During morning news, futures prices for hops, yeast and grains scrolled across the screen. A reporter toured a massive malting facility in Hokkaido. On the variety show that followed, the hosts visited convenience stores with brewpubs to sample breakfast beers. A commercial ran for homebrewing kits, which were flooding department store shelves. She calmly slurped…

The grizzled monk fingered through the dozens of old keys hanging from his belt until he located one to his satisfaction. With a shaking hand, he managed to place it in the keyhole. He tried to turn it, but the lock wouldn’t budge. “Oops. Sorry,” he said sheepishly to the other monks, who stood around…

On December 15th, 2012, Oshita Masaji, the president of Minoh Beer, passed away. The Masaji Beer Project brings together ten fellow breweries from the craft beer industry to create beers in his memory. As an expression of deep thanks for the outpouring of support from countless others, and as a way to further celebrate the…

His alarm went off, playing polka music. He pulled on his lederhosen and went to the kitchen to cook his usual Würstl and Käsespätzle. With miso soup. Before leaving the house, he grabbed his Sennerhut. At the bus stop, children were practicing Bavarian dances. The bus doors opened to reveal the driver also wearing lederhosen.…

If you were to divide the population of Japanese cities by the number of craft beer breweries and bars in those respective cities, you’d discover some surprising results. Sure, Tokyo seems to be overflowing with craft beer bars, but its bars-per-capita ratio is hurt by the massiveness of the city. Yokohama may have the largest…