Kumamoto Craft Beer

Did you know Kumamoto Craft Beer got its start after inviting a brewer from the legendary Czech brewery U Fleků, founded in 1499, to provide technical guidance?

It was founded in 1997 by Norikazu Torii in front of Kumamoto Station. U Fleků is known as a master of dark lager, and now the second-generation president, Masato Torii, runs the brewery and its directly managed shop with his two brothers.

Masato says something great too: 'A classic pilsner is so simple that whether you succeeded or failed shows up in the taste right away.' He's the kind of person who takes on lager head-on, where there is nowhere to hide.

Their core lineup has four beers. The pilsner and dark lager use Czech Saaz hops, and the dark lager in particular has a superb balance between the toasty aroma of roasted malt and the refined bitterness of hops. Their weizen carries tropical-fruit-like aromas on top of wheat character. It's also interesting that only the pale ale switches to American hops.

This is where Kumamoto stands out: tap water in Kumamoto City is almost 100% groundwater from the Aso mountain system. People say, 'Turn on the tap and you get mineral water,' and Masato says the mineral balance is well suited to dark beers. Their malt is also 100% from Germany and the Czech Republic, with no adjuncts at all.

The packaging is designed with contour lines of Aso, which really shows their pride in the local land. At their directly managed shop, 'Oiseau,' you can enjoy fresh beer with sausages. After the Kumamoto earthquake, they also helped launch the Kyushu Craft Beer Association, working to make the boom into a culture.