Tamamura Honten started brewing Shiga Kogen Beer, like several other breweries such as Kiuchi Brewery, as an offshoot from a sake brewery. In 2004, Tamamura HontenĀ applied for a license and started brewing in September of the same year. Unlike other breweries however,Ā Shiga Kogen BeerĀ receives 20% of its hops from the local area, produced by Tamamura Honten.
Tamamura HontenāsĀ Main Lineup
- Shiga Kogen House IPA ā An 8% IPA brewed using 100% British malt.
- Shiga Kogen Indian Summer Saison ā A 5% saison brewed in a traditional way.
- Shiga Kogen IPA ā Shiga Kogen Beerās flagship beer.
- Shiga Kogen Miyama Blonde ā A 7% Belgian saison style beer.
- Shiga Kogen Pale Ale ā Shiga Kogen Beerās most popular beer.
- Shiga Kogen Porter Ā ā Simple porter that is most popular amongst Shiga Kogen Beerās female drinkers.
Tamamura Hontenās Seasonal and Limited Edition Lineup
This will get updated throughout BeerTengokuās life of Tamamura Hontenās seasonal and limited edition beers.
- Shiga Kogen 1t IPAĀ āĀ A 9.5% Double / Imperial IPA brewed with 1000kg+, or 1 metric ton, of malts.
- Ā Shiga Kogen / Hair of The Dog AdamuĀ āĀ A 10% old world ale that is a collaborative release fromĀ Shiga Kogen x Hair of The Dog.
- Shiga Kogen Africa Pale Ale ā An American pale ale that is supposed to be between a traditional English pale ale and an IPA.
- Shiga Kogen Baby Miyama BlondeĀ āĀ A 5% saison that isĀ brewed using using Nishikimiyama rice and with additions of Shinshu hops and the hop varietal Loral HBC291 from the USA
- Shiga Kogen BLONDĀ ā A 5% seasonal blond ale that was first produced in 2015.
- Shiga Kogen Blue Bird Day SaisonĀ ā A 5.5% saison with its name coming from winter sport days out where the snow is fluffy and white, while the sky is a clear blue colour with not a cloud in sight.
- Shiga Kogen Coffee & Donuts
- Shiga Kogen Domestic Dry StoutĀ ā AĀ 5% dry stout, also sometimes known as an Irish-style stout, brewed using locally sourced hops.
- Shiga Kogen DPAĀ ā Originally draft only, this 5.2% pale ale finds its way to bottles for limited times only.
- Shiga Kogen Drunk CoffeeĀ ā AĀ 5.5% pale ale that is part of a limited edition range which sees Trunk Coffee, based in Nagoya, throwing in some of their beans into the Shiga Kogen range of beers.
- Shiga Kogen Fake WeizenĀ ā A 5.5% witbier that is brewed using saison yeast first produced in 2015.
- Shiga Kogen Festival SaisonĀ ā A 6% saison brewed using Bru-1 hops ā an experimental hop from the USA.
- Shiga Kogen Harvest Brew Smol ā A 3.5% session IPA Ā that uses the fresh hops from the latest harvest during the brewing process. It is brewed using Centennial and Willamette hops, with this batch being a one off.
- Shiga Kogen Harvest Summer SaisonĀ ā AĀ 5.5% saison style beer, slightly stronger than the traditional Belgian style and is released in autumn.
- Shiga Kogen Hazy IIPA ā A 7.5% NE-IPA but it is unknown though what hops went into it.
- Shiga Kogen IBAĀ ā A 7% Autumnal black IPA that is wet hopped using Centennial hops.
- Shiga Kogen IBrAĀ āĀ A 6% India Brown AleĀ brewed with eight different malts and oats, with some of them being domestically grown, and a variety of hops, to give it an IBU of 56.
- Shiga Kogen Imperial Coffee Porter Coko Rwanda ā An 8% imperial porter and has coffee beans sourced from Coko Farm, based in Rwanda.
- Shiga Kogen Imperial Indian Summer Saison ā An 8.5% saison from Tamamura Honten that is part of their limited editionĀ line up of beer.
- Shiga Kogen India Miyama Lager ā A 6% India Pale Lager brewed using locally grown rice, the same strain that is used in the sake from Tamamura Honten.
- Shiga Kogen Issai Kaiku ā A 6.5% American IPA and āIssai Kaikuā roughly translates too āEveryoneās Troubleā which stems from a Buddhist idea from the four noble truths of Buddhism.
- Shiga Kogen KasumiĀ ā A 4.5% session IPA whichĀ uses 100% Golden Malt imported from the UK.
- Shiga Kogen Monkey ClawsĀ āĀ A 12% barleywineĀ named after the monkeys that habitat the Yamanouchi town,Ā Nagano.
