Helios Shuzo

Helios Shuzo's Sawauchi brewery has a bit of a complicated history. This place used to be the brewery for "Ginga Kogen Beer."

Ginga Kogen Beer was scheduled to end production in March 2020, and Helios Shuzo in Okinawa acquired the facility and took it over in April of that same year. Founded in 1961, Helios Shuzo is a comprehensive Okinawa-based beverage manufacturer with licenses to produce six types of alcoholic drinks, from awamori to beer, and it's an accomplished company that exports to 17 countries overseas.

That's what's interesting. Nishiwaga Town is a designated heavy-snow area, with snowfall reaching up to 10 meters, but spring water from the Ohu Mountain Range system is an ultra-soft water with hardness 9. Brewing with this water makes a beer with an incredibly smooth mouthfeel.

Exactly, which is why delicate styles like Kölsch really shine. "Yukinochikara Kölsch" has 5% ABV and an IBU under 20, balancing the floral aroma of an ale with the crispness of a lager, and it even has a fruity, white-wine-like character. It was born from the regional design project "Yukinochikara."

There's also "Maetel's Weizen," a collaboration with Leiji Matsumoto's "Galaxy Express 999." They also produce part of the Okinawa headquarters' flagship labels, "Blue Sky and Sea Beer" and "Bitter Melon DRY," so having both Okinawa and Iwate's regional character coexist in one brewery is truly one of a kind.

They also handle small-lot OEM production, so in fact beers from other breweries are brewed here too. It's a large facility with a total floor area of over 2,600 square meters, and there's a hotel next door, so someday I'd love to visit and stay overnight.