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Japan – a beer-loving nation, part one: From the opening of the country in 1860 to the trends of the 1980s Michaela Knör (Axel Simon Library, VLB Berlin)
Since the late 1890s, the German master brewer Wilhelm Coblitz had been responsible for production in the Yebisu brewery
Beer is an important beverage in Central Europe – both as a foodstuff and as a luxury. It has been brewed and drunk in the Czech Republic, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Germany for centuries. The quality of the beer hailing from these countries is well-known far beyond their borders – people now appreciate the moreish drink all around the world as it triumphantly marches from the heart of our continent to every corner of the globe. But over the past century or two, this “substance” – a prominent feature of social life in Germany – has also established itself in countries where the drinking and living cultures were originally shaped by alcoholic beverages of a very different nature. Take Japan, for example. Sake or beer Sake has always been the traditional alcoholic beverage in the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s worth mentioning, however, that there is a lot to be said for the relationship between sake and beer. Although sake is misleadingly referred to as rice wine in Western usage, the way it is produced is more similar to that of beer than to that of wine. This is because, as with beer, the starch
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must first be broken down. However, this is not done by malting the rice, but through a multi-stage process. The fact that the first written mention of “biiru” (beer) is found in texts dating back to 1800 describing it as “migusake” (barley sake) also points towards the connection between the two. But Japan’s contact with beer in the European sense was minimal until the 1860s – it was only brought into the country by Dutch traders and scholars. It took Japan ending its isolationist foreign policy and the opening of the island kingdom, which sealed itself off from the world and severely restricted trade until the middle of the 19th century, to kickstart its development into a beer nation. The window to the outside world only opened with the signing of the friendship treaty between the United States and Japan, the Convention of Kanagawa (Nichibei Washin Jōyaku). Thanks to this contractual agreement, a number of European traders settled in the port area of Yokohama in the following years. The merchants who lived there in something akin to a colony also imported the beers from their respective homes, as well as other goods, thus introducing mainly English and German beers to the nation and gradually making them better known among the local population. Development into an industrial nation The Meiji Restoration (1868–1912) heralded a phase of renewal in which Japan developed from a
Brauerei Forum International – May 2020
Photos (2): GGB e.V.
If you ask about the most important beer-culture countries, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Germany are often the names mentioned. Nobody thinks of Japan – but people should. Because beer has always played a major role in this East Asian country.
strictly isolated, agriculturally dominated feudal state to a Western-oriented industrial nation. This “take-off” climate saw a lively cultural exchange begin with some Western countries. Products from the United States and Europe became fashionable among the locals. In many places, breweries were established that brewed beer in the English or German styles. Towards the end of the 19th century, there were more than 150 breweries scattered across the country. However, many of these establishments only had a rather short life span. Insufficient financial resources, the difficulty in procuring the raw materials, a lack of expertise, and practically non-existent sales structures all took their toll. The beer tax introduced in 1901, which the government used to finance the
