Iwate Kura Pumpkin Ale is a 5% spiced beer from Iwate Kura, based in Iwate, Japan. It’s part of their Autumn seasonal lineup, and can be found in both bottles and on tap when on sale. Iwate Kura Pumpkin Ale was originally made using imported American pumpkins; however, since 2016, Iwate Kura have been using kabocha, which is often translated into …
Iwate Kura Weizen is a 5% hefeweizen. Based on a South German recipe, this was the first Japanese craft beer to win a gold medal at the Monde Selection Awards in 1998. I’ll be honest, these old beers are really hard to write decent articles for. There’s not really much to say about them, they’ve usually won awards decades ago, …
Iwate Kura Pale Ale is a 4% English-style pale ale from Sekinoichi Brewery. Let’s see, this one has a meaningless award associated with it: a silver medal at the International Beer Challenge in 2007. Second best a decade ago, back when no-one gave a toss about Japanese craft beer? I can hardly wait to try this one. Iwate Kura Pale …
Iwate Kura Chocolate Stout is a 5% stout from Sekinoichi Shuzo, based in Iwate, Japan. It’s part of their winter seasonal lineup though it is firmly advertised as a beer for Valentine’s Day and as such, it can be found on sale from January onwards, until stocks run out. Unlike other chocolate stouts that may use flavouring or chocolate bars, Iwate …
Iwate Kura Takata no Yume is a 5% wheat / fruit beer from Sekinoichi Shuzo, based in Iwate, Japan. The “yume” part of the name doesn’t meant dream, but is rather a portmanteau, coming from two of its adjuncts yuzu, also known as Japanese citron, and ume, being Japanese plums, which are highly valued for both making umeshu (plums steeped in …
Iwate Kura Arigatou Pale Ale is a 4% American pale ale from Sekinoichi Shuzo, based in Iwate, Japan. It was first released in February 2016 as part of their limited edition ranged and can also be found under the Iwate Kura Shunensei Original name as well. At the time of writing, there is no idea whether this will become part of the all-year round …
Iwate Kura Nagisa is a 5% wild ale from Sekinoichi Shuzo, based in Iwate, Japan. It’s unique in that the brewers harvested yeast from the Hamayuri lily flower, better known as Liliaceae in its English name. The flower was once prevalent in the Kamaishi city area before the Great Tohoku earthquake in 2011, in particular along the coastal area. It was feared to have …
Iwate Kura Yoitsugi is an 8% India Pale Ale brewed by Sekinoichi Shuzo, based in Iwate, Japan. It’s part of their collaboration series, this time with Rebirth Project; a Japanese organisation that focuses on sustainable projects and business. As such, this beer is certified organic though with ulterior motives as the brewers wanted a beer that they could drink to get …
Iwate Kura Bakusui Lager is an 8.5% / 8.6% (depending on where you get the information from) imperial pilsner from Sekinoichi Shuzo based in Iwate and it is part of their limited edition range of beers. This is the latest collaboration between the Tohoku breweries of Iwate Kura, Aqula, Fukushima Michinoku, and Tazawako. Iwate Kura Bakusui Lager was first on sale in …
Iwate Kura Bravo! Masaji R-IPA is a limited edition 7% IPA from Sekinoichi Shuzo that is part of the annual Masaji Beer Project. The R-IPA stands for red IPA, while also representation the passion shown by Ōshita-san. It is the second variant from Sekinoichi Shuzo after their Iwate Kura Dandy Bitter The Bravo! part of the name comes from the Bravo …
