Sapporo Brewery Visit - Pictures from Japan

Sep. 4, 2013

Sapporo Brewery Visit – Pictures from Japan

My most recent visit toHokkaidoincluded some wonderful sightseeing and zen relaxation, however it was the visit to the country’sfirst brewery“Sapporo” that made the trip for me.

Legend has it that asMeijiera powers-that-be designatedHokkaidoas the most auspicious test ground for all those strange things foreigners thought were good ideas. Rather than implement these weird social experiments in highly populated areas, far-away newly-promoted-destinationHokkaidoseemed like a better solution. Thus you will find the layout of towns to be slightly more European than the rest of Japan, the foods to be strangely rich, and the beer to be remarkable.

Legend also has it that the German visitors tried the local wheat and were pleasantly surprised, quickly pondering “How does the beer taste?” – to which the Japanese responded “What’s beer?“. Germans may or may not have shouted “Nooooooooooooo” and ran towards diplomatic envoys to have these outrage sorted asap.

So maybe somewhat along those lines,Seibei Nakagawaunderwent German training on the fine art of beer making, and brewed thefirst Japanese beerfor Kaitakushi in 1876. Ten years later, the company was privatized and a competitive beer market developed in Japan, many of the brands continuing to this day.Sapporo’sbrewery is still active and also serving as a beer museum for the curious, aka me. Below is a short gallery of some of the fun things one can see… and of course you can get your ownSapporo T-shirt!

If you are into beer, you may like to check out our review of “Flying Dog Shock & Awe” or check out ourHomebrewing Guides

Fexelea

MMO raider by day and guide writer by night, Fex enjoys multiplatform gaming, good books and animes, and streaming with a cold beer.

Cool article, jealous I’ve never been there. It’s very interesting how many excellent regional or now international beers owe their origins to what was apparently a crazy bunch of Germans who just went around Johnny Applebeering the place. Singha, Sapporo, Tsingtao, Dos Equis — if you control for regional ingredients these are very similar beers. This is obviously going to the the basis of world peace some day.

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