Far Yeast Grapevine 2025 / Collaborative upcycling initiative using Château Mercian's thinned grapes

Far Yeast Brewing Co., Ltd. (Head office: Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; President and CEO: Shiro Yamada; hereinafter referred to as "the Company") will be collaborating with Mercian Viticole Katsunuma Co., Ltd. (Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture; President and CEO: Yasaburo Yoshida), a farmland-owning corporation that cultivates grapes at Chateau Mercian Katsunuma Winery (Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture), to release a limited edition of "Far Yeast Grapevine 2025" from Tuesday, October 14th. The wine is made from grapes that have been picked for wine growing.



■ Utilizing approximately 500 kg of grapes that were destined to return to the soil When cultivating grapes for wine, a process called "bunch thinning" is carried out to thin out the bunches so that nutrients are distributed to each fruit and delicious, concentrated grapes are grown. The harvested grapes are then returned to the soil and used as fertilizer. In 2021, we teamed up with Mercian Viticol Katsunuma, located in the Katsunuma district of Yamanashi Prefecture, a major wine-producing region in Japan, to begin an initiative to upcycle grapes that were harvested but not used for winemaking into craft beer. This year marks the fifth year of the initiative.
The fruit that has been removed from the clusters has a low sugar content and is not suitable for winemaking, but it still has enough sugar to be used in beer. By utilizing this, we are able to regenerate the fruit into a fragrant beer.


■This year, the red wine varieties "Syrah" and "Muscat Bailey A" were used. "Far Yeast Grapevine" is a limited edition product made with Yamanashi grapes, released by "Brewed with YAMANASHI," a project that collaborates with the local community to promote the charm of Yamanashi through beer nationwide. Each year, the beer style changes. This year, following on from last year, the beer uses two types of grapes, "Syrah" and "Muscat Bailey A," which are new varieties of red wine that Yamanashi is experimenting with.
In early August, our staff also visited the vineyards of Chateau Mercian Kamoidera Vineyard in Yamanashi City to thin the bunches. Using approximately 500 kg of purchased thinned fruit, we fermented 3,000 liters of product.



"Far Yeast Grapevine 2025" is an American pale ale that makes the most of the grape's character. It utilizes grapes picked from Chateau Mercian Katsunuma Winery, reviving the rich aroma of picked grapes. This year, a total of 500 kg of red wine varieties, Syrah and Muscat Bailey A, were used.
Inspired by the "maceration" technique used in red wine production, in which grape skins are immersed in fermenting wine, this beer is immersed in Syrah and Muscat Bailey A grape skins during fermentation, bringing out the full flavor and color of the grapes. The resulting beer has an orange-pink appearance reminiscent of rosé wine. The floral, spicy aroma of the grapes harmonizes with the tropical and citrus aromas of the hops. The moderate acidity of the grapes, along with a tannic aftertaste reminiscent of red wine, creates a hybrid flavor of wine and beer.

*Center: Grapevine

Far Yeast Grapevine 2025 will begin shipping to beer bars, restaurants, and liquor stores nationwide from Wednesday, October 15th, and will be available on the official online store from Thursday, October 16th.
Located in Yamanashi, the fruit kingdom, our company is working to reduce food waste while also aiming to establish the definitive deliciousness of grape beer. We will continue to brew this beer as a seasonal autumn product in collaboration with Mercian Viticole Katsunuma.

[Product overview]
Far Yeast Grapevine 2025
Sales start date: Tuesday, October 14th
Suggested retail price: Open price Ingredients: Grapes (Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture), malt (imported), sugar, hops Alcohol content: 6.0%
IBU: -
Style: American Pale Ale with Wine Grapes
Product: Happoshu (malt content: 25% to 50%)
Brewery: Far Yeast Brewing (Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture)
Specifications: 350ml can / 15L barrel
Official Online Store

[About Chateau Mercian Katsunuma Winery]
"Making Japan a world-famous wine-producing region." Toward the day when Japanese wine is beloved and enjoyed by people in Japan and around the world, Château Mercian will preserve Japan's nature, culture, and sensibility, evolving them into something that brings joy to people. Château Mercian Katsunuma Winery originated from the Dai-Nippon Yamanashi Winery, founded in 1877 (Meiji 10) as Japan's first private winery. Château Mercian has three wineries in Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures, but Katsunuma Winery is the central winery of Château Mercian, producing over 80% of the company's total production and steeped in history. Toward the realization of our dream of "Making Japan a world-famous wine-producing region," we will continue to move forward into the future, centered around our winery, while coexisting with the local community and nature.
https://www.chateaumercian.com/winery/katsunuma/

[Kirin Holdings Company, Limited press release]
~ Collaborative upcycling initiative using grapes from Château Mercian, aiming for sustainable winemaking ~ Far Yeast Brewing releases "Far Yeast Grapevine 2025"
https://www.kirinholdings.com/jp/newsroom/release/2025/1018_01.html