A brand that challenges itself to create innovative spirits “Off Trail -Azeotrope” announces its first barrel-aged plum wine, “Koshu Wine Barrel-Aged Umeshu,” made with plums from Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture On sale on Tuesday, April 12th

Far Yeast Brewing Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, Representative Director: Shiro Yamada), a craft brewer that has been introducing beers full of originality from Japan to the world, will release Off Trail -Azeotrope Koshu Wine Barrel Aged Umeshu, the brand’s first ume sake using local ume from Kosuge Village in Yamanashi Prefecture, on Tuesday, April 12th.

First Umeshu (plum wine) from “Azeotrope,” a crossover brand of beer and spirits

 ”Off Trail-Azeotrope,” launched in October 2021, is a crossover brand of beer and spirits that challenges innovative spirit and liqueur making by utilizing the know-how of fermentation and barrel aging cultivated in beer making.

 The new product is the brand’s first plum liqueur made from the distilled spirit of Far Yeast Brewing’s regular beer “馨和 KAGUA” and pickled plums from Kosuge Village in Yamanashi Prefecture.

We carefully distilled “馨和 KAGUA” twice in pot stills at the Braeckman distillery in Belgium over 100 years. Then, we transported the “馨和 KAGUA” origin spirits to Far Yeast Brewing’s Headwaters Brewery in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, then aged these spirits for nine months in French oak wine barrels that a winery donated in Yamanashi Prefecture. Then, we soaked Kosuge Village plums in the barrel-aged spirits. 

 

■Locally produced and locally consumed products utilizing ume plums grown locally in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture

 Far Yeast Brewing, which had a brewery in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, moved its headquarters functions to Kosuge Village in 2020. The company is actively working to strengthen cooperation with agricultural producers in Yamanashi Prefecture and other businesses to brew beer using agricultural products from Yamanashi prefecture.

The plums used in this new project were provided by Genryu Mirai, an agricultural NPO that manages plum groves that have become difficult to care for due to the aging of the farmers.

Genryu Mirai is working to revitalize the headwaters of the Tama River and the Kosuge River area, and in 2021, with the cooperation of Genryu Mirai, we brewed a beer using plums and blueberries grown in Kosuge Village at Off Trail 

Under the theme of “local production for local consumption,” we have taken on the challenge of making ume (plum) wine as a product that tastes the terroir of the local Kosuge Village.

 

■Plum wine with a rich aroma unique to barrel-aged for adults. 

 The plum wine is made by soaking plums that have been fully ripened after harvesting to maximize the aroma. The fresh plum flavor with an intense sourness is harmonized with the woody aroma from the wooden barrels, creating a deep and mature taste.

 It can be enjoyed in your favorite way, straight, on the rocks, or with soda, but the plum and woody aroma is more decadent when drunk straight. Twice-up is also recommended.

 

 Off Trail -Azeotrope Koshu Wine Barrel Aged Umeshu went on sale to the general public on Tuesday, April 12, and was pre-sold on the official online store on Tuesday, April 12 at 1:00 p.m.


【Product Summary】

Off Trail -Azeotrope Koshu wine barrel-aged plum wine

Sales start date: April 12 (Tuesday)

Capacity: 500 ml

Suggested retail price: Open price

Place of origin: Manufactured in Belgium (Spirits)

ABV: 19.0

Style: Barrel Aged Umeshu

Product: Liqueur


※For online purchase, please visit here : https://faryeast.stores.jp/  

 

【About Off Trail – Azeotrope】

 ”Off Trail-Azeotrope,” launched in October 2021, is a crossover brand of beer spirits that challenges innovative spirit and liqueur making by Off Trail-Azeotrope,” launched in October 2021. Azeotrope is a crossover brand of beer and spirits that challenges innovative spirit and liqueur making by utilizing the know-how of fermentation and barrel aging cultivated in beer making. Focusing on Geneva-style spirits, in which malt-derived spirits are barrel-aged, we aim to bring a new wind to the realm of the spirit by utilizing the fermentation and barrel-aging know-how cultivated in the beer-making process. “Azeotrope” refers to the phenomenon of “azeotrope” in which two liquids with different boiling points are mixed in a certain ratio and boil together while maintaining their compositional ratios. The name “Azeotrope” is an image of the symbiosis between beer and spirits, which is our main area of business.

 

Far Yeast Brewing collaborates with Japanese sake maker WAKAZE. Doburoku-like Wheat Ale made with rice and white malted rice. Far Yeast DOBUROKU Wheat Ale will be released on Saturday, March 26.

