Namachan Brewing Releases Sakura Smoke Lager in Collaboration with Jiyugakuen Myonichikan
Namachan Brewing in Toshima, Tokyo, has announced the second beer in its collaboration with Jiyugakuen Myonichikan, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. The "Jiyugakuen Myonichikan Sakura Smoke Lager" is made by smoking malt with chips from a cherry tree over 70 years old, and is characterized by a light drinking profile and a smoky aroma derived from sakura.
Hop BroToday, Namachan Brewing in Tokyo's Toshima Ward has put out a pretty interesting collaboration. They brewed a sakura smoke lager with Jiyugakuen Myonichikan.
MugiWhoa! A nationally designated Important Cultural Property and beer? That's way too much information! Can they really collaborate with a place like Jiyugakuen Myonichikan?
Hop BroThey can, and this is the second release. The key point this time is that they used chips from cherry trees over 70 years old and smoked the malt with them.
MugiWait, smoked malt? You mean smoking the beer? I can't quite picture what "smoked malt" means!
Hop BroExactly. They let the malt take on the aroma of smoke. So the style is Smoke Lager, with a light lager body followed by a gentle smoky aroma.
MugiWow! Lagers usually feel crisp and clean, but getting smoke aromas is interesting! "Light drinkability" sounds really easy to drink.
Hop BroAnd it's 5.0% ABV, so you can enjoy it without it feeling too heavy. The last release was a Smoke IPA, but this time they leaned into more lager-like drinkability, which is a nice touch.
MugiI'm curious how it's different from a Smoke IPA. Is it more hop-led or more about the drinking feel? Smoke IPA is interesting too, but did they make this one more rounded?
Hop BroThat's a pretty good read. Namachan Brewing specializes in smoked dishes and smoke beer, and on its official site it even says that "smoke is one of the seasonings," so they're really good at handling smoke.
MugiWow, locking the building's history and the memory of the cherry blossoms into one glass is so lovely... It feels like you're drinking history.
Hop BroExactly. The nice thing is that the region's story becomes aroma. This is the kind of beer that makes you want to go in for a glass and catch the cherry-blossom aftertaste.
MugiYeah, if you can keep drinking with the crispness of a lager and then get a soft cherry-blossom aroma afterward, that's the best! I can't stop wanting to drink it right now!
Re-collaboration with an Important Cultural Property
Namachan Brewing in Toshima, Tokyo, has announced "Jiyugakuen Myonichikan Sakura Smoke Lager" as the second beer in its collaboration with Jiyugakuen Myonichikan, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. Jiyugakuen Myonichikan is known as a building designed by modern architecture master Frank Lloyd Wright. For this beer, malt was smoked using chips made from cherry trees more than 70 years old that have long marked time at the site.
This time, the style is Smoke Lager and the ABV is 5.0%. It is designed so that after a light, easy-drinking first impression, a gentle cherry smoke aroma spreads softly, making this a beer that draws out the character of the ingredients carefully rather than relying on flashiness. The previous collaboration was a Smoke IPA that highlighted the harmony of smoky roastiness and hop aroma; this time, the concept has shifted toward the easy drinkability that is typical of a lager.
The Namachan Brewing Style
Namachan Brewing is a brewery that has been serving smoked food and craft beer in the Ikebukuro area under the name Smoke Beer Factory, and it operates multiple locations in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. Its Otsuka location functions as a brewpub under the name "NAMACHAん Brewing," and its hallmark is smoke beer made with house-smoked malt.
The brewery also states on its official website that "smoke is one of the seasonings," actively incorporating smoking techniques into beer making. This project with Jiyugakuen Myonichikan is likely an extension of that approach. The charm of this collaboration lies in the way it bottles the history of an old building and memories of cherry trees that grew in Toshima Ward, through smoke, into a single glass.
Tasting Points
- Second collaboration with Jiyugakuen Myonichikan, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property
- Uses chips from cherry trees over 70 years old
- Style is Smoke Lager, ABV 5.0%
- A crisp lager body layered with a gentle cherry-blossom smoke aroma
A bottle that balances drinkability as craft beer with ingredient choices that evoke the history and landscape of the neighborhood. It is a release worth noting not only for fans of smoked beers, but also for anyone who wants to enjoy a lager's crisp finish and lingering aroma.
Information may be inaccurate. Please refer to the brewery’s official channels for the latest details.
Hop BroToday, Namachan Brewing in Tokyo's Toshima Ward has put out a pretty interesting collaboration. They brewed a sakura smoke lager with Jiyugakuen Myonichikan.
MugiWhoa! A nationally designated Important Cultural Property and beer? That's way too much information! Can they really collaborate with a place like Jiyugakuen Myonichikan?
Hop BroThey can, and this is the second release. The key point this time is that they used chips from cherry trees over 70 years old and smoked the malt with them.
MugiWait, smoked malt? You mean smoking the beer? I can't quite picture what "smoked malt" means!
Hop BroExactly. They let the malt take on the aroma of smoke. So the style is Smoke Lager, with a light lager body followed by a gentle smoky aroma.
MugiWow! Lagers usually feel crisp and clean, but getting smoke aromas is interesting! "Light drinkability" sounds really easy to drink.
Hop BroAnd it's 5.0% ABV, so you can enjoy it without it feeling too heavy. The last release was a Smoke IPA, but this time they leaned into more lager-like drinkability, which is a nice touch.
MugiI'm curious how it's different from a Smoke IPA. Is it more hop-led or more about the drinking feel? Smoke IPA is interesting too, but did they make this one more rounded?
Hop BroThat's a pretty good read. Namachan Brewing specializes in smoked dishes and smoke beer, and on its official site it even says that "smoke is one of the seasonings," so they're really good at handling smoke.
MugiWow, locking the building's history and the memory of the cherry blossoms into one glass is so lovely... It feels like you're drinking history.
Hop BroExactly. The nice thing is that the region's story becomes aroma. This is the kind of beer that makes you want to go in for a glass and catch the cherry-blossom aftertaste.
MugiYeah, if you can keep drinking with the crispness of a lager and then get a soft cherry-blossom aroma afterward, that's the best! I can't stop wanting to drink it right now!
