Soni Kogen Beer

Soni Kogen Beer was founded in 1999, making it the oldest craft beer brewery in Nara Prefecture.

Exactly! It's in Soni Village, a highland area known for its fields of pampas grass that turn golden in autumn, and it's part of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Japan. At an upland site about 700 meters above sea level called Farm Garden, they brew beer in the 'Mugi no Yakata' building inside the complex. It's a brewery run by a village of about 1,300 people.

And the water here is incredible. They use spring water from Soni Kogen, selected by the Ministry of the Environment as one of the '100 Famous Waters of the Heisei Era.' It's extremely soft water, and it's the key to the beer's smooth mouthfeel. At the time of founding, they invited a brewmaster from Germany... a craftsman with the highest qualification in German brewing, to teach them the technique.

The brewing method is also authentic: 100% malt, 100% natural yeast, unpasteurized, and unfiltered. It's beer bottled with living yeast still inside. They have three standard varieties, and all of them are named after local scenery.

'Kogen Pilsner' is their most popular lager, named after Soni Kogen itself, with a crisp and refreshing finish. 'Byobu Kölsch' is a Kölsch named after Byobuiwa, a natural monument in the village, and features a malty aroma with a clean bitterness. 'Yoroi Alt' is a reddish-brown altbier named after Yoroi-dake, a steep peak that stands like armor, and it has a subtle sweetness from roasted malt.

There's more: on the grounds of Farm Garden, they have a yuzu orchard and mulberry fields, and the seasonal 'Yuzu Furari' uses yuzu grown in the village, while 'Yuuyake Koyake' is brewed with mulberries. They've made 'farm to glass' a real thing. They also won a gold medal at the International Beer Cup 2020, so the strength of this small village is the real deal.