For the Development and Succession of the Beer Industry and Beer Culture: Generating Innovation with Kirin's Craftsmanship

In recent years, Kirin Brewery has been placing a strong emphasis on its craft beer business. The company fully entered that market in 2014 with an approach to craft beer that is based on the history and tradition of beer production that has ceaselessly been cultivated. Meanwhile, Kirin’s craftsmanship is also found dwelling within the products that the company makes for mass-market consumption, which are represented by KIRIN ICHIBAN.

What does Kirin’s craftsmanship mean and how did it develop? We will talk about this subject while sharing with you the stories of Toru Yoshimura, President and CEO of Kirin Beverage, and Akihito Yokoyama, President of the Production Department of Kirin Brewery, who both have professional experience as brewers.

The Craftsmanship Dwelling Within Our Mainstream Beer

Kirin Ichiban Toretate Hop has gone on sale in November every year as a limited-time product since 2004 and is celebrating the product’s 19th anniversary. The product is for mass-market consumption, but at the same time, we could call it one of Japan’s biggest craft beers.

The reason is that while the hops used to make beer are generally dried after harvest to maintain quality, Kirin Ichiban Toretate Hop uses hops grown and freshly harvested that year in Tono, Iwate Prefecture. Kirin Brewery’s patented technologies are also used to have the hops rapidly frozen and crushed. Then, the hops are carefully added to the wort by hand. This manual work process is a symbol of our craftsmanship.

“In the modern age when the beer production process is mechanized, we deliberately add hops by hand. This manual adding process for Kirin Ichiban Toretate Hop has become a sort of ritual for us to express our appreciation for the blessing of nature, the hops, that we are able to harvest and use to make beer this year,” says Akihito Yokoyama, President of Production Department of Kirin Brewery.

In addition to the manual adding of the hops, a rapid freezing technology developed by Kirin for the hops also constitutes a reflection of the company’s craftsmanship. Because hops are a blessing of nature, each year’s harvest presents different characteristics. The theory behind mass-market products is that the non-uniform nature of agricultural products is subject to adjustments using processing technology to achieve a uniform taste. However, the hops frozen within 24 hours after harvesting retain the freshly harvested aroma without any processing being involved, so the flavor differs slightly each year.

While appreciating the blessings of nature and involving the manual work process, we deliver the flavor of the year. That is why Kirin Ichiban Toretate Hop is said to be a symbol of our craftsmanship.
Meanwhile, ensuring a stable taste in mass-market products also can not be accomplished without craftsmanship.

“The ingredients of beer, not only hops but also malt and water, are blessings of nature. The yeast, which determines the flavor of a beer, is a microorganism. These are all living things, and it is definitely not easy to maintain a uniform taste at the nine Kirin plants throughout the country while dealing with living things. It takes a lot of experience and high skill to constantly maintain a consistent and uniform taste,” says Toru Yoshimura, President and CEO of Kirin Beverage, who has been involved in the brewing of beer since joining the company in 1988.

In other words, craftsmanship dwells in every beer Kirin produces, whether KIRIN ICHIBAN or SPRING VALLEY. At the root of this is brewing philosophy that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Pilot Plants Which Embody Our Brewing Philosophy

Kirin’s brewing philosophy consists of three elements: “Reverence for Life,” “Spirit of Brewing,” and “Emphasis on the Five Senses.” In order to produce beer that uses the blessings of nature as ingredients and requires the action of the microorganism, yeast, in the production process, we must have respect for life and humbly learn how life works. “Reverence for Life” demonstrates the importance of biochemical exploration and scientific approaches.

Since living things are involved in both ingredients and production, the production of beer is greatly affected by environmental factors such as climate and temperature conditions. The production of beer is the multiplication of scientific knowledge such as biology, chemistry and physics. If conditions change even a little, flavor and appearance will change instantly. Comprehending this refined multiplication and appealing to people’s palates and tastes require us to recognize that beer production is an art as well as a technology. This is the “Spirit of Brewing”.

Since beer is a luxury item that appeals to people’s tastes and sensibilities, it is the five senses of brewers that ultimately determine the final taste. The only way to polish the five senses is to build experience with brewing and improve sensory evaluation skills. Our “Emphasis on the Five Senses” demonstrates the importance of experience and passing down those skills to future generations. Viewing beer production as an art while accumulating biochemical exploration, we continue to build experience constantly to polish our sensibilities and skills. Kirin’s brewing philosophy could be said to have two pillars of science and craftsmanship.

The pilot plant embodies the two pillars of science and craftsmanship based on our brewing philosophy. While actively investing in R&D for the advancement of science and technology, we have also been operating small-scale brewing facilities in parallel with the automation and large-scale production of beer in order to go about refining and subsequently passing on our craftsmanship. Small-scale brewing facilities function not only as experimental brewing facilities for the development of new products but also as places to train our engineers.

Our first pilot plant was opened in 1980. The plant had a production capacity of 5 KL and was set up in a corner of the Yokohama Plant. In 1984, a 200 KL plant was added and now we operate two systems, 200 KL and 2 KL. In 1988, the Kyoto Mini Brewery was set up as a facility attached to the Kyoto Plant. It was the first small-scale brewery in Japan and still serves as a symbol of Kirin’s brewing philosophy even after having ended its operation in 1999.

Kyoto Mini Brewery: Fostering of Craftsmanship

The idea of establishing the Kyoto Mini Brewery came up in 1986. The plant has a capacity of 10 KL per preparation and 5,500 KL per year. Although it is one tenth of the size of a large-scale plant, it is equipped with yeast cultivation facilities used for the production of many varieties of beer and is armed with sufficient fermentation and storage capacities for the commercialization of what is produced. This enables not only experimental brewing along with the development of new products in an environment that is closer to the main production site, but also allows for the production of small lots and small-quantity varieties which cannot be handled at a large-scale plant.

