Nara Brewing's amaro-inspired beer "MACGUFFIN"
A craft brewery in Nara has shipped a new beer made with herbs and fresh beetroot, inspired by the Italian herbal liqueur amaro.
Nara Brewing Co., a craft brewery in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, shipped its new beer “MACGUFFIN” for the first time on 19 September 2026. The model was amaro, the herbal liqueur often drunk after a meal in Italy. It is an attempt to express the flavour of a traditional European drink through Japanese craft beer, and one of several efforts to broaden the range of beer brewing in Japan.
Recreating the herbal liqueur amaro as a beer
According to the brewery, MACGUFFIN uses several herbs and spices, including angelica, orange peel, coriander and cardamom. All of them are familiar ingredients in European herbal liqueurs and gin. Citrus and spice come to the fore in the aroma, and a lingering herbal bitterness remains after drinking. The brewery regards this finish as the heart of what makes an amaro. What distinguishes the beer is that the bitterness comes from botanicals rather than from hops, as is usual in beer.
Fresh beetroot adds earthiness and colour
The other distinctive feature is the addition of fresh beetroot. Beetroot gives the beer a rustic, earthy flavour and a distinct colour. It appears the brewers set out to capture amaro’s deep colour and the weighty taste reminiscent of root vegetables and tree bark through the combination of ingredients alone, without using any liqueur. The first shipments went to beer bars and restaurants across Japan (kegs) and to liquor shops and department stores (cans), and the beer also went on sale at Nara Brewing’s online store from 25 September.
What makes MACGUFFIN interesting for European readers is the chance to see how a familiar amaro has been interpreted in Japan. No European distribution has been announced at present. For now, it is best to follow Nara Brewing’s official Instagram for news of future releases and overseas expansion. Asking a specialist shop that handles Japanese craft beer whether it can stock it is another option. If you do get hold of a bottle or can, pay attention to the shift from citrus aroma to herbal bitterness.
Sources
This article was written by The Sake Wire editorial team, summarising the public sources listed above. Images are our own.
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