Let's Make a Beer that Measures Everything [Part 1] Introduction
The reason for making beer, the background, and the passion for making beer

With the launch of the "Monosasu Exploration Team" corner this year, we were given the opportunity to create an original beer with the exploration theme of "Let's make a Monosasu beer."
We plan to publish articles on this topic in the following three-part series:

This time, as the introduction to Part 1, Kojima, head of the Monosas Beer Club (an unofficial company organization), will talk passionately about how they came to make Monosas Beer and their thoughts on brewing beer, weaving in his own history and sharing his love of beer.

Encounter with craft beer

© 2017 Anheuser-Busch InBev.My first encounter with craft beer was back in 1996.
He had a fateful encounter when he went to a food trade fair for work at the time.
It was my first encounter with German beer (Franziskaner: Hefe Weissbier).
I'm ashamed to say that before I encountered this beer, I only knew about national beers sold at mass retailers, and I thought that beer was just a drink to enjoy the way it went down.
But just then, I took a sip of the beer and was shocked, like I had been struck by lightning.
It really is like something out of a manga - "the ultimate picture of someone being struck by lightning."
If I were to blurt out what was on my mind at that time,
"Fruity, spicy, rich, smooth and fragrant! What the heck is this?"
It is.
I was shocked to learn that beer has tastes other than bitterness, such as umami/flavor, and a mouthfeel rather than just a smooth taste.
This incident completely turned my view of beer upside down. Actually, turning it upside down is an understatement. It was so completely changed that I felt like I had been warped into another dimension.
From there it's a dive into the swamp.

Deep in the craft beer swamp

From this point on, my insatiable quest for beer began to consume me day and night, but I'd like to take a slight detour and introduce you to the door to the swamp that I became engrossed in.

[First Door] Yona Yona Ale

Ale beer from Yo-Ho Brewing Company.
This was the first Japanese craft beer I tried in the late 1990s, when craft beer was just starting out in Japan. It was the first time I had tasted a Japanese craft beer with a rich flavor like German beer.
By the way, you can now find it in convenience stores, so if you're interested, I recommend you give it a try.

[Second Door] Oktoberfest/Beer Festival

To put it simply, the Oktoberfest held in Japan is a "beer festival" (note: in Germany, the original Oktoberfest is a "large-scale autumn festival" and not a beer festival). A beer festival is a "craft beer trade fair." To put it simply, both are "festivals where you can drink many different kinds of beer."
Here, you can drink that rich, mellow beer, as well as innovative beers that are beyond your imagination, on tap, rather than in a can or bottle.
At the beer festival in particular, I felt the excitement and happiness of drinking a "beer flight (a tasting set)" from each brewery.

[The Third Door] Blog: Beer on-site philosophy
(http://beer-kichi.cocolog-nifty.com/)

From this blog, I learned that there are microbreweries all over the country, each brewing their own beer, and that there are opportunities to drink draft beer not only at festivals but also at bars and restaurants. In particular, the beer at the brewery restaurant is really delicious. It was around this time that I learned about the concept of "pairing" (the combination of beer and food).
By the way, my personal favorite pairing is:
"Yuzu Sansho White Ale" x "Fish dishes"
"Rauch (smoked beer)" x "smoked food"
It is.
After coming across this site, drinking microbrewed craft beer became one of my travel goals.

[Tobira Shi] Factory tour

As I started visiting work sites more frequently, I also started going on factory tours.
At the brewery, I was able to learn about the types of beer, the brewing process, and the history in a systematic way. It felt like my drinking experience and brewing knowledge matched up here. Furthermore, the brewery tour led me to participate in a tasting seminar. By learning the beer evaluation index, I was able to classify and organize beers without relying solely on sensory evaluation.

What do you think?
I've skipped over a lot of details, but that's basically how I got hooked on craft beer.
This was a very personal introduction to the world of craft beer, but I would be happy if it could serve as a gateway for someone to enter the world of craft beer.

A new challenge: "My specialty beer"

Now, let's get back to the main topic.
As I got deeper and deeper immersed in this quagmire, I gradually began to see something within myself.
It's called "your favorite beer."
Although I'm starting to understand my preferences, craft beer is a seasonal "fresh product," so it's not always possible to get your hands on a beer that tastes just right.
Breweries that do not have standard "seasonal" or "special" beers can no longer be drunk once the barrels are depleted. Of course, searching for new beers that you like is exciting and fun, but I would like to be able to drink my favorite beer consistently if possible.

