Kobayashi Tsutomu, owner of the import company Kobatsu Trading, has so well branded himself through his charisma that many call him by his company name: Kobatsu-san. Ever seen the big, smiling Japanese guy in traditional German lederhosen and tall hat at beer festivals? That’s him. He’s definitely no poser just wearing a costume, but an…

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…

Garrett Oliver is not simply one of the greatest brewers in the world of craft beer. He is widely respected in the culinary world for his knowledge about beer and food pairings. He is a popular lecturer about, and advocate for, craft beer, regularly speaking at events around the world. He is a successful author…

Mojiko Retro more than makes up in quality where it lacks in diversity. Although the small brewery in northern Fukuoka only serves three fairly standard flagship beers, most people would probably not be disappointed by any of them. Its roughly 15 years of success―measured, at least, by its consistently good beer―owes much to its head…

by Kumagai Jinya You could say there are many breweries in Nagano Prefecture, but when you consider that among all 47 prefectures it is the fourth largest, maybe that’s not so strange. Nagano is rather long, from north to south, with four major regions: Hokushin, Chûshin, Nanshin, Tôshin. The climates of each are slightly different.…