Theres a craft beer boom brewing in Japan. Craft beer has been popping up in every corner of the country. And whats amazing is, its actually good. Well, most of it. Osakas Minoh Brewery won the Worlds Best Imperial IPA award in 2013. The Coedo Brewery in Kawagoe won a silver in the American-style amber lager category at the 2014 World Beer Cup. How are they accomplishing this? The same way theyve elevated the whiskey, denim and coffee game: by taking things from other places, tweaking them and making them better.
One of the latest to join the craft beer craze is Rise & Win Brewing. Located in Tokushima, the unique brewery is also putting an environmental twist to their beer.
On May 30, 2015, Rise & Win Brewing Co. officially opened for business. Theyre located in Kamikatsu, which became Japans first town to declare a zero waste policy. There is no incinerator and instead there are 34 different recycling bins. As difficult as it seems to run a business, the new brewery is taking its towns motto to heart.
Lets begin with the unique structure. Architect Hiroshi Nakamura reused mill ends from local cedar to create the exterior facade. He then mixed persimmon juice and red iron oxide to produce an organic finish. The 8-meter (26-feet) high patchwork window is made entirely from discarded material. The structure itself functions as a craft beer brewery but also offers a tasting stand, a BBQ garden and a shop that sells products unpackaged, by weight, in order to eliminate waste.
Rise & Win replaces what was previously Kamikatsu Department Store, a small shop dedicated to selling everything from pasta to shampoo unpackaged, by weight. If youre in the area (Gmap) definitely check it out!
Well, I absolutely love beer and the fact that it is environmentally responsible makes me happy, considering a lot of breweries don't really care about waste policies. This "Rise & Win" brewery looks really good on the outside, let's hope the drinks are similar :P
Microbrewing is on the rise not only in Japan but also in the U.S. and in France (where I live). It can only be a good thing - for a while there was a risk the 100% of the beer market will be opened by the huge multinational giants. More choice is always a good thing for the consumers.