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Last week I had the pleasure of tagging along with my mate, Ry Beville of Japan Beer Times, to visit Yo-Ho Brewing in Karuizawa, Nagano, makers of award winning Yona Yona Ale and perhaps my favourite Japanese dark beer, Tokyo Black Porter. The mission: to interview Yo-Ho Brewing’s president and CEO, Naoyuki Ide, and head brewer, Shohei Taguchi.

It was a frigid -3°C when we arrived at Sakuradai Station, snow and ice blanketed a bleak and quiet view. After convincing our taxi driver we were looking for a brewery and not a pachinko parlour, in less than twenty minutes we were there. Their facility was modest in size; a simple, uncoloured building that could have easily been mistaken for a warehouse – a far cry from the glamour and glitz of corporate breweries I’ve previously toured.

Taguchi-san welcomed us inside. The first thing I noticed, besides Taguchi-san’s bigness, was the unpretentious tasting bar in the entrance. Several shelves adorned another wall, lined with glasses and t-shirts for sale, as well as an impressive display of awards. After exchanging hellos and the customary pleasantries, we were led upstairs to their meeting room.

Once the interview started, I watched and listened as Ide-san answered Ry’s questions with sincerity and verve. He talked about the history of Yo-Ho Brewing, its brewers, and its line of regular and seasonal beers. He spoke candidly of the many years it took and the difficulties they faced while establishing their business. I was particularly surprised when Ide-san, asked if Yona Yona had ever experienced a failed beer recipe or brew, responded no but then admitted that their initial attempts at canning had met with far less than success.

And then, as if by luck, Ide-san told us they were in the middle of canning and wished to give us a full tour. Full tour of the brewery? Full tour of the brewery? (That’s the giddy squeal of delight by my homebrewer’s inner geek you hear.) So we put on hair nets and rubber boots and followed Taguchi-san into the brewery.

We walked past giant mash tuns, which didn’t strike me as impressive until I realized they were two stories tall, down a narrow flight of steps into the shivery confines of jacketed conditioning tanks. They were in the process of chilling, visibly obvious by the numerous iced pipes we saw. With every step we took, a delicious aroma of Centennial and Cascade hops lingered in the air.

When we finally entered the canning room, I was immediately astonished by its sheer size and the amount of work going on. A seemingly endless row of cans of Belgian Dark Ale were being pushed along upside down and cleaned, then turned right-side up, only to wind up at the end of the line in six-packs ready to be boxed.

Afterwards we were shown their fermentation tanks and pilot system, as well their grain mill (and the largest hopper I’ve ever seen). Then we were taken out back to sneak a peek at the next day’s grains – bags and bags of pale ale and caramel malt all lined up and ready to go!

Taguchi-san, by the way, was a homebrewer before turning pro and eventually head brewer; which didn’t happen right away, he was turned downed several times. I asked him what had been the hardest transition to make, expecting him to say something about water to grist ratios or efficiency calculations. His answer? “The mash paddle is a lot bigger.” Funny bloke, no joke!

It was an amazing tour and invaluable experience, thanks to everyone who made it possible, including Kentaro Hara of Yo-Ho Brewing’s marketing unit, who not only sent us off with Yona Yona souvenirs, but also drove us into town for lunch.　ありがとうございました！お疲れ様でした！

A personal thanks to Ry Beville for the invitation and back-to-Tokyo drinks at Popeye Beer Club with the big man and proprietor himself, Tatsuo Aoki. Cheers!