In Koryo Town, Kitakatsuragi District, Nara Prefecture, a town dotted with ancient tombs, you can often see parents and children playing on the lawn, and people spreading out their lunch boxes on the benches at lunchtime. Choryu Brew Park, which opened next to Choryu Sake Brewery's headquarters in the spring of 2022, is a popular place for local people to easily gather.Let's take a look at the charm of Choryu Brew Park, a community-based facility with a tap room where you can enjoy sake and craft beer, as well as a grassy field!

1. Infiltrate Choryu Brew Park, a facility where you can enjoy everything about Choryu Sake Brewery

Choryu Sake Brewery is located in a quiet village on the banks of the Takada River, a famous spot for viewing 1963 cherry blossoms in Prefectural Umami Hills Park. Their signature product since their founding in 2010 has been ``Yoshino Cedar Barrel Sake,'' and they are known as the first brewery in Japan to release bottled barrel sake. From around XNUMX, in line with changes in the sake industry, we shifted to small-scale brewing with the aim of producing higher quality sake.
They produce a variety of famous sake, including junmai sake and junmai ginjo sake, which emphasize the taste of the sake rice.
Two years ago, they started brewing craft beer, which has also been well received.

Parents and children were seen playing on the lawn, and people were seen spreading out their lunch boxes on the benches at lunchtime. Choryu Brew Park, which opened next to the company's headquarters in the spring of 2022, is a popular place for local people to easily gather.
It is open as a park on weekdays, and a taproom where you can drink sake and craft beer is open on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
We also have a wide variety of original food that goes well with alcohol, and you can enjoy it slowly in an open space.
Especially during the cherry blossom viewing season, it is a great spot to view the rows of cherry blossom trees along the Takadagawa River bank.

Click here for the person introducing this article

Mr. Makoto Yoshida, General Manager, Choryu Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.

Profile

Joined Iida Co., Ltd. in 2008, and transferred to Choryu Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. in 2019.After working in the craft beer department, he was instrumental in establishing Choryu Brew Park.Starting this year, he has been working as the general manager for all aspects of manufacturing, including sake and beer.

2. Sake brewing at Choryu Sake Brewery

Mr. Yoshida led us on a special tour of Choryu Sake Brewery's Koryogura. ``Our company motto is ``Shodo Mukyugoku.'' It means that the desire to create delicious sake and quality sake is limitless,'' says Yoshida.
The highest quality Junmai Daiginjo brewed with the best of technology is named ``Shodo Mukyugoku'' and is sold in limited quantities as a symbol of a brewery that continues to push the boundaries of quality.

Koryogura has equipment that can produce up to 2 koku, but currently most of the process is done by hand by a small number of people, preserving the traditional method of sake brewing.Lined up in the approximately 10°C refrigerator room are Yoshino cedar barrels filled with the long-selling Yoshino cedar barrel sake.The aroma of the cedar barrel gradually transfers over the barrel for about a month.Cedar barrels are made using the traditional method of tightening them with bamboo, without using any nails or rivets that contain iron, which is the natural enemy of sake.Even though these barrels are so precious, he says, ``I only use them three times at most to accompany them.''It is said that it will be reused for other purposes, which is a luxury.

3. Three Sake Brands from Choryu Sake Brewery

Yoshino Cedar Barrel Sake 720ml 1,760 yen
A slightly sweet sake with a clear cedar aroma, and the richness and flavor derived from cedar barrels complements dishes.It is a long-selling product that represents Choryu Sake Brewery, and reflects the founder's desire to ``drink special day sake in everyday life.''

Rice Country Rice Sake Special Junmai Sake Brewed in 2014 720ml 1,760 yen
The sake is made using 100% "Tsuyuhafu", a type of rice suitable for sake brewing that is only grown in Nara Prefecture and is cultivated under contract. This pure rice sake has a rich personality with a rich acidity, sweetness, and aroma, and a full body that brings out the flavor of the rice. It is aged in a low-temperature bottle and released from the brewery when it is "perfect for drinking".

Futaho Omachi Special Junmaishu brewed in 2014 720ml 1,837 yen
Made with 100% Omachi rice from the Takashima region of Okayama Prefecture, the birthplace of Omachi. As a vintage Junmai sake aged in a low-temperature bottle, you can enjoy comparing different brewing years. The lingering aftertaste is gentle and pleasant, with a soft fragrance and a gently expanding, elegant flavor.

4. Choryu Sake Brewery

After graduating from university, they worked at a famous brewery in Japan, and then invited an engineer who had experience in growing hops in Australia for about a year to start brewing craft beer in 2021.There is a wide range of variations, including the classic IPA with the aroma and bitterness of hops, Saison with the refreshing acidity of white koji that makes it easy to drink, and rice lager.The tap room inside Choryu Brew Park has 7 taps for beer and 3 taps for Japanese sake, allowing you to enjoy a variety of seasonal drinks.

Rice lager 550 yen
A lager beer made with rice from Nara Prefecture.The bitterness of the hops and the flavor of the barley are kept to a minimum, creating a gentle taste that you'll want to drink every day.The aftertaste has a slight sweetness of rice.

5. Spreading the fun of alcohol

Finally, we asked Mr. Yoshida about his future prospects. “Since around 2006, we have been focusing on a series that features sake rice, such as Futaho, which uses Omachi from Okayama Prefecture, and Ina no Kuni Ina no Sake, which uses Rohafu from Nara Prefecture. There is also the ``Shikisaki'' series, in which limited edition items are released several times a year to reflect the seasons and climate, and we plan to actively produce limited edition items in small lots.Also, in the world of craft beer, We would like to incorporate general free ideas into sake brewing and spread the word about the fun of sake.
While communicating with producers and local people, I would like to expand the circle of sake from Nara not only within Japan but also overseas."

I'm looking forward to the future as Choryu Brew Park is sure to become a place to expand interaction with local people and let more people learn about the deliciousness of Japanese sake.
The opening of the brewery will be held on November 11th (Sunday), so be sure to visit.

■Choryu Brew Park
7-1 Minami, Koryo-cho, Kitakatsuragi-gun, Nara Prefecture
0745-43-6203 (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays only/direct to Brew Park)
11:00-17:00 (LO/16:30)
Open on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (only the lawn area is open on weekdays)
http://www.choryo.jp/