The main characteristics of the facility were the ability to switch between automatic and manual production processes and the guest corner to welcome visitors. The main processes, such as those involving copper preparation pots, open fermentation tanks, yeast cultivation facilities, and filtration equipment, were set up and located on one floor. Therefore visitors to the brewery could not only enjoy the taste of freshly brewed beer but also observe the brewing process through the glass.

Toru Yoshimura, who was actually engaged in brewing at the Kyoto Mini Brewery, says:
“While the advancement of science and technology has resulted in larger scales and the automation of beer production, opportunities to directly feel the ingredients of beer, to witness the brewing process, and to verify things using five senses have become fewer. The Kyoto Mini Brewery, which allows manual production processes, provided young engineers with opportunities to develop their five senses. What’s more, having been able to hear directly from customers who have tasted the beer now serves as an asset of mine. And customer feedback stimulated the creativity of brewers. It was very much akin to a dream brewery.”

Brewers dedicated themselves to brewing while sharpening their five senses and proposed products based on the concept of three Cs, “Creation, Culture, Craftsmanship”. As a result, a wide variety of beers were created, such as Kyoto 1497, Heartland Alto, and Cyrano, which have become legendary among beer fans. In other words, the facility was not only a place for biochemical exploration and the development of engineers. It was connected to Kirin’s marketing which places a high value on direct contact with customers and served as a place to communicate to society how we go about making our products.

Directly feel the ingredients of beer and yeast, learn brewing techniques while sharpening five senses, and develop new beers based on customers’ feedback. This is the embodiment of “Reverence for Life,” “Spirit of Brewing” and “Emphasis on the Five Senses” of Kirin’s brewing philosophy.

Contributing to the Development of a Craft Beer Industry Backed by Technology

The craft beer business we have been focusing on in recent years is a quintessential manifestation of our craftsmanship.
SPRING VALLEY BREWERY opened in 2015 and its root existed in the Kyoto Mini Brewery. The concept of our current craft beer business began with SPRING VALLEY BREWERY, a restaurant with a brewery attached to it. The concept of the Kyoto Mini Brewery has been inherited not only in terms of the test marketing undertaken there but also in terms of the establishment’s function as a place to experience the allure of beer.

The most alluring thing about craft beer is its diversity. The beer market in Japan as a whole is on a downward trend, so we want to make beer more interesting by bringing to people not only the uniform taste of pilsner, which is represented by the word “beer for now,” but also fun to choose which brew to drink.
To that end, in addition to exercising the power we have as a single company, we need to revitalize the entire beer industry by working together with breweries in Japan and other parts of the world that are brewing unique beer.

Since 2014, the Kirin Group has been collaborating with breweries located in Japan and overseas to increase the number of players cooperating in the craft beer business. The Kirin Group has formed capital alliances with the largest craft brewer in Japan, YO-HO BREWING COMPANY, and the major US craft brewer, Brooklyn Brewery Corporation．Also major international craft breweries including the major US brewer, New Belgium Brewing, are becoming a part of Kirin Group. Kirin has established relationships of trust with these players and has been accepted as a fellow brewer of craft beer thanks to our solid technical skills and our craftsmanship, which is characterized by our will to continue taking on challenges.

Tap Marché, a service involving a small dispenser made specially for craft beer, is also an effort to broaden the appeal of the diversity offered by beer. The dispenser can be filled with up to four types of beer. The main characteristic of the service is that the dispenser can be filled up with beer made by independent breweries with whom we have no capital ties as well, not just beer from our own breweries and those brewed by our affiliates. At present, there are 14 breweries from all over Japan involved with the service. Tap Marché dispensers have been set up at about 20,000 restaurants nationwide.

“Working hand in hand with local breweries, we will revitalize the beer industry and beer culture. The Tap Marché initiative also constitutes a symbol of Kirin’s CSV management. This effort is possible because of Kirin’s large supply chain. We believe that cooperation based on the scientific knowledge and technology that we have cultivated thus far is essential for the revitalization of the beer industry and beer culture.” (Akihito Yokoyama)

One example of this is the domestic hop variety called IBUKI, which is also used to make the Kirin Ichiban Toretate Hop. IBUKI was born as a result of Kirin’s own breeding program. It is now being offered to breweries around the country to support the development of new craft beers.
Kirin also uses its sensory evaluation analysis technology to support local breweries in achieving the flavor that they are looking for.

This kind of thing is possible because of the craftsmanship that we have passed down from generation to generation based on our brewing philosophy, a feat that we have accomplished while at the same time being a large-scale producer of beer. Toru Yoshimura and Akihito Yokoyama, who have both been involved in beer production, had the following to say when it comes to the craftsmanship of Kirin.

“Kirin has over 130 years of history in beer production. After more than 130 years of learning through trial and error, we are proud of the high levels of quality that we are currently able to provide. Our quality is not only expressed through our beer brewing techniques but also through our beer containers. We pursue quality not only when it comes to what’s found inside the container, but also everything that comprises a beer product. This constitutes the craftsmanship that we should pride ourselves on and is what I believe symbolizes how we go about making products at our company.” (Akihito Yokoyama)

“While focusing on the craft beer business, our entire group is putting effort into the Health Science business by utilizing the technologies we possess in Fermentation and Biotechnology. With sincerity, we will face the living things involved in our craft and improve the precision of every single detail. Our quest for details in this manner is a testament to both our scientific stances and attitudes as craftspeople. In other words, how we go about making products is defined by the science and craftsmanship which are rooted in the brewing of beer. We will continue valuing this stance and continue on our journey of growth.” (Toru Yoshimura)

*Stated information as at the date it is made