 Craft beer brewery Far Yeast Brewing Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, Representative Director: Shiro Yamada) that has been introducing beers full of originality from Japan to the world, announced the general release of a collaboration beer Far Yeast DOBUROKU Wheat Ale with WAKAZE Corporation, which has its head office in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, and Representative Director Takuma Inagawa, who operates the Craft Sake Brewery named Sangenjaya Brewery in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. Far Yeast DOBUROKU Wheat Ale, a doburoku-inspired wheat ale, will be released on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

■The second collaboration with WAKAZE, a craft SAKE brewer

 This beer will be the first mutual collaboration brew with WAKAZE, which produces a wide variety of SAKE to realize “Changing Sake to a global drink!”

The first collaboration will be Far Yeast Brewing providing the technology to brew Sancha Sumi Sake Anko Stout at WAKAZE Sangenjaya Brewery as a SAKE that incorporates stout, a beer style, in its conception and has released by WAKAZE on February 16, 2022.

For the second collaboration, Far Yeast Brewing brewed a SAKE-style beer at its head brewery using the same white Kouji; malted rice,  used in WAKAZE.

 This genre-defying collaboration between sake and beer will deliver even more diversity and freedom in the appeal of alcoholic beverages.


■Smooth mouthfeel and refreshing ginjo aroma produced by Sake yeast

 It was brewed using “Tsuyahime (rice)” and “Shiro Koji” used at WAKAZE as ingredients. Our brewer has long wanted to brew a beer using koji. This collaboration has resulted in a wheat ale reminiscent of doburoku, one of WAKAZE’s most distinctive products.

 The malt used is a high percentage of wheat, giving it a smooth mouthfeel. Unlike the Hazy IPA style beers currently popular in the craft beer scene, which emphasize the hop aroma upfront, this wheat ale has a refreshing aroma that blends the gentle ginjo aroma of SAKE with the flavor of wheat. 

 

 Far Yeast DOBUROKU Wheat Ale will go on sale to the public on Saturday, March 26, and be available for pre-sale on the online store from Tuesday, March 22. In April, to commemorate the collaboration with WAKAZE, “Sancha Sumi Sake Anko Stout” and “Far Yeast DOBUROKU Wheat Ale” will be available at WAKAZE TOKYO, WAKAZE’s directly managed interactive restaurant, and Far Yeast Tokyo Brewery & Grill, Far Yeast Brewing’s direct operated restaurant. DOBUROKU Wheat Ale and the food that goes with each will be offered as a unique pairing.

Product Summary

Far Yeast DOBUROKU Wheat Ale

Release date: Saturday, March 26th, 2022

Price: Open price.

Ingredients: Wheat malt (German-manufactured), Barry Malt (German-manufactured and Belgian-manufactured), rice, Shiro-koji, hops, sugars, enzyme. 

ABV:7.0%

IBU:14

Beer Style: Rice&Wheat SAKE Ale

Product type: Happoushu 

Brewery: Far Yeast Brewing, Genryu Brewery at Kosuge village, Yamanashi. 

Specification:350ml can

 
【About WAKAZE】

 WAKAZE Co., Ltd. is a start-up company established in 2016. The company was founded in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, with the goal of “Changing Sake to a global drink. The phrase “Change Sake to a global drink.” is that expresses the company’s aspiration to create a world where SAKE is made and consumed all over the world. In July 2018, it established the Sangenjaya Brewery in Sangenjaya, Tokyo, and in November 2019, the KURA GRAND PARIS brewery in the suburbs of Paris, France. https://www.wakaze-store.com

Far Yeast Brewing × Hop Kotan Brewing Using Furano-produced Haskap, making you feel a touch of spring, a bright pink fruit sour IPL. Far Yeast Paykar Sour IPL is on sale Saturday, March 26

Craft beer brewery Far Yeast Brewing Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, Representative Director: Shiro Yamada) that has been introducing beers full of originality from Japan to the world had a collaboration with Hop Kotan Brewery in Kamifurano, Hokkaido. The collaboration beer is “Far Yeast Paykar Sour IPL,” Fruit Sour IPL style. It will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, March 26, with pre-sales starting on Tuesday, March 15th at 1:00 pm on the official online store.

The first-time collaboration with Hop Kotan Brewing Co.

 Mr. Takayuki Tsutsuno, president of Hop-Kotan Brewing, and Far Yeast Brewing have been in friendship for some time, and he was to serve as an advisor when Far Yeast Brewing established the Genryu Brewery. In the fall of 2016, we discussed “Let’s brew beer together” while camping in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, where the brewery was being prepared for its establishment. In fact, due to the delay in setting up the brewery, we missed the timing of our collaboration, and five years later, our first collaboration came to fruition.

