Garcia Brewing

Garcia Brewing is a pretty unique presence in Japan's craft beer scene. The founders are the Garcia brothers from Lima, Peru: older brother Jean and younger brother Freddy.

Older brother Jean came to Japan in 1999, and younger brother Freddy joined him in 2004. They had been in cattle ranching in Peru, but the business hit financial trouble. At first, they saved money while working in an automobile factory and in seafood processing. Freddy's turning point came in 2007, when he drank craft beer for the first time at Baird Beer’s taproom in Numazu. He was shocked by this whole new world and thought, 'I want to make it myself someday.'

In 2010, they even returned temporarily to Peru to train in brewing at a brewpub. Then, in 2019, they finally obtained their brewing license. The biggest feature is that every beer uses Peruvian quinoa. It was the first brewery in Japan to use quinoa in brewing.

In darker beers, it adds richness and complexity; in lighter beers, it brings out the fruity aroma of the hops. For Freddy, quinoa has been a staple food since childhood, and it serves as a bridge between his Peruvian roots and Japanese beer. Their hazy IPA 'Sol Naciente' combines Mosaic hops and quinoa and won bronze at the Japan Great Beer Awards. 'Shimizu Minato WEIZEN BOCK' won silver in the 2024 competition.

And the location is amazing too: the Miho Peninsula, right next to the Miho no Matsubara pine grove, a World Heritage site. The logo features Machu Picchu, barley, quinoa, and llamas, while the labels show scenery from Miho, Nihondaira, and Shimizu Port. Peruvian and Shizuoka identities coexist in a single beer.

The ultimate highlight is their 'undersea-aged beer.' In partnership with the diving facility Go-Seas at the tip of the Miho Peninsula, they aged a barley wine for three months on the seabed of Suruga Bay. It reportedly became smoother and more rounded than land-aged beer. 'FRESA' is a hazy IPA made with Shizuoka-grown strawberries, and 'Mandarina Shimizu' is a hazy IPA made with Shimizu mandarins. They are making excellent use of local fruit as well.