Asian Craft Brews Are Gettin On The Boat…Look Out U.S.

But history tends to repeat itself, and Asia, as always, is catching up quickly. Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, and in particular, Japan, all have a burgeoning craft beer scene. In my recent trip to the Philippines I came across a Gastropub in Manila that would give any of those we know here a run for their money. Ω
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For Japan, the change came about in 1994 when tax laws were reformed that allowed smaller brewers to emerge from under the dominance of Sapporo, Kirin, Asahi and Suntory. And twenty years later, again it’s Japan who is leading the scene by bringing their craft beers to the States. That’s not to say if you look hard enough you won’t find others, but a handful have emerged to make it out beyond the local specialty store and to your local pub. Ω
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Two of the biggest craft brewers you can find from Japan are Echigo and Hitachino. Echigo makes a few beers, including a Red Ale and Stout, the latter of which I am particularly fond (the bottle design is pretty bad ass too). While the red ale does a great job balancing bitter and sweet, the stout is all malt, and drinks very smooth.

Hitachino is probably the most familiar to anyone who spends a fair amount of time at a bar. They’re most popular beer is the Hitachino Nest White Ale, brewed in the style of your typical Belgian ale with notes of citrus and spice. But again, as someone who tends to prefer darker, if you can find it, give their Sweet Stout a try. It’s a milk stout (all alcohol needs sugars and this one just happens to use lactose. Trust me, you won’t taste milk) that is both sweet, smooth and full bodied. They also make a Hefeweizen, Red Rice Ale and Espresso Stout. Ω
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Another Japanese beer I’ve come across a couple times is Yona Yona Ale from Yo-Ho Brewing. And while I haven’t had the chance to try their other selections, I found this Pale Ale very refreshing as a daily drinker.Ω
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If you are looking for a place to try any of these, especially in Los Angeles, your best bet would be to look for any restaurant with the word “Izakaya” in it. It’s basically a Japanese pub. For those on the Westside I recommend Sasaya on Santa Monica, Honda-Ya in Little Tokyo and The Little Izaka-Ya by Katsu-Ya in Sherman Oaks.Ω
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I’d also like to give a small shout out to Red Horse Beer. It’s brewed by San Miguel, and is marketed as a “macho” beer in the Philippines. It’s essentially the Steel Reserve of Asian beer (8% ABV), and while it won’t blow anyone away, it definitely made my trip to Asia that much more enjoyable. I don’t even know if you can find it here, but if you see it, give it a shot.Ω
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With the craft brew scene just starting to take off in Asia, I can only guess that it won’t be long before we start seeing a tsunami of new Asian beers on shelves here and I for one, can’t wait.

Writen by Josh Schaffer