■Challenging “Sour IPL,” which is rarely distributed in the Japanese market. 

We brewed our first lager style beer in 2021, and we wanted to use that experience while further perfecting lager. We chose the Sour IPL (India Pale Lager) style for this collaboration as a newer lager challenge while incorporating Hop Kotan Brewery’s knowledge of clean lager beer recipe structure and brewing techniques. Sour IPA (India Pale Ale) has become increasingly popular in recent years, but sour IPL brewed with lager yeast is rarely available in the market. This is because lager yeast is delicate, and it is challenging to brew a sour IPL with a hybrid of other yeasts. Far Yeast Paykar Sour IPL was brewed with an abundance of Furano Haskap and Kamifurano Cascade hops, which Hop Kotan Brewery uses in their regular products. The result is a sour fruit IPL with a rich single-hop aroma and a clean, clean mouthfeel. Paykar means spring in the Ainu language. The sourness of the Haskap and its bright pink color reminds us of the coming of spring, making it a perfect bottle for the coming season.

【Product Summary】

Far Yeast Paykar Sour IPL

Release date: Saturday, March 26th, 2022

Price: Open price.

Ingredients: Barry Malt (German-manufactured and Belgian-manufactured), Hascup, hops/acidifier. 

ABV:6.5%

Beer Style: Fruited Sour IPA 

Product type: Happoushu 

Brewery: Far Yeast Brewing, Genryu Brewery at Kosuge village, Yamanashi. 

Specification:350ml can, 15L keg

 


【About Hop Kotan Brewery】

“Seeking the Happiness of Brewing with Local Hops.”Hop Kotan Brewery is the only brewery in Hokkaido that brews beer using hops from Kamifurano, where hops are grown commercially. The logo motif also expresses the brewery’s passion for rare hops. The series of beers produced are first, the HOP KOTAN ORIGINALS series, which embodies the fundamental theme of beer brewed with local hops. Second, the HOP KOTAN ORIGINALS plus series adds a new twist to the concept of 100% hops from Kamifurano. The third is the HOP KOTAN FREEDOMS series, which challenges the creation of unique beers with a free spirit.

http://hopkotan.com/

 

Far Yeast Brewing × Black Tide Brewing Powerful sourness and red wine-like depth of flavor from barrel aging. Off Trail Fortune and Glory March 26, Saturday Release

Craft beer brewery Far Yeast Brewing Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, Representative Director: Shiro Yamada) that has been introducing beers full of originality from Japan to the world in collaboration with Black Tide Brewing, a brewery in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, will release “Off Trail #22 Fortune and Glory,” a traditional Belgian Flanders Red style beer, to the public on Saturday, March 26, 2022, with pre-orders available on the official online store from 1:00 pm on Tuesday, March 8.

■ Traditional Belgian Flanders Red Style

 This first collaboration with Black Tide Brewing is an experimental beer that challenges what can be achieved using only malt, hops, water, yeast, and bacteria, with no fruit or spice secondary ingredients. Paying homage to traditional Belgian sour beers, we created a Flanders Red style beer that both brewers prefer. Flanders Red Ale is an ale beer that has long been made in the Flanders region of Belgium. It is aged for a long time in oak barrels, and during the aging process, lactic acid bacteria living in the barrels give it a unique sour taste. The aroma of the oak barrels and the astringency of the tannins are also infused into the beer, giving it a full-bodied, red wine-like flavor.

■Barrel-aged sour ale with intense sourness and complex fruit flavors.

 If you are not used to drinking sour beers, you may be surprised by the taste of this beer. It starts with a potent sourness on the palate, followed by pear, pineapple, prune, and raisin flavors. This beer offers the depth of flavor of a barrel-aged beer expressed with only the minimum ingredients. We named this beer “Fortune and Glory” to evoke the image of an adventurer in search of unknown flavors and the deliciousness that awaits you. This beer is a must-try for those who love sour ales and barrel-aged beers and those who are looking for a different beer experience.

This beer also ages well in the bottle, gaining even more depth over time. If you want to enjoy it right away, transfer it to a decanter and let it air out, mellow the acidity and make it easier to drink.


【Product Summary】

Off Trail Fortune and Glory

Release date: Saturday, March 26th, 2022

Price: Open price.

Ingredients: Barry Malt (Foreign-manufactured), hops, sugar. 

ABV:7.0%

Beer Style: Flanders Red Style Ale

Product type: Beer

Brewery: Far Yeast Brewing, Genryu Brewery at Kosuge village, Yamanashi. 

