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  • [ Today's video contains a story about me and craft beer.

  • But if you drink, please do so legally and responsibly. ]

  • "Ah, this is such a throwback!!

  • OK, so, let me tell you a story:

  • Once upon a time I lived in New York City

  • by a Japanese import grocery store.

  • They used to sell beer with cute little owl logos on it

  • but back then I really wasn't into beer

  • and thought they were all gross so I never thought to buy it.

  • Fast forward a few years,

  • and suddenly I've been invited out to Ibaraki Prefecture,

  • home to the Kiuchi Brewery in Japan,

  • which makes Japan's one and only

  • craft brand, "Hitachino Nest Beer".

  • Once we got there and saw the same owl logo

  • I finally realized, this is the same brand I saw in New York.

  • So, we can finally solve the mystery

  • and see what Japan's famous craft beer

  • is all about.

  • We just made it to the factory and

  • and immediately there's this delicious fragrance of...

  • BEER.

  • "So we'll start off over here"

  • Like any beer, the first step is to the simmer down the main ingredients

  • so that it begins to separate and purify.

  • Just be careful, because if you open the hatch

  • you're in for QUITE the potent smell!

  • ( "WHAT KIND OF SMELL?!" )

  • One thing that makes Nest Beer so special

  • is the range of ingredients they use

  • and the workers who will try nearly anything to make a new flavored brew.

  • Munich.... malt??? What is that???

  • That's because the Kiuchi family tradition behind nest beer

  • has been used to brew for almost 200 years here

  • using similar sake distilling techniques

  • now to create more colorful flavors of beer.

  • So all the different steps it takes to make the beer

  • are connected through pipes from buliding to building.

  • We've gotta follow this to the next level of beer!

  • "Wait, just this part right here???"

  • "This level right weights one ton."

  • This is one ton?!

  • That's heavy!

  • This metal must be pretty sturdy...

  • And here we have "Pilsner..."

  • Ah yeah, that's a beer too!

  • One ton... two tons...

  • So just this here is one elephant.

  • Since an elephant weighs just over about two tons.

  • Seven THOUSAND liters of beer!

  • In just one of these!

  • Ales brewed in wine and cherry blossom barrels...

  • beers made with ginger and red rice...

  • and my favorite, the delicate White Ale.

  • All of their beers are made locally

  • using grains from the same fields that are used

  • to make Ibaraki Prefecture's famous soba.

  • And of those, over half are sold by export around the world.

  • [Ship to the Netherlands]

  • As for Japan,

  • you can buy them easily at the Isetan in downtown Shinjuku.

  • The first floor may look like a typical department store

  • but if you go down one floor to the basement,

  • you'll find Nest Beer and other local brews.

  • Plus they're right next to the 'bento' prepared lunches and other foods

  • that look so good!!!

  • This will make a great gift for my friends when they visit!

  • Yep, it's Spring time in Japan!

  • Which means picnics in the park and fun under the cherry blossoms.

  • My friends here just flew in from the states

  • so we decided to take it easy with the familiar feel

  • but special flavor of a Japanese-style craft beer.

  • ("Have you guys had this one before?)

  • "No, we haven't had it before!"

  • "The blue one is my favorite!"

  • Cheers!

  • I still have one question: Why is it an owl?

  • Oh, it's an owl because

  • there were a lot of owls living here since a while back

  • so we just kind of made it our mascot.

  • That's great.

  • If you'd like to try Nest Beer for yourself

  • check out the link to Isetan Shinjuku

  • in the description below!

[ Today's video contains a story about me and craft beer.

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