Interview with Shintaro Hamachi: “Back in Japan I will brew Pilsner beer

 INTERVIEW

"Back in Japan I will brew Pilsner beer"

In July 2019, Michaela Knör, Axel Simon Library, VLB Berlin, interviewed Shintaro Hamachi from Suginoya Beer and Sake Brewery in Fukuoka, Japan. The Suginoya Brewery was established in 1870 as a sake brewery, they began brewing beer in 1996 and have won several awards. Within a bunch of international students, including two from the big Japanese brewing companies, Shintaro Hamachi completed the Certified Brewmaster Course at VLB Berlin in 2019 as first Japanese craft brewer ever.

Welcome, Shintaro Hamachi! My first question is: Why did your company, which has been a traditional sake brewery since 1870, start brewing beer in 1996?

The main reason was the new law which reduced the minimum annual beer production from 20000 hl to 600 hl. For that reason, many sake breweries, that had knowledge of fermentation and some brewing techniques, were able to enter this business.

How much beer do you produce per year right now?

About 1000 hl beer and 700 hl sake.

Was it difficult to enter the beer market as traditional sake brewer?

I had the impression, that the people living around our brewery were curious about the new beer, which was produced in their neighbourhood. Up to that time, they had only known the beer of the big companies Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory.

In which containers do you sell your beer?

We sell it in bottles and 30-l kegs. We do not sell cans, as we do not distribute our beer extensively. Only for some special events we do distribute to other regions. We also have a restaurant outside our brewery with a taproom.

Which type of beer do you produce?

Our standard beers are Amber-Ale, Pale Ale and Stout. And we brew three seasonal beers, at the moment Weizen, Bock and Alt Beer.

Do you also produce beer with special Japanese ingredients?

Sometimes we do. For example, we brew an orange beer for which we use oranges from local farmers.

What is the most popular beer of your brewery?

Amber Ale with its rich malty taste seems to pair well with the local food and also meets the taste of people in the Fukuoka area best.

What are the special features of the Japanese craft beer market?

In these early days of craft beer in Japan there were only very few people who were able to brew. These few trained brewers helped the others – and this spirit of assistance is still alive. No brewery is hiding its recipes. Working together is fundamental for the Japanese craft beer scene.

Why did you decide to become a brewmaster? And why did you choose the Certified Brewmaster Course at VLB Berlin.

We are a family business and we produce quality products. Hence, my father and I decided that I should pursue studies in brewing. The decision to do this in Germany was very easy, because in Japan we consider Germany as the home countryofbeer. The Certified Brewmaster Course at VLB Berlin was perfect for this.

What did you discover about beer during your time here?

I think beer in Germany (and this is especially true for Bavaria) is stronger than in Japan, which might go along better with the German climate. In Japan we have a high humidity and high temperatures so we cannot drink these kinds of beers.

Where do you get your raw materials like malt and hops from?

We are importing our malt from Weyermann in Germany and are mainly using traditional hops from Europe.

Photo: ew

Is there any hop growing in Japan?

Yes, there is some hop growing at the island of Hokkaido. Sapporo Brewery had originated a breeding from that origin which is called Sorachi. There is also hop growing in the North of Honshu at Yamagata, but it is a quite small area. We also have planted some hops outside of our brewery. It did grow plants, but they did not get cones.

How is beer taxed in Japan?

There are three different categories ofbeers differentlytaxed: beer, happoshu and the so-called third beers. The tax rate depends on the malt content. For the beer it is ¥ 220000 (ca. 1900 €) per 10 hl, happoshu with less than 25% of malt it is ¥ 134250 per 10 hl (ca. 1153 €) and for the third category it is ¥ 80000 per 10 hl (ca. 687 €). For sake, by the way, it is ¥ 120000 per 10 hl (ca. 1031 €).

When you go back to Japan is there a special beer which you want to brew?

I want to brew a Pilsner.

VLB Certified Brewmaster Shintaro Hamachi, Suginoya Beer and Sake Brewery, is convinced that Germany is the home country of beer