Specification:750ml bottle, 350ml can, 10L keg

【About Black Tide Brewing】

 Black Tide brewery has the vision of “making world-class craft beer from Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture. Diverse background members established the brewery after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, hoping to contribute to the recovery and reconstruction of Kesennuma. Black TIde Brewery has been delivering the best craft beer from Kesennuma to the rest of Japan and the world. The brewery’s name is derived from the “Black Tide,” a powerful ocean current that flows along the southern coast of Japan and near Kesennuma, and the words “Black Tide” in the logo also depict wave lines.

https://blacktidebrewing.com/ 

Far Yeast Bicycle Geisha Golden Ale, a collaboration beer using BICYCLE COFFEE TOKYO’s top grade coffee bean “Geisha”, to be released on February 24 (Thursday)

Far Yeast Brewing will release “Far Yeast Bicycle Geisha Golden Ale”, a limited edition collaboration beer with BICYCLE COFFEE TOKYO, a natural roastery born in the San Francisco Bay Area. The limited edition Far Yeast Bicycle Geisha Golden Ale will go on sale on Thursday, February 24, 2022, and will be available for pre-sale on the official online store from 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

Use the world’s rarest coffee bean, “Geisha”

Since the first collaboration beer with BICYCLE COFFEE TOKYO, Far Yeast Bicycle Coffee IPA (Far Yeast Bicycle Coffee IPA) in 2017, this year marks the sixth year of this popular annual event.

This year’s IPA uses “Geisha” coffee beans, one of the world’s most popular specialty coffees. “Geisha” is a rare and top-quality variety that is difficult to cultivate and harvested in small quantities. It is characterized by a floral aroma that can be compared to perfume, a refreshing acidity like orange or grapefruit, and a rich sweetness like honey or chocolate. It is an aromatic coffee reminiscent of jasmine or Earl Grey tea.

Coffee Golden Ale that brings out the best of “Geisha” characteristics

In order to bring out the characteristics of “Geisha” to the fullest, we paid thorough attention to every detail, including the selection of the base beer, the roast and grind of the coffee beans, and the amount of addition. The majority of coffee beers are black beers such as porters and stouts, but this is a golden ale style.

The base beer is Far Yeast Tokyo Blonde, a regular beer. The beer was dry-hopped so that the astringency from the hops would not interfere with the original characteristics of “Geisha” and so that the clear taste could be enjoyed.

The beans were shallow-roasted because a medium roast gives a strong roasted coffee flavor while masking the aroma of Geisha.

When poured into a glass, it has a sweet aroma like vanilla, and as the temperature rises, the coffee flavor gradually rises. The sweetness of malt and coffee, and the tropical flavor of hops and coffee can be felt in this superb finish.This beer is a must-try for beer lovers and coffee lovers alike.

Far Yeast Bicycle Geisha Golden Ale will go on sale on Thursday, February 24, and will be available for pre-order on the official online store from 1 pm on Tuesday, February 22. It will also be available at the BICYCLE COFFEE TOKYO store in Kanamachi, Tokyo.

The official online store will also sell a set product that combines the “Geisha” coffee beans used in this project with “Far Yeast Bicycle Geisha Golden Ale”.

 

【Product Summary】

 

 

 

 

 

Far Yeast Bicycle Geisha Golden Ale

Release date: February 24 (Thursday)

Ingredients: malted barley (produced overseas), hops, sugar, coffee

ABV : 5.0%

Style : Golden Ale

Brewery : Far Yeast Brewing Genryu Brewery (Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture)

Specifications : 350ml can, 15L keg

 

About BICYCLE COFFEE TOKYO

Founded in 2009 in San Francisco Bay Area. They roast quality coffee grown by sustainable farms and deliver it by bicycle” is the concept of Bicycle Coffee Tokyo, a roastery that roasts fair trade, top quality sustainable coffee in-house and delivers it by bicycle to its customers. The company has been operating in Japan since 2013. In Japan, BICYCLE COFFEE TOKYO opened in 2013 as a Tokyo branch, selling fresh coffee on a daily basis.

https://bicyclecoffeetokyo.com

 

Please check past collaboration beers from the link below.

・2017:「Far Yeast BICYCLE COFFEE IPA」

・2018:「Far Yeast BICYCLE COFFEE IPA Medium Roast」「Far Yeast BICYCLE COFFEE IPA Dark Roast」

・2019:「Far Yeast BICYCLE COFFEE IPA 2019

・2020:「Far Yeast BICYCLE COFFEE IPA 2020」 「Bicycle Coffee Stout」 

・2021  : 「Bicycle Coffee Saison」