Tell us about the history of COEDO beer.

Shigeharu Asagiri
(Asagiri)

COEDO began as an agricultural company that specialized in vegetable distribution. The company was located in Kawagoe where there are many farms, tourist spots and history. One day, the company recognized the large amounts of wasted vegetables due to their shapes and weights that not qualify for distribution standards. Each time the farmers packaged and distributed their produce, they were left behind with many nonstandardized vegetables. With this knowledge, COEDO wanted to produce a product making use of these excess vegetables, and came up with the idea of making beer. However, we lacked the expertise in this field, so we invited professional brewers from, Germany, the originator of beer. However, since Japan does not produce much wheat and barley domestically, we used sweet potatoes as a substitute getting the idea from the Japanese spirit made from sweet potatoes. Later, it became the world award winning beer.

What is the relationship between the COEDO beer and Japanese farm fields?

Asagiri

The Kawagoe area has long been famous for farming, and it is know for the many farmers and their home grom? vegetables. COEDO's founder is not originally from Kawagoe, however he wanted the business to highlight this positive characteristics of the Kawagoe area. Sweet potatoes are one of such produce of the area, which is one of the reasons why COEDO chose to brew beer with sweet potatoes.

Was COEDO beer produced for purpose of being Kawagoe area's local souvenir?

Asagiri

No. There was a time when locally crafted beer was popular around Japan, but our beer was not produced for that purpose. Our beer was produced and sold for the the local area and tourist spots for tourists and restaurants. Though it was unintentional, our beer had been labeled as "local beer" by the time we realized. It's not a surprise, however, because we did everything locally for the local area. Due to trend and popularity of our company, we began building larger factory. However once the factory was built the trend disappeared and the market was depleting.

How the sweet potato beer was born

Asagiri

The sweet potato is one of the representing produce of Kawagoe. Many farmers were growing and selling sweet potatoes, however, some of them didn't make it to the market, usually due to packaging reasons. The vegetables are packaged based on size, and the irregular sized vegetables cannot be distributed for sale. Unfortunately, 40% of products didn't meet standards. From this issue, we came up with the idea of crafting beer from sweet potatoes. In Japan, shochu (Japanese spirit) is made from sweet potato, so we thought it may be possible to make beer out of them as well. COEDO beer was born with ingredients made by local farmers at Kawagoe area, where it represents the color of Kawagoe product.

How did you meet the German brew meister?

Asagiri

We imported beer-crafting machines from Germany, and at the same time we requested the exporter to help us find a beer meister. At the time we did not have anyone with the knowledge of beer brewing in Japan. We then decided to invite brew meister from beer's origin country. After a series of interviews, we chose Mr. Mitterbauer as our company's brew meister, who has a family line of beer brewers. One major obstacle we had was language barrier; he couldn't speak any Japanese. Through a combination of German, Japanese and hand gestures, we managed to learn the process and acquired the skills of making beer. Having Mr. Mitterbauer was our hope since we didn't have any experience in beer production. Mr. Mitterbauer stayed in Japan for 5 years and taught our workers how to brew the perfect craft beer, and passed on to us the spirit of a brew meister.

How can the made in Japan beer compete in overseas.

Asagiri

I believe Japanese craft makers are delicate and sensitive about production, putting hygiene in priority. Japanese have a habit of taking their shoes off when entering a room, because it's our culture to maintain a clean environment. So even at the COEDO office it's mandatory for employees to take their shoes off to ensure cleanness and hygienic mentality. The process of brewing beer includes the activation of microorganisms and it can only be achieved in a clean facility. Fortunately, being careful and sensitive in jobs and hygiene maintenance is nature to the Japanese. Even after receiving the award, our employees continue to be passionate and constantly improving the quality. They always look for new level of quality beer and everyday working ambitiously to provide the world-class beer.

How the COEDO beer can compete in overseas

Asagiri

COEDO is the exclusive producer and pioneer of beer brewed from sweet potatoes, in Japan and the world. COEDO is not only a beer, but also a product with strong historical and background. We applied a lot of local characteristic to COEDO's beer, especially Beniaka Beer. For that reason, when introducing Beniaka I was confident about distributing this product overseas.

Please describe how the COEDO beer tastes like

Asagiri

COEDO beer has a very delicate flavor, and the taste is beautiful. There are other beers that offer strong sharp taste or carries strong characteristics of taste. COEDO beer, on the contrary, has the taste of mildness. Our product is carefully made to express the bitterness of wabi-sabi, the Japanese sense of aesthetics. When we produce the beer we take pride in products being "Made in Japan". Japanese foods are popular around the world nowadays and I think COEDO beer is a good compliment to Japanese food. Our beer doesn't overpower the delicate taste of Japanese cuisine, but rather, enhances the taste.

Please leave a message here for beer lovers all over the world.

Asagiri

The concept of COEDO beer is "Beer Beautiful". Japanese craft beer making is a very sensitive and careful process. COEDO offers the brilliance of pairing food with our beer. COEDO offers different beer types with different taste and each beer compliments different kind of foods and their distinctive tastes. Every beer has its unique flavor and that why it matches with different foods. For instance, Beniaka is suited for foods with sweetness, such as those seasoned with teriyaki sauce.

How to enjoy COEDO beer

Asagiri

Pour in half a glass of beer (like wine glass) and enjoy the aroma of the beer. The Asian population usually has a lower alcohol tolerance, so I recommend taking time to enjoy the aroma and the taste of the bottle..

Special thanks to Mr. Asagiri for sharing the history of the COEDO and the process of craft beer making. The success of transforming a local beer to a world awarded craft beer was a result of each brewer's passion. Every beer has a different characteristic and taste. COEDO's character reflects Kawagoe's history and local pride. To be honest, I didn't know there was a world awarded beer produced in Saitama, and it was a wonderful discovery. Best regards to Mr. Asagiri. I have learned a new way of enjoying beer and its depth. Beer Beautiful. To all beer lovers, I strongly encourage you to try COEDO beer to find your favorite beer flavor. To those who don't like beer, this may be your first time you find it delicious. Why not give this internationally celebrated beer a try?