Nippon Beer Brewing

Nippon Beer Brewing’s brand name is "Samurai Surfer Beer." The name is striking, and the label is even more so: it features a samurai with a topknot riding a surfboard and catching a wave.

The representative, Hidechika Nakajima, is a true beer craftsman who has gone on to launch one beer business after another, including Jibyakushuya, Nakajima Brewery, and Chili Beer Garden. He incorporated Nippon Beer Brewing in 2001, and in 2019 moved to the facility in Numazu that had previously been used by Baird Brewing.

Numazu faces Suruga Bay, so it’s a place with surf spots too. The concept blends Japanese tradition with coastal culture. And the beers are defined by one thing above all: they spare no malt. The flagship, Samurai Surfer Red, is an Irish Red Ale that uses 1.5 times the usual amount of malt, blending seven kinds of malt and three kinds of hops. ABV 6%.

Samurai Surfer Black goes even further: it’s a stout made with eight kinds of malt and comes in at ABV 7%. It has the aroma of roasted malt with a gentle sweetness, giving it the character of a sweet stout. The ingredients are 100% barley malt, with no adjuncts at all. Everything from brewing to bottling to shipping is done by hand.

The brewing water is from the Kakitagawa spring system, fed by groundwater that originated as snowmelt from Mount Fuji. Numazu is blessed with this water, which is why so many craft breweries are concentrated there. They also have a sub-brand called "Tri-Peaks," which includes tropical IPAs and pale ales.

You can get it at roadside stations and local liquor shops, and it’s also available through hometown tax donation programs. That topknot surfer label seems to be a hit with people overseas too. I really hope you try the seven-malt red and the eight-malt black side by side.