At that time, we heard that Kiuchi Sake Brewery, famous for Tokiwano Nest, had a facility called the "Handmade Beer Workshop" where anyone could brew beer.
"With this, I can keep my favorite things all year round, right??"
Before I knew it, brewing my own handcrafted beer had become a long-held dream of mine.

And now, my chance came! The Monosasu Search Team is a section where people try out things they like and write about them on the Monosasu website. They were looking for people to try out the things they like. I thought there was no way I could miss this opportunity, so I applied.

Another thought

Of course, my love of beer, which I have talked about so far, is one of the reasons why I wanted to take part in this project, but I also have another passion.

What is the beauty of beer?
I love the taste, aroma, and unique bitterness of this beer, but I feel that there is something even better about it.
That is, it can be a bond that connects people.

With the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the resulting self-restraint mood, it has become difficult for people to meet face-to-face in one place. As a drinker, I feel very sad and lonely that there are fewer opportunities to enjoy drinking together.
As a drinker, I think that, as the expressions "eat from the same pot" and "friends who eat yakiniku together" suggest, when people eat or drink together, they are in a state of honesty and openness, and are more likely to connect and touch the softer and deeper parts of their hearts. I like the fact that new ideas and trends are born by being healed, venting, and stimulating each other through communication.
What's most regrettable is that such opportunities have been reduced due to COVID-19.

This time we decided to make "Monosasu Beer".
We thought that with this beer, even if people are drinking in different places, by drinking the same thing and sharing the same time, it could be a catalyst/help in proactively creating opportunities for people to connect with each other.
This is another reason why I brew Monosasu Beer.

At Monosus' anniversary party. Cheers with friends on the other side of the screen!

With strong friends who share the same thoughts

So far, I've only written about myself, but in fact, there is someone who was thinking about brewing beer with the same thoughts as me.
That person is Okubo-san.

On the way to Kiuchi Sake Brewery. We were having a serious meeting about today's schedule. Okubo-san is on the left.

Okubo-san is a member of the Monosas Beer Club (unofficial within the company, if I may be persistent), and we drink together at beer festivals and other events. He's the ultimate buddy.
When I was thinking about brewing beer, Okubo was thinking the same thing, and when the information about the recruitment of challengers for the "Monosasu Tankentai" spread within the company, we immediately agreed, saying, "There's no other option but to brew beer!" and we hit it off right away.

And there is another person who is indispensable to us: Mr. Saito.

At the craft beer brewery. Mr. Saito is on the right.

Although Mr. Saito is not very good at drinking, he always joins us for drinks, warmly watching over our drunken conversations, and always escorts us to the station when we're drunk; he's like a Florence Nightingale, our ultimate supporter.
This time too, we asked Saito to take on the roles of record-keeper and escort everyone back safely, something we couldn't do while we were drinking.

With this sweltering, hot and warm trident, the project to brew an original beer began.

And so, we decided to make this kind of beer!

With great enthusiasm, we immediately held a planning meeting. We decided that since we were going to make a beer, we wanted to think about Monosus and make a beer that was unique to Monosus.
As a result, we decided to proceed with the production with this concept.

With this concept in mind, we headed to Kiuchi Sake Brewery's handmade beer workshop.
We actually experienced everything from selecting ingredients to measuring them out and making the wort, and after an additional six weeks of fermentation and aging... finally, two types of beer were completed!

Monosasu BEER White Ale [Left] Monosasu BEER IPA [Right]

■Monosasu BEER IPA
ABV: 7%
IBU (bitterness): 50.9
Ingredients: Malt, hops
--------
As the name IPA (Indian Pale Ale) suggests, this style was created by using a high wort concentration and a lot of hops to make the beer durable enough to withstand transportation to India.
It has a high alcohol content and a very strong hop aroma and bitterness, giving it a powerful punch.
Recommended for those who want to take a sip and groan loudly.

■Monosasu BEER White Ale
ABV: 5%
IBU (bitterness): 19.9
Ingredients: Malt, hops, coriander
--------
A beer made with wheat malt and spicy hops. It has a cloudy white appearance, a refreshing citrus-like acidity, a vibrant aroma, and a subdued hop bitterness.
It goes well with a variety of dishes and is easy to drink even for those who don't like beer.
Recommended for those who like a light and refreshing feel.

I'll talk more about the production process and what happened after the unveiling in the next article.
Stay tuned!