Hore Fest

Anjo Den Beer is a brewery inside Anjo City's industrial and cultural park, Den Park, and it has been around since 1997. Did you know Anjo is called "Japan's Denmark"?

In the early Showa period, Anjo City drew national attention for diversifying agriculture, and it was likened to Denmark, a small country that was advanced in agriculture. Den Park is a park created in honor of that history, and it is home to a brewery and restaurant called Hore Fest. "Hore Fest" means "Let's start the party!" in Danish.

What's interesting is the product names. The three standard beers are "Gon's Affection," "Gon's Justice," and "Gon's Courage." They're named after "Kitsune no Gon," by children’s author Nankichi Niimi, who was from nearby Handa City. Gon's Affection is an altbier, Gon's Justice is a weizen, and Gon's Courage is a bock.

With a simple recipe of malt, hops, and yeast only, and finished unpasteurized and unfiltered, it retains a deep flavor from the yeast. They also make pilsner, pale ale, ginger weizen, and more.

That's the exciting part. With the slogan "Make Anjo a land of brewing barley," they work with local farmers to grow barley from the cultivation stage. They even involve local high school students. They also make a fruit ale using juice from thinned grapes, so they're doing regionally circular brewing.

They also regularly hold beer-making workshops, where you can learn in one day everything from crushing barley and brewing to a factory tour, lectures, and tasting. The operator is Tofukobo Ishikawa, a food company that focuses on domestic ingredients, and their brewing techniques have been refined through consulting from Asahi Breweries.