Japan's Beer & Brewing Culture

About this book

Japanese beer is not one cold lager. It is a whole culture: the founding pilsners of Yokohama and Sapporo, the dry revolution of 1987, the tax-born families of happoshu and the third category, the craft revolution that followed the 1994 deregulation, the foam-first craft of the pour, and a drinking culture of oshaku manners, stadium sellers, rooftop gardens and designated drivers. This guide covers it entire in 200 entries in five parts — the beer itself (styles, ingredients, tax and the perfect pour), the makers and the regional map, the craft revolution, the drinking culture, and beer travel (museums, brewery tours, hop harvests and festivals). Every entry follows the same four fields — what it is, how it is made, how it tastes at the table, and how to meet it with one official check to make before you travel — so any two entries can be compared in seconds. No brands are ranked and no prices or hours are asserted, and no health effects are claimed; beers, breweries, towns and traditions are described as the people who make and drink them know them. Written and produced in Japan by a Japanese author and publisher.