- Shiga Kogen New Engi-land IPAĀ ā A 6.5% American IPA based on the New England styleĀ Ā first released in June 2017 to celebrate the opening ofĀ The Farmhouse.
- Shiga Kogen Nigai Lager PilsnerĀ ā A hoppy 5% pilsner brewed to make a bitter version of a popular style of beer.
- Shiga Kogen Not So Mild AleĀ -A 4.5% mild aleĀ originally brewed with NĆøgne Ć, a Norwegian brewery, for the Tokyo Beer Festival back in 2009.
- Shiga Kogen Not So SpecialĀ ā AĀ 4.5% English bitter from Tamamura Honten that is part of their winter lineup of beer.
- Shiga Kogen No 10 Anniversary IPAĀ ā A 7.5% Imperial IPA brewed to celebrated 10 years of Shiga Kogen. First brewed in 2014 but on sale annually.
- Shiga Kogen Saison BlancĀ -A 5.5% saison brewed using two kinds of New Zealand hops and two different yeasts in the fermentation stage.
- Shiga Kogen Salty HopĀ āĀ A 4.5% saison brewed using locally grown irises and peppers and also sea salt harvested from the Japan Sea to the north of Nagano.
- Shiga Kogen Shoubu Miyama BlondeĀ ā A 6.5% spiced / herb seasonal special from Tamamura Honten that contains the roots of sweet flags.
- Shiga Kogen Smoky BrownĀ āĀ AĀ 6.5% smoked ale from Tamamura Honten
- Shiga Kogen Snow Monkey IPA āĀ 5.5% American style IPA that is produced in limited quantities in both draught form and in bottles.
- Shiga Kogen Takashi IchiroĀ ā An 11.5% imperial stoutĀ where they take a regular beer, in this case theĀ Shiga Kogen Takashi Imperial Stout, and age it for eighteen months in Ichiroās whiskey malt casks and then a year in the bottle.
- Shiga Kogen Takashi Imperial StoutĀ āĀ A 10% imperial stout which is aged for six months on-site and is named afterĀ the head clerk that used to work at Tamamura Honten.
- Shiga Kogen Two Rabbits IPAĀ ā A 9% imperial IPA where its name comes from the ancient Chinese proverb āA man who chases two rabbits catches noneā.
- Shiga Kogen Wheat AleĀ ā A 5% Summer seasonal brewed to a German hefeweizen recipe and infused with American hops.
- Shiga Kogen WIBA Masaji The GreatĀ ā AĀ 9% black IPA from Tamamura Honten and is part of the Masaji Beer Project series.
- Shiga Kogen Yuru Buru WheatĀ ā A 5% wheat aleĀ and is part of their limited edition range and was first released in May 2017 as part of a 10th anniversary celebration to theĀ Yuru Buru blog.
Tamamura Honten Yamabushi Beer
- Tamamura Honten The Far East Barrel Aged House Imperial IPAĀ ā Take the Shiga Kogen House IPA and age it in Ichiroās malt whisky barrels.
- Tamamura Honten YamabushiĀ Apricot SaisonĀ ā AĀ limited edition 6% saison from Tamamura Honten that is part of their Yamabushi range of beers.
- Tamamura Honten Yamabushi Grand RougeĀ āĀ a 6% fruit beerĀ based on a saison, though this one has had blueberries and raspberries infused during the secondary fermentation stage.
- Tamamura Honten Yamabushi Hops & BrettĀ ā a 6% saison brewed in 2015 and then aged for a year withĀ Brettanomyces and then dry hopped twice with American hops.
- Tamamura Honten Yamabushi Ore No Sake Ga Nome Ne Noka ā a 9% sour ale which is first brewed and then allowed to ferment in Ichiroās Whiskey oak casks for seven to eight months, before being transferred to white wine casks to then age for up to a year.
- Tamamura Honten Yamabushi Saison BrettĀ āĀ a 6% saison,Ā taking a saison base and infusing it with different adjuncts, in this caseĀ Brettanomyces.
- Tamamura Honten Yamabushi Saison NoirĀ āĀ a 9% black saison.
- Tamamura Honten Yamabushi Saison OneĀ ā a 6.5% saison brewed using locally-sourced hops and also sake rice.
Tamamura HontenĀ Brewery Information
Address:Ā ć381-0401, Nagano-ken, Shimotakai district, Yamanouchi town, HeionĀ 1163
Phone number:Ā 0269-33-2155
Website (Japanese only): Homepage
Online Store: Shiga Kogen Beer store
Social Media: Twitter
4 comments
Can you visit the brewery?
Yes, if you email then they will sort something out. There are also two places to drink on site – Tamamura Honten Gallery and also Teppa Room.
Thet are one of the top 3 craft beer brewers in Japan in my opinion. Their regulars are consistently good, and their seasonals / specials are always worth looking out for.
Agreed – yet to have a bad batch of beer from them.