Kirin Brewing Company

Founded in 1885 in Yokohama, Kirin produced its first batch of beer in 1888. Continuing in the tradition of many Japanese breweries at the time, Kirin imported their hops and grains from Germany and used German brewers to oversee their brewing process. Kirin makes their beer with a luxurious single wort (first press) brewing process which extracts the most flavorful portion of the ingredients. When combined with Kirin’s unique malt formula, the result is a smooth, clean, full-bodied beer, without the bitter aftertastes one would expect from a beer so flavorful. The brewery takes its name from the mythical Kirin beast, found in Japanese as well as Chinese mythology, it is half tiger, half deer, and it refuses to step on living plants or eat other living things, and is a symbol of well-being and good fortune. Many would consider a brewery that has withstood the upheaval in Japan over the past 120+ years without shuttering its doors to be an equally mythical beast, and Kirin certainly intends its beers to be a symbol of good fortune.