior balance,” says Kakui with an admiration harbored for the beers since before he ever joined the brewery division. Their quality, in fact, made him want to be a part of it.
The timing of Kakui’s move was good, too, with Chateau Kamiya expanding the taps in their restaurant from four to eight. Kakui had tasted a variety of styles from his days at beer festivals, prompting him to suggest that they make styles of beer beyond their German ones. Their first was an American Pale Ale. Beer at the time that used Cascade hops was still relatively rare in Japan, and Kakui, who had been attracted to that fresh aroma, had always thought to one day make such a beer. He continued to make beers outside the German tradition on the heels of that, and currently produces roughly thirty varieties of such beer a year. When regulars come to drink, there’s almost always something new for them to enjoy.
The interior of Ushiku Brewery reveals an unexpected sight: rows of all kinds of testing equipment. Kakui’s fellow brewer Sano Rie also came from Gôdô Shusei’s research side, and the two realized they could use such equipment for all kinds of analysis of their beers, as well as strict quality control. They also cultivate their own yeast. One of the beers they developed in their laboratory is the “Sakura-yeast Beer”. Yeast taken from the cherry trees in their gardens imparts a rich aroma to the beer, much like Belgian yeast.
They began entering competitions in 2007, their first being the International Beer Competition (JCBA), where they won three bronzes. Kakui was in transit in a bus when he learned the results and let out a cry of joy. Many breweries brew a pilsner for its high drinkability, making it a competitive category at competitions. Kakui knew as much from having volunteered at festivals, which might explain his outburst.
But aren’t there competing tastes with a pilsner, helles and dortmunder, all of which are similar in style? “Even with the major brands,” says Kakui, “there are some who say, ‘I only drink this beer from this company.’ In the same way, our fans have their own favorites, saying, ‘I like the Helles’ or ‘I like the Pilsner.’” Some might say that many Japanese can distinguish between the subtleties of different pilsners because of their popularity here. Either way, while Ushiku Brewery’s helles, dortmunder and pilsner show some similarities, the distinctions are bold. Certainly, all are delicious and easy to drink.
It wasn’t as if customers immediately recognized the difference in the beers. They may have called the dunkel a “dark beer”, for example, simply because it’s darker than the pilsner. These days, more and more local guests order with a “Dunkel, please”, even if the German word sounds a little alien to them.
Over the past year there has been one bar offering Ushiku Brewery’s beer, but beyond that, Chateau Kamiya doesn’t serve its beer outside. Their philosophy is that they want people to come to Ushiku to visit Chateau Kamiya and enjoy the beer in that environment. Within the grounds of Chateau Kamiya there is a vineyard, Western-style gardens and even some brick buildings designated as important cultural properties (currently under renovation). It’s perfect for a stroll and is quite the tourist spot, attracting large numbers of visitors.
One unusual aspect of Ushiku Brewery’s beer production is that they use the same tank for fermentation and aging, rather than splitting the process into two tanks. Yeast can make the beer cloudy, but they avoid this problem by using a strain with high flocculation (it clumps together, falls away). Right now, they are setting the bar higher with a new challenge: a beverage of grape juice, wort and sugar fermented with wine yeast. By the time this issue comes out, you may be able to taste some at Chateau Kamiya’s restaurant.
In recent years, Chateau Kamiya has been holding events to better promote itself. Every year in autumn there’s a wine festival where wine and beer both are just ¥2500 for all-you-can-drink. During Golden Week, they have a craft beer festival with over ten varieties for a mere ¥2000 for all-you-can-drink.
There are other attractions nearby, including the Ushiku swamp, legendary for its kappa (mythical frog-like sprites), and the Ushiku Daibutsu, the world’s largest statue of Buddha according to the Guinness Book of World Records. You can even go inside the Buddha where there’s a performance that gives you the feeling of being in space– definitely check it out.
One more thing that will make many happy: Chateau Kamiya is but a ten-minute walk from JR Ushiku Station. And from Ueno, you can travel straight there in just under an hour. Breweries this close to the station are a rarity. If you’ve got nothing to do on a day off, why not make the jaunt with family or friends? It won’t be time wasted.
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.
