Manchin Brewing Introduces New Tomato Sour "OPTICAL TOMATO"
Manchin Brewing in Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, unveiled its new beer "OPTICAL TOMATO" on Instagram. It is a dry-hopped sour with ABV 5.0% and IBU 14, and the brewery says it finishes with the savory character of tomato.
Hop BroManchin Brewing's new release from Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, is pretty bold. It's called "OPTICAL TOMATO," and it's a sour made with tomato.
MugiWait, a beer with tomato? At that point it's basically a salad, isn't it? And it's even more confusing when you call it beer!
Hop BroThe style is a dry-hopped sour with ABV 5.0% and IBU 14. It's a light, snappy beer that layers hop aroma over tartness.
MugiIBU 14, what even is that! Does that mean the bitterness is pretty low? That sounds easy to drink, but where did the tomato flavor go...?
Hop BroThat's the interesting part: they took Optical Path as the base and added tomato as a hidden accent. And 500kg of it at that, which is practically a garden by the numbers.
Mugi500kg!? Juicing for two days? That's less like brewing beer and more like a special on a tomato juice factory!
Hop BroThey apparently pressed the juice with help from nearby Agrimind, then put it straight into the tank and let it ferment again. But fermentation drove off a lot of the aroma and color, so they even used the stems and leaves to adjust it.
MugiThe stems and leaves too!? Hearing blend experiments makes it sound like a science class, but it's really painstaking work to find the flavor.
Hop BroExactly. The goal wasn't a cocktail like a Red Eye, but a pale beer where you can clearly taste tomato's savory depth. It's the result of searching for the right landing point between sourness, hops, and tomato.
MugiThen I want to try it! That's so much more than a gimmick, which feels very Manchin Brewing. I'm curious about the balance of tartness and savoriness!
Hop BroIn the end, this isn't a joke beer at all. It's the kind of thing that makes you think, I want a glass right now: experimental, and likely delicious.
MugiYeah, and if online sales are being announced, I want to check it out! Tonight, let's toast with this sour in search of tomato's savory flavor!
Yamanashi Prefecture's Hokuto-based Manchin Brewing introduced its new beer "OPTICAL TOMATO" on Instagram. The post explicitly describes it as a "DRYHOOPED SOUR WITH TOMATO," and it is presented as a sour-style beer with ABV 5.0% and IBU 14.
This beer is based on the brewery's existing label "Optical Path," with tomato added as a secret ingredient. According to the post, the amount used was "500kg." Working with the nearby tomato processor "Agrimind," members of the brewery spent two days pressing the tomatoes, then added the juice to the tank beer and allowed it to undergo secondary fermentation.
However, because fermentation stripped away most of the tomato aroma and did not bring out as much color as expected, they went on to fine-tune the flavor and aroma by steeping tomato stems and leaves. While carrying out "blend experiments" to verify how the added ingredient worked in beer, they explored the compatibility between sour beer, tomato, and hops. In the end, they say they arrived at not a beer cocktail like a Red Eye, but a pale beer with the savory depth of tomato.
Manchin Brewing is known as a brewery based in Hokuto, Yamanashi, that continues to produce highly distinctive brews. This post also conveys how carefully the team worked through ingredient selection, brewing, and flavor design, making it clear that this is not just a novelty item but an experimental beer with real intent behind it. Online sales are announced via the profile.
Information may be inaccurate. Please refer to the brewery’s official channels for the latest details.
Hop BroManchin Brewing's new release from Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, is pretty bold. It's called "OPTICAL TOMATO," and it's a sour made with tomato.
MugiWait, a beer with tomato? At that point it's basically a salad, isn't it? And it's even more confusing when you call it beer!
Hop BroThe style is a dry-hopped sour with ABV 5.0% and IBU 14. It's a light, snappy beer that layers hop aroma over tartness.
MugiIBU 14, what even is that! Does that mean the bitterness is pretty low? That sounds easy to drink, but where did the tomato flavor go...?
Hop BroThat's the interesting part: they took Optical Path as the base and added tomato as a hidden accent. And 500kg of it at that, which is practically a garden by the numbers.
Mugi500kg!? Juicing for two days? That's less like brewing beer and more like a special on a tomato juice factory!
Hop BroThey apparently pressed the juice with help from nearby Agrimind, then put it straight into the tank and let it ferment again. But fermentation drove off a lot of the aroma and color, so they even used the stems and leaves to adjust it.
MugiThe stems and leaves too!? Hearing blend experiments makes it sound like a science class, but it's really painstaking work to find the flavor.
Hop BroExactly. The goal wasn't a cocktail like a Red Eye, but a pale beer where you can clearly taste tomato's savory depth. It's the result of searching for the right landing point between sourness, hops, and tomato.
MugiThen I want to try it! That's so much more than a gimmick, which feels very Manchin Brewing. I'm curious about the balance of tartness and savoriness!
Hop BroIn the end, this isn't a joke beer at all. It's the kind of thing that makes you think, I want a glass right now: experimental, and likely delicious.
MugiYeah, and if online sales are being announced, I want to check it out! Tonight, let's toast with this sour in search of tomato's savory flavor!
