Otaru Beer Brewery Warehouse 🍻❄️
Sorry I have been lost from the blog; once again it is moving season plus winter, so I have been struggling to get out of the blanket.
This last few months I have been feeling identified with Snowball’s stickers if you know what I mean! 🇵🇦
Current status: see the Snowball sticker above!
Last summer I had the chance to visit Otaru for the first time and was so fascinated by this city, that I decided to go back and spend New Year’s Eve there. Even though the city looks completely different when covered in snow, I have to admit that the beer was as delicious as the first time!
That’s why today I want to share with you the wonderful experience I had at the Otaru Beer Brewery Warehouse 🍻.
As you might already know, I love beer 😍. So, imagine how excited I was to find this hidden gem during the last day of my first trip to Otaru? After many months of not drinking a German draught beer, it tasted like heaven to me!
At first, I was not sure what to expect because from my overall experience in Japan, foreign products tend to be overrated. However, this beer was the real deal!!!
Even though I would much rather visit again when it is not -11 °C, this beer was the perfect après-ski cure…after I kissed the snow around 20 times while snowboarding.
✡️ on the logo is not the Star of David but the Brewer’s Star that represents fire, air and water on one triangle, and grain, hops and yeast on the other – all the elements needed to make beer.
On New Year’s Eve, after dinner, I decided to welcome the New Year with a beer. This turned to be the best decision of my trip. At 9 pm I was surprised with a special seasonal beer on the house 🤨. While I was trying to ask the bartender some details about the beer (in Japanese) he decided to call Brian, the Brew master. I am not sure if my Japanese skills were not as good as I thought but I am very glad that Brian gave me all the details in English. But that was not it…Brian also gave me a tour of the Brewery and was very happy to answer all my questions 😮😮😮😮
Ohh by the way, the seasonal beer that I tried was an Ice Bock brewed for 7 months with a 13,5% ABV (Alcohol by Volume)
Beers produced in the Otaru Brewery 🍺
Every Monday at 7 am, you can find Brian starting the production of the week!
As of today they have produced 21 beers in addition to the 3 regulars.
The regulars are the classic germans, such as: Pilsner, Dunker, Weiss.
The seasonals, which I had the opportunity to taste: Bamberger (smoke beer) in February, Jerez in April, in June it changes every year, Schwartz in July, Fest in September, Donkel Bock and Ice Bock in December.
Now let me tell you a bit about Brian. As an American professional brewer, Brian has lived in Hokkaido since 1990 and started brewing in May 1995. The Otaru Beer Brewery Warehouse was opened shortly after in July 1995.
Why « Otaru Beer » ? Well funnily enough, Otaru (小樽) in Japanese means small barrel, so what a better place to start up a beer brewery than in Otaru.
Cheers to Brian and his amazing brewery!!!
If you enjoy beer as much as I do and happen to be in Otaru, the Otaru Beer Brewery Warehouse is a must- see. You can get a sneak peek of the place by checking out this link: https://otarubeer.com/jp/