Ishigaki Island Craft Beer

Ishigaki Island Craft Beer is, you know, the southernmost microbrewery in Japan. Its founder, Atsushi Shioya, was incredible too. Back in 1991, when it was still basically impossible to legally brew local beer in Japan, he had already gone to Germany to study brewing.

Exactly. With the deregulation in 1994, it became possible to get a license, and they immediately formed a business alliance with the German company Dachsbräu and founded the brewery. The original company name was "Ishigakijima Dachsbräu House." He went to southern Germany four times in total to really master the craft.

That’s the key point. At first, they brewed four classic southern German styles: Weizen, Helles, Dunkel, and Pilsner. But around 1997, they shifted toward original recipes. That led to beers like "Subtropical Weizen" and "Healing Marine Beer."

What’s interesting is how they base everything on German traditional methods while making use of ingredients unique to Ishigaki Island. Their "Brown Sugar Weizen" uses Okinawan brown sugar, and its sweetness and depth are layered over the banana-like fruitiness that’s characteristic of a Weizen. They also have the "High Beer" series made with shikuwasa, and that one is meant to be drunk with ice.

And it can be stored at room temperature, with a shelf life of 13 months. It’s perfect as a souvenir. Their W Weizen High Beer won an Excellence Award at the Remote Islands Fair, and it was also selected as one of Okinawa Prefecture’s outstanding local products.

You can even buy it at Ishigaki Airport, so you can pick some up right before leaving. Still, I think Subtropical Weizen tastes best when you drink it in the atmosphere of that island.