Kiuchi Brewery Information

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Kiuchi Brewery : At a Glance

• Opened : 1996
• Japanese name : 常陸野ネストビール / 木内酒造
• Location : Naka, Ibaraki
• First beer : Hitachino Nest White Ale, 1996
• Head brewer : Tatsuya Kiuchi
• Homepage : https://hitachino.cc

Kiuchi Brewery : Background

Hitachino Nest is one of those Japanese beer names that has become so familiar internationally that it is easy to forget how unusual the story actually is. The beer comes from Kiuchi Brewery, a sake producer founded in 1823 in what is now Naka, Ibaraki. After more than 170 years of making sake, the brewery began producing Hitachino Nest Beer in 1996, entering the craft beer market just as Japan’s first microbrewery boom was beginning to take shape.

The name Hitachino Nest refers to the Hitachino region of Ibaraki, while the distinctive red owl logo has become one of the most recognisable symbols of Japanese craft beer. The range was designed to draw on Kiuchi’s existing brewing knowledge while exploring beer styles that were still relatively unfamiliar in Japan. Early beers included White Ale, Pale Ale, Amber Ale, Weizen and Sweet Stout, giving the brewery a deliberately varied portfolio rather than concentrating on a single house style.

White Ale became the beer most closely associated with the brand, combining wheat with coriander, orange peel and other spices to create a distinctly Japanese take on a Belgian-style wheat beer. Other beers helped establish the brewery’s reputation for experimenting with ingredients and techniques, including Espresso Stout, Red Rice Ale and XH, an unusually strong Belgian-style beer aged in sake casks.

As demand grew, Kiuchi expanded production. In 2007, it opened the Nukada Brewery in Naka, establishing a dedicated facility for Hitachino Nest and creating the capacity to produce on a much larger scale. Today the brewery produces around 3,000 kilolitres of beer annually, with more than 15 beers regularly in production. Around half of that beer is exported, making Hitachino Nest one of the Japanese craft beer brands with a substantial international presence.

Despite that scale, the brewery continues to emphasise Japanese ingredients and local connections. Kiuchi works with local farmers to grow domestic barley and wheat, while its wider food and drink operations make use of ingredients from Ibaraki.

The result is a brewery that sits somewhere between traditional Japanese sake brewing and modern craft beer. Hitachino Nest helped demonstrate that Japanese beer did not have to imitate the major domestic lagers, while Kiuchi’s long brewing history gave the brand a distinctly Japanese foundation. Nearly three decades after the first batch, the owl remains one of the country’s most recognisable craft beer exports.

Kiuchi Brewery : Beer Reviews

The following are some of the beers we’ve had:

• Hitachino Nest Amber ale – a traditional amber ale brewed using British hops.
• Hitachino Nest Anbai Ale – A 7% gose style beer brewed using green sour plum (ume) and Japanese sea salt (moshio).
• Hitachino Nest Celebration ale – similar to a wheat ale;
• Hitachino Nest DAi DAi IPA – an IPA brewed using wild Japanese hops and the daidai orange.
• Hitachino Nest Espresso stout – a Russian Imperial stout infused with dark roasted espresso beans;
• Hitachino Nest Extra high (XH) – a strong Belgian ale matured in the brewery’s sake barrels;
• Hitachino Nest Japanese classic ale – a traditional bottled conditioned ale brewed using British hops;
• Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet stout – a low bitterness stout;
• Hitachino Nest Lager – Released in 2015, Hitachino Nest finally made a move into the lager market.
• Hitachino Nest Nipponia – based on a traditional Japanese recipe using Japanese barley and Japanese hops;
• Hitachino Nest Pale ale – an English style pale ale;
• Hitachino Nest Real Ginger ale – a classic ginger ale brewed using raw ginger;
• Hitachino Nest Red rice ale – a Japanese rice ale made using ancient red rice;
• Hitachino Nest Saison Du Japan – Released in 2014, Hitachino Nest’s take on the saison.
• Hitachino Nest Weizen – a German style here weizen;
• Hitachino Nest White ale – an award-winning Belgian-style wheat beer.

Kiuchi Brewery : Limited & Seasonal Lineup

• Hitachino Nest Brewbase Crazy Hazy Baby – A 6% NE-IPA that was first released in October 2018.
• Hitachino Nest Brewbase Freaks – A 5% NE-IPA brewed with the experimental hop HBC431 and also imported Mosaic hops.
• Hitachino Nest Brewbase Hop Hideout – A 6% NE-IPA brewed using Amarillo, Mosaic, and Citra.
• Hitachino Nest Brewbase Sidekick Slick IPA – A 6% American IPA which is a a collaborative effort between Daytona and Transporter magazine.
• Hitachino Nest Chocolate Soul – A 5% New England Sweet Stout IPA that contains several adjuncts in the form of lactose, vanilla beans, and cacao.
• Hitachino Nest Eazy Ride IPA – A 6% American IPA brewed with freshly pressed coconut and also Mosaic, Amarillo, and Chinook hops.
• Hitachino Nest Hazy IPA – A 6% Hazy IPA though its unknown at the time of writing what hops went into the making of this beer.
• Hitachino Nest Mosaic Lager – A 4.5% India Pale Lager that is brewed using Mosaic hops.
• Hitachino Nest Yoroshiku – A 6% spiced beer that uses locally sourced yuzu, known as Japanese citrons, and imported Earl Grey tea for the UK
• Hitachino Nest Yosano Fresh CC – A 4% American pale ale that is available on draught at the taprooms. It’s brewed using hops grown in Yosano, Kyoto with Cascade and Centennial being used for this beer.

Kiuchi Brewery : Articles

The following are some of the articles we’ve done:

• Kiuchi Brewery Tour – read about our short tour around the brewery.
• An Interview with Kiuchi Brewery – read our interview with Kiuchi Brewery.
• True Brew Hitachino Nest Tasting Room Mito – check out our review of the bar in Mito where you can try some of their beers.
• Akihabara Hitachino Brewing Lab – check out our review of the taproom for the brewery in Akihabara, Tokyo.
• Tokyo Hitachino Brewing Lab – check out our review of the taproom for the brewery in Tokyo Station.
• Hitachino Nest Marunouchi in Tokyo, Tokyo.

Kiuchi Brewery : Details

• Address : 311-0133 Ibaragi-ken, Naka-shi, Kounosu 1257
• Phone : 029-298-0105
• Homepage : https://hitachino.cc
• Online store : https://kiuchi.shop/
• Social Media : Facebook / Instagram

Kiuchi Brewery : Location