Once again this year, Anglo Japanese Brewing Company (AJB) in Nagano will be hosting the SSBB Festival in scenic Hokuryuko, Nozawa Onsen. SSBB stands for saisons, sours, barrels and ābrettā (brettanomyces). Like the inaugural event last year, it will feature a lot of sour beers and other eclectic varieties not often seen in Japan. Expect…
Quality is essential to success in a market as crowded as craft beerās, where there are thousands of breweries and tens of thousands of brands for consumers to choose from. Disappoint consumers once and youāre not likely to get another chance to impress them. Good branding is essential, too, and label art is central to…
When people think of craft beer, there are usually a few words or concepts that first come to mind: independent, small, local, creativeā¦. Weād add ācollaborativeā. Collaboration beers have become such a widespread endeavor in the industry that it almost seems as if they are a key piece to craft beer identity. At the very…
Rogue Ales has been a powerhouse of the craft beer movement in America for over 30 years. Founded in 1988 in Oregon, Rogue was one of the first American craft breweries to be imported to Japan thanks to the trailblazing efforts of Phred Kaufman, founder of Ezo Beer in Hokkaido. For thousands of people in…
During our lengthy interview with Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver earlier this year, we covered a wide range of topics. Weāve been rolling out sections of that interview on a nearly monthly basis, like a serialized story. In this age of hybrid beer styles, mash-ups and all kinds of IPAs, one of his comments really…
