Far Yeast Brewing launches "Off Trail - Azeotrope," a new brand that crosses over craft beer and spirits. Two unique craft gins that utilize malt flavors will be released on Friday, October 29th.
Far Yeast Brewing is launching a new brand, "Off Trail - Azeotrope," which takes on the challenge of innovative distilled spirits. The brand will release new craft spirits that utilize the flavor of malt and use botanicals such as hops and coriander, giving them the unique character that only a beer maker can offer.
The first two products, craft gins made from recycled beer lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, "Beer Distilled Gin - New Pot" and "Malt Gin - New Pot Blended," will be released in limited quantities on Friday, October 29th, with pre-orders opening on the online store from Tuesday, October 26th. 
■ "Off Trail - Azeotrope" is a craft spirits brand unique to a beer maker that makes use of the flavors of malt and hops . As a spin-off brand of "Off Trail," which promotes innovative beer brewing techniques such as barrel aging, the brand will take on the challenge of creating innovative spirits and liqueurs. The brand will release craft spirits with the unique character only a beer maker can offer, combining the flavor of malt, a beer ingredient, with the vibrant botanical aromas of hops and other ingredients.
Genever, said to be the prototype of gin, is a classic spirit based on malt wine made from grains such as barley and wheat. The commonly consumed London dry gin is based on neutral spirits that eliminate the flavor of the ingredients, but genever, on the other hand, is characterized by retaining a strong malt aroma. "Off Trail -Azeotrope" focuses on this genever-style gin.
Malt-based distilled spirits are used as the base spirit, and in order to fully capture the flavor of the ingredients, they are carefully distilled twice in a pot still (single distiller). After that, various botanicals such as hops and coriander, which are ingredients in beer, as well as fruits are used to flavor the spirit. Utilizing the extraction techniques and knowledge of aromatic components cultivated through beer brewing, we are working to create unique spirits that only a craft beer maker can do.
Geneva also pairs well with barrel aging, so we will be taking on the challenge of creating a barrel-aged gin, making use of our experience with Off Trail.
Shigeyuki Nakagaki, owner bartender of "BAROSSA cocktailier," is participating in the project and providing expert advice based on the knowledge he has gained at the forefront of the cocktail and spirits industry.
"Azeotrope" refers to the phenomenon of "azeotropy," in which two liquids with different boiling points boil together while maintaining their composition when mixed in a certain ratio. The name evokes the symbiosis of our main areas of business, beer and spirits, and symbolizes our crossover existence between the two. We aim to bring a breath of fresh air to the field of distilled spirits by utilizing the know-how we have cultivated in beer brewing.
■ Turning Lost Beer, which had nowhere to go due to the COVID-19 pandemic, into distilled alcohol
Over the past year, due to the impact of repeated state of emergency declarations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, large amounts of beer intended for commercial shipments have been left with nowhere to go. In order to reuse the 5,000 liters of lost beer that occurred in 2020, we undertook a project to recycle it into craft gin using the beer as the raw liquor. The gin is distilled twice in a pot still at a contract brewery, and the resulting gin is "Beer Distilled Gin," which will be released as the first product of the new brand.
This project led to the introduction of a pot still at the company's own brewery in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture in July 2021, which led to the launch of a new brand that takes on the full-scale challenge of distilled spirits production.
In recent years, distilled spirits that are low in sugar, calories, and purine-free have been attracting attention worldwide. The number of small-scale craft distilleries has increased dramatically, leading to a boom in craft gin. In the United States, the number of distilleries increased 15% from the previous year to 1,835 in 2018 *1 , and further market growth is expected in the future.
*1 Source: American Craft Spirit Association
We are challenging ourselves to create alcoholic beverages that go beyond the boundaries of beer in order to reduce environmental impact through the use of waste beer and to meet social needs such as the growing health consciousness of society.
■ The first products are two types of craft gin made with Ross Beer
The first product, "Beer Distilled Gin - New Pot," utilizes the large amount of commercial beer that was left undistributed due to the state of emergency declared in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was distilled in a pot still at a contract distillery and repurposed as craft gin. While retaining the flavors of malt and hops from the raw beer, it is layered with the refreshing aromas of juniper berries and yuzu added as botanicals, resulting in a fragrant craft gin that resembles a fine fragrance.
"Malt Gin - New Pot Blended" is a blend of a base gin made from malt liquor specially brewed for distilling, distilled twice in our own pot still, and spirits distilled from our regular beer "KAGUA," which is made with Japanese pepper and yuzu. The botanicals include juniper berries, coriander, Nelson Sauvin hops, and yuzu. The blend ratio achieves the optimal balance of malt and botanical flavors. Unlike London Dry Gin, this spirit focuses on flavor, allowing you to enjoy the malt flavor of the ingredients.
Most of the whiskies will be barrel-aged before being released into the market, but we will be releasing limited quantities of each new pot before aging.
"Beer Distilled Gin - New Pot" and "Malt Gin - New Pot Blended" will be available nationwide from Friday, October 29th, and advance orders will begin on our online store from 1:00 PM on Tuesday, October 26th .
[Product overview]
Beer Distilled Gin - New Pot
(Beer, Distilled Gin, New Pot)
Sales start date: Friday, October 29th
Suggested retail price: 5,434 yen (tax included)
Capacity: 500ml
Raw material origin: Domestic production (spirits)
Alcohol content: 47%
Style: New Pot
Item: Spirits
Malt Gin - New Pot Blended
(Malt Gin New Pot Blended) On sale from Friday, October 29th
Suggested retail price: 4,994 yen (tax included)
Capacity: 500ml
Raw material origin: Domestic production (spirits)
Alcohol content: 47%
Style: New Pot
Item: Spirits
※ Click here to purchase from the online store
[Off Trail - Azeotrope Advisor Introduction]
Shigeyuki Nakagaki
Born in 1968. Owner and bartender of BAROSSA cocktailier (Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture).
He has won awards at various cocktail competitions, including the World Class Japan, and has served as a seminar lecturer and judge both in Japan and overseas, as well as writing cocktail books. In 2017, he was voted number one in the nation for "Your Recommended Bar," a poll hosted by Drink Planet, in which bartenders and alcohol professionals voted.
Drawing on his knowledge gained at the forefront of the cocktail and spirits industry, he provided expert advice on the planning, production and quality aspects of our "Off Trail - Azeotrope" project.
[Off Trail - What is Azeotrope?]
Launched in October 2021 as a craft spirits brand that crosses over beer and distilled spirits, Off Trail is a spin-off brand of the cutting-edge beer brewing project "Off Trail," which utilizes a barrel aging method that utilizes microorganisms, and is challenging itself with innovative spirits, liqueurs, and more.
We aim to bring a breath of fresh air to the world of distilled spirits by utilizing the know-how of fermentation and barrel aging we have cultivated through beer brewing, focusing on genever-style spirits, which are malt-derived distilled spirits that are aged in barrels.
"Azeotrope" refers to the phenomenon of two liquids with different boiling points boiling together while maintaining their composition when mixed in a certain ratio. The name evokes the symbiosis of beer and spirits, our main fields of business.
| <Contact for inquiries regarding this matter> For media representatives, click here Far Yeast Brewing Co., Ltd. Public Relations Officer: Sasaki Mail: pr@faryeast.com Phone: 03-6849-2812 For customers, liquor stores, and restaurants, click here Mail: sales@faryeast.com Phone: 050-3135-3926 |