Karashima Koku no Kura

Have you heard of the beer called "KOKU NO CRAFT"? It's a craft beer made by Sanwa Shurui, the company famous for "iichiko."

They brew it at a facility called "Karashima Koku no Kura" in Usa City, which opened in 2022. There are two storehouses there, the "rice kura" and the "mugi kura," and the craft beer is made in the mugi kura. You can watch the brewing process through the large glass windows.

Well, the yuzu ale won a category champion award at the International Beer Cup. That's the top prize among the gold awards. And this was their very first craft beer entry. Their autumn ale sour IPA also won a category champion title.

I think the key was the uniqueness of the ingredients. They use Nishinohoshi barley grown in Usa and apply the barley koji developed through shochu production to beer. For the yuzu ale, they use plenty of yuzu from Kurano Farm in Usa, including the peel and the juice. They also refined the recipe under the guidance of the brewmaster at Shiroyama Hotel Kagoshima.

The standard Nishinohoshi Ale is a golden ale, and seasonal releases include hazy IPA, coffee stout, and session IPA. The concept is "From Usa to the world, sharing the appeal of koji and fermentation," and they are truly taking that message global.