Hopulist issue 5

GROUP
h
japan-NIPPON
GROUP H
POLAND
SENEGAL
COLOMBIA
JAPAN
Tue 19th JUNE
Columbia v Japan
Poland v Senegal
Sun 24th JUNE
Japan v Senegal
Poland v Colombia
Thu 28th JUNE
Japan v Poland
Senegal v Colombia
Hopefully, if you are an avid reader of Hopulist magazine, you will
already know something about the thriving craft beer scene in the Land
of the Rising Sun. Japan has really taken craft beer to its heart and
run with it – with breweries old and new working hard to supply the
constantly increasing wave of craft beer bars popping up around the
nation.
The Japanese scene blends its own history, tradition and ingredients
with influences from the usual places such as the United States and
Europe. Some of the standout breweries we can highlight include
Hitachino, Kyoto Brewing Company, Minoh Beer, Yo-Ho, Baird Beer
and Devil Craft – but there are many beers out there to choose from.
In Japan, they don’t tend to do things by halves, so they have really
embraced what it is to be a craft brewer in the country. All the brewers
have stories to tell, have bottom-up approaches to developing their
brands and their beers and have a passion that is often unrivalled.
Our recommendation for a star player comes from Osaka-based
Minoh – one of the most well-established and well respected brewers
in Japan – and its W-IPA. This orange-coloured imperial IPA is heavyhitting
with its citrussy and earthy-noted aroma that is backed up with a
sweet caramel and slightly brown ale taste, later complemented by a hazy
tang of citrus such as grapefruit. You can probably only get hold of this
one in Japan itself, but trust us, it’s worth the trip.
If you are keen to try some Japanese beer for yourself, read our feature in
Hopulist issue four.
kEY PLAYERS:
Despite vodka being
the national drink
POLAND has a strong
beer scene, with brewers
producing modern
and more traditional
Polish beer styles.
Pinta, Pracownia Piwa,
AleBrowar and Artezan
are among those new
wave craft breweries
leading the way.
COLOMB|A doesn’t
fair as well as some
other South American
nations in terms of
high-quality beer but
that is slowly changing.
Mostly confined to the
capital Bogota there
are a growing number
of breweries and craft
beer pubs popping up,
a promising future
maybe?
We could only find
one beer producer listed
for SENEGAL and lets
just say their pale lagers
didn’t fair well on review
sites.
M|NOH BEER
BEER: W-|PA
style: |MPER|AL |PA
abv: 9%
volume: 330ml
untappd: 3.82
FOOTY pred|ct|on:
Group W|nners: POLAND
Group Runner’s Up: COLOMB|a