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Hitachino Nest Beer


Japan is an island state in East Asia and the dream destination of many. We long for straightforwardness and simplicity, for aesthetics that permeate all areas of life, for masterfully prepared delicacies, for spectacular cherry blossom festivals, magnificent temples and harmoniously landscaped gardens. The traditional Kiuchi brewery from Ibaraki prefecture proves that fine craft beer can also come from the land of the rising sun.

Brewing is not just brewing

However, before Kiuchi became a brewery, the company produced sake and shōchū, which were very popular in Japan. Sake is brewed like beer, but the basis for this is not grain but rice and the alcohol content, at around 15 to 20 percent, is significantly higher than that of conventional beer. Shōchū brings even more to the table with 25 to 43 percent alcohol content. This mold-fermented drink is made from rice, barley, sugar cane and other starchy raw materials. For more than 150 years, these two products were to be the brewery's hobbyhorses, until a change in the law allowed them to brew beer as well. Previously, only four large breweries were allowed to produce beer, but from 1994 smaller companies were also allowed to do so. Because the company specialized in sake and shōchū, the switch to beer wasn't easy. The team had no experience with brewing and had to find out immediately and equip from scratch. They finally found their brewing system in Canada: after a few negotiations, the manufacturer of brewing systems made them an offer that was well below the price paid by Japanese companies and shipped the equipment to Japan in containers. It would take a total of 18 months of building, experimenting and trying before the very first beer saw the light of day. The HITACHINO NEST BEER was born and the success story could begin.

Great success

A year after the opening of the brewery, the first award fluttered into the house: the amber ale from the Kiuchi Brewery was decorated with gold at Japan's first international beer competition. Numerous national and international competitions followed and the brewery found that it was quite competitive. With this knowledge, the company started exporting beers to the world and conquering the international beer market. The brewery is still pursuing this mission to this day. Incidentally, before the owl became Kiuchi's mascot, both the monkfish, which is extremely popular in Japan, and the stork were in conversation. However, after the first sketches of the cute owl were drawn up, the team collectively fell in love and made the big-eyed bird their heraldic animal.


Logo: Hitachino Nest Beer

Kiuchi Brewery Inc.
311-0133, 1257 Kounosu
Naka-shi
Ibaraki

location_on Japan (JP)  
phone +81 (0)29-212-5111 +81 (0)29-212-5111
email kiuchi@kodawari.cc
explore hitachino.cc/en/

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