We’re moving down from Hokkaido onto Honshu for this entry into our prefecture focus, and Tohoku is the area we’re into next. Aomori was the prefecture that was chosen next, and it’s not once that’s noted for its craft beer.
Craft Beer in Aomori
If you’re looking at a map of Japan, then you’ll notice that large area to the north on the main island of Honshu. That area of Japan is one of the coldest in winter and also has the record of being the snowiest place in the world, with the prefecture’s capital city, Aomori City, getting over 8m of snow on average per year. With all that snow, it means there is also a lot of alcohol being consumed during those cold winter months, when people are stuck indoors. However, Aomori is more famous in Japan for its nature with Shirakami Sanchi, a world heritage site; The Tanesashi Coast, which stretches for over 12 km and is home to over 600 types of plants; and Lake Towada, a crater lake rimmed by the crater’s mountainous edge and is the source of the Oirase Mountain Stream.
A Brief History of Aomori
Aomori Prefecture, which roughly translates to green forest as over 45% of the prefecture is covered in trees, is the 8th largest prefecture in Japan and the northernmost on the island of Honshu. Like other prefectures in Japan, it was once its own ruler, and there is evidence that humans have lived there for over 15,000 years.
Aomori was once split into two parts – the western side of Aomori Prefecture is called “Tsugaru” and the eastern side is called “Nanbu”, and those two areas have developed their own cultures due to a complicated history. During the era of civil war (1495–1575), Nanbu clans had control over Aomori, Akita and Iwate region. However it was hard to effectively rule over such a wide area, and conflict continued for a long time.
In the late 16th century, Oura Tamenobu who was the vassal of the Nanbu clan, rebelled and became the lord of the Tsugaru region in 1590, naming himself as Tsugaru Tamenobu. At the same time, Nanbu Nobunao became the lord of Nanbu region. In the Meiji Period, those two areas with different character became one: as Aomori Prefecture.
Aomori was not called Aomori until after 1624 in the early Edo period. It was noted that during these days there were green forests near the current city of Honcho in Aomori. This was used as a landmark for ships that came into the ports that were being constructed at that time.
In 1877, Aomori prefecture saw apples ripening on its trees — this was the period of Japan’s first apple cultivation. After that, Aomori overcame various difficulties like pests or disease, and became Japan’s number one in apple production. To this day, Aomori is composed of three regions: the Tsugaru region, including the cities of Aomori and Hirosaki, the Nanbu region, with Hachinohe and Towada, and the Shimokita region with Mutsu.
Beer in Aomori
Surprisingly, there is very little history of beer in Aomori prefecture. In fact, at the time of writing, there are only 7 craft beer breweries in the prefecture, putting it at the lower end of the number of breweries. There are numerous reasons for this but the main one is that the density and the distance from Tokyo.
Though the law was repealed in 1994, allowing smaller breweries to open, many that did were using the ji-beer system to make their beers. With Aomori being noted for its apples, many of these breweries utilised them to make alcoholic drinks.
The first craft beer brewery in Aomori didn’t come about until 1997 – 3 years after the law was repealed. Oirase Brewery, which shut down in 2021, but reopened a short time later under new management is the oldest brewery still in operation in the area. Though they managed to avoid using the ji-beer approach to making beers, they do use some local rice in a couple of their beers.
Though Oirase Brewery was the first, it’s not the most well known brewery from Aomori now. That distinction goes to Be Easy Brewing, perhaps helped by being run by a foreigner who plays shamisen. Gareth Burns is the head brewer and owner of Be Easy Brewing, and since 2016, has been brewing in Aomori, with their beers becoming more and more readily available across Tohoku, though some of their biggest customers are in Kanto and further afield in Kansai.
