A Gifu craft beer brewed with wild yeast from grapes

Gifu is a landlocked prefecture just north of Nagoya, in almost the very centre of Japan. In Kamado-cho, Mizunami, in the east of the prefecture, the craft brewery Kamado Brewery has made a new beer called Bonjour Bon Rouge. It is fermented with natural yeast taken from wine grapes. According to the local newspaper Chunichi Shimbun, it is characterised by a wine-like aroma and a grape-like acidity. Sales began on 2 October.

Yeast taken from red wine grapes

The yeast comes from red wine grapes grown in Gifu city. It was collected by Kentaro Hisamatsu (34), a senior researcher at the Gifu Prefectural Food Science Institute, a prefectural research body. With the help of Professor Tomoyuki Nakagawa of the Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences at Gifu University, whose field is food microbiology, Hisamatsu confirmed through trial brewing that the yeast could be used for craft beer. He then supplied it to Kamado Brewery.

Most beers are fermented with commercially available yeast grown as a pure culture. Separating out and using the yeast that naturally sits on the skin of fruit gives the beer a distinctive aroma. On the other hand, it takes effort to check that fermentation will proceed properly. This time, the institute and the university took on that checking in advance. That is the main feature of this beer.

“Local yeast” from a research institute and a brewery working together

In Japan, prefectural research institutes in many regions have developed yeasts unique to their area and supplied them to local sake breweries. This beer can be seen as an extension of that system to craft beer. The new beer was launched under the name “Gifu Style”. The company’s president, Mr Higashi, and the brewer, Mr Kadokawa, act as its presenters. Everything, from growing the grapes and collecting and checking the yeast to the brewing itself, took place within Gifu Prefecture. It is a beer that puts the local microbes at the heart of its flavour.

How to enjoy it in Europe

There is currently no information about exports, so it will probably be difficult to get hold of this beer in Europe. Still, the idea of brewing beer with yeast derived from wine grapes is close to styles that Europeans already know, such as Italian grape ale. When you drink at a specialist shop that stocks Japanese craft beer, check the label or ask the staff where the yeast came from. As with sake, in Japanese beer too, the “local yeast” is a clue to a brewer’s character. This beer shows that very well.