Japan: Major brewers pouring resources into craft beers

Major brewing companies in Japan are pouring resources into increasing sales of unique tasting "craft beers", SFGate reported on April 8.

While domestic beer shipments have fallen for 14 straight years, craft beers are growing in popularity, particularly among the young, raising hopes of further growth.

In March, Kirin Brewery Co. started selling to bars and restaurants a beer made by Ishikawa Brewery Co., a Tokyo-based firm founded in the Edo period (1603-1867). The brew is characterized by a citrus aroma and bitter aftertaste.

Kirin also offers the Tap Marche, a craft beer server that allows multiple beers to be poured from a single unit. The company now handles 24 brands.

Establishments have been steadily adopting the server and the company plans to sell 13,000 units, nearly double the current level, by the end of the year.

Craft beers used to be made mainly by small breweries aiming for a "handmade" feel, but recently major breweries have marketed brews made with special ingredients or methods under the "craft" banner.

They are priced higher than regular beers, and the use of citrus and other ingredients allows brewers to create an abundance of flavors and aromas.

"It's a product that is well suited to an age of diversifying consumer tastes," an employee of one major brewery said.

Sapporo Breweries Ltd. has since October been soliciting ideas for "beers you want to drink" online to help develop new craft beers. Beers made with grapefruit and other ingredients have been released under the project.

Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. periodically sells a craft beer made with barley grown in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, which was damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

According to market research firm Fuji Keizai Co., craft beer sales by the major breweries in 2017 were roughly triple the amount in 2014, when the firm began tracking the sector.

While craft beer only makes up about 1 percent of total beer sales, the niche is expanding as the overall market shrinks.

Alcohol taxes on beer are slated to decrease gradually until 2026 under recent tax reforms, which will shrink the disparity between beer prices and those of cheaper beverages such as happoshu low-malt quasi beer and other beer-like drinks.

At lower price points, craft beer could provide a spark to stem the increasing reluctance of consumers to purchase beer.

"With their selling power, the involvement of major breweries is going to raise awareness among consumers," said Yusuke Yamamoto, director of the Japan Craft Beer Association, which works to popularize craft beer.

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