By ASAKO MYORAKU/ Staff Writer
July 29, 2024 at 07:00 JST
Major breweries have opened a number of facilities in central Tokyo to give hands-on brewing experiences to visitors in hopes of spreading a taste for the suds.
The companies want to convey the charms of their products at a time when sales of beer and beer-like beverages are shrinking.
Sapporo Breweries Ltd. opened Yebisu Brewery Tokyo in Tokyo’s Ebisu district in April. Some sections of the facility, including brewing equipment, can be toured free of charge.
Visitors can also pay to taste products of the company’s mainstay Yebisu Beer brand brewed on the site.
The first Yebisu Beer product was brewed in Ebisu in 1890.
Sapporo Breweries stopped making beer in Ebisu when it relocated the brewery. However, it restarted the brewing process via Yebisu Brewery Tokyo for the first time in 35 years.
The facility has a section that shows the history of the site. It also offers guided tours for a charge.
More than 90,000 people have visited the site, officials said.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
Asahi Breweries Ltd. started operating a pop-up facility in Tokyo’s Ginza district in late April.
Through the end of September, visitors can enjoy the worldview of the company’s mainstay Super Dry beer product line.
For an admission fee of 700 yen ($4.38), visitors are offered a ride-type attraction that gives an immersive experience in the beer-brewing process, a glass of beer, and other things.
Visitors can also serve draft beer for themselves for an additional fee.
CRAFT BREWS
Kirin Brewery Co. reopened a revamped Spring Valley Brewery Tokyo, a restaurant complex with brewing equipment, in Tokyo’s Daikanyama district in late May.
The place combines art and music and serves about 15 types of craft beer, along with dishes that pair well with the beer.
Domestic shipments of beer and beer-like beverages in Japan have been decreasing since peaking in 1994. More people are shunning alcohol, particularly in younger generations.
A Kirin Brewery official said that creating a hands-on experience facility will hopefully bring about positive effects through a spread of information online.
“Many young people are eager to share their experiences on social media,” the official explained.
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Brewing equipment at Sapporo Breweries Ltd.’s Yebisu Brewery Tokyo complex in Shibuya Ward on April 22 (Asako Myoraku)
