Home brewing in Japan

Hi guys,
New to the brewing game and live in Tokyo. What do you think of adding amemizu as an additive as opposed to normal sugar?

tektonjp said:

Asahi malt ships from Shiga. Not guaranteed MO, it's only listed as English pale malt. But it is a good malt. 20k sacks. 3700 to 3900 a bag. Crushed bags run a bit more. 2row, pale malt, munich, german (pils?), and wheat. And you might want to join the Kinki brewers FB group. We're always doing group buys on malts and hops and gear. Let me know if you're interested in that.

Click to expand...

The Kinki Brewers!!!!!!! Steve "Pud" Newman and RayOsaka are pretty prominent guys on that, I think. Will pay closer attention.

BTW. That seems like really good prices for the grains. Thanks for the info. Definitely interested.

Unfortunately, I live in Yokohama so I can't group buy with you Ogri

By the way Brendan, I'm planning on buying them crushed since I don't have a grain mill.

I plan on ordering the bag next monday. Prices are 4260 yen per 20kg bag for English Ale Malts, crushed.

Hey surume,

No worries Shouldn't be very expensive getting it transported from Shiga to Osaka. The 4.5 kg of uncrushed MO from Advanced last time cost me about ¥3,000 so even including shipping this'll be a great deal and 20 kg will only last somewhere from 4 to 6 or maybe 7 batches. Might be handy to find someone down here that I can group with for specialty grains, though.

Don't know if you're interested but doing BIAB and crushing(?) or more accurately pulverizing, my grains in one of those "magic bullet" food processors I manage to get pretty good efficiency. Only a few hundred yen saving so maybe not worth it for you.

I had a bag shipped to Shikoku a few weeks ago and it was 540 yen for the shipping portion.

srgwuggles said:

Hi guys,
New to the brewing game and live in Tokyo. What do you think of adding amemizu as an additive as opposed to normal sugar?

Click to expand...

Same thing, is it not? Use it for priming?

Ogri said:

The Kinki Brewers!!!!!!! Steve "Pud" Newman and RayOsaka are pretty prominent guys on that, I think. Will pay closer attention.

BTW. That seems like really good prices for the grains. Thanks for the info. Definitely interested.

Click to expand...

Different group. Ours is a closed group (invite only). Not because we're special, but to keep under the radar. Send me a pm with your FB name and I'll add you. We just had a meeting last week and are planning a simple competition for the spring.

BTW, the German malt from Asahi is indeed pils. I called and asked.

Haha I dont check in for a day or two and its nice to come back to a few new faces on this thread! Welcome Ogri and srgwuggles!

WhoZit created a Japan group here:https://www.homebrewtalk.com/groups/japan/
(just reposting so you dont need to go back in this thread to find the link)

Surume that is totally fine with me on the crushed! I frankly dont feel like sitting out in the cold grinding for a half hour in this weather! I am not in a huge hurry for it so let me know how you'd like to get it to me. I dont mind picking it up in person at one of the yokohama craft beer bars sometime if you'd like to meet for a pint again!

srgwuggles, what is amemizu? Is it a simple syrup or something like honey? How are you going to use it? I would recommend using regular sugar, dextrose, or dry malt extract for bottle priming though as it might be tough to get the carbonation you want with an unknown fermentable.

Hi,

Sorry it is called Mizuame. Mizuame is a syrup made from a malt and rice mixture that was converted from starch to sugar. There are no preservatives in it and I didn't want to put normal sugar in my batch so I tossed it in.
I figured most beers have rice in them anyways so this might be a similar alternative

tektonjp said:

The STC1000 can be had for cheap on ebay with easy delivery to Japan from Hong Kong. It's a simple build to give yourself a digital controller which will do heating and cooling.

Click to expand...

I looked this up on ebay and, wow they are cheap. Have you used one before? I need something that will turn on and off my heater while I am asleep or at work, can this do that?

srgwuggles said:

Hi,

Sorry it is called Mizuame. Mizuame is a syrup made from a malt and rice mixture that was converted from starch to sugar. There are no preservatives in it and I didn't want to put normal sugar in my batch so I tossed it in.
I figured most beers have rice in them anyways so this might be a similar alternative

Click to expand...

As was mentioned by someone previously the only trouble with adding something like that is it's difficult to know the exact amount of fermentables this will contribute to the wort.

There's nothing wrong with using plain white cane sugar, light/dark brown sugar. I've done quite a few beers where about 25% of the total grain bill was one form of cane sugar, or another, so it can be a cheap effective way of boosting ABV and with the brown sugars you get a little residual molasses flavouring which has worked well with some of my beers.
Have a 1lb (454g) bottle of Lyle's Golden Syrup that I was thinking of using in an upcoming ESB.

Thanks for the input on that. Sounds like that lyle's syrup was the kind of stuff I was looking for.
I guess I'll just have to wait and hope that the batch comes out ok.

By the way I have a friend who wants me to make a yuengling clone. I check around but it doesn't seem that I can get ahold of the ingredients needed for it here. Namely crystal malt 10. Anyone ever tried this? Or any suggestions? Thanks

srgwuggles said:

Hi,

Sorry it is called Mizuame. Mizuame is a syrup made from a malt and rice mixture that was converted from starch to sugar. There are no preservatives in it and I didn't want to put normal sugar in my batch so I tossed it in.
I figured most beers have rice in them anyways so this might be a similar alternative

Click to expand...

If you were putting it in as part of the main ingredients and not the priming sugar then I can't think of a problem, it sounds just like liquid malt extract except with some rice. Hows the flavor? Hows the price compared to liquid malt extract? See how your attenuation goes and decide if you got the fermentables you wanted out of it I guess.

I tasted some stuff the other day a friend he called "kuromizu" which had a flavor similar to buckwheat honey. Could be used for some kinds of beers I suppose.

It cost me avoid 180 yen for 265grams of the stuff, which is cheaper than regular liquid malt extract I would think. Plus you don't have to pay shipping(^-^)
Honestly the stuff tasted like liquid sugar or Molasses if I were to describe it. It was extremely sweet and sticky. I read the Japanese wiki for it and it said it used to be used for making alcohol in Japan (like in the editor period) but I was apprehensive to use it because I don't know how it'll affect the flavor.
Anyway I guess we'll see in about a month or so

Edo period

Quick question for everyone; is anyone going to the Advanced Brewing customers homebrewer meeting tomorrow? I am currently trying to decide if I should go due to the ticket price; a pub session in Yokohama I will be going to soon will be pretty steep.

OppamaBrendan said:

Quick question for everyone; is anyone going to the Advanced Brewing customers homebrewer meeting tomorrow? I am currently trying to decide if I should go due to the ticket price; a pub session in Yokohama I will be going to soon will be pretty steep.

Click to expand...

I wish it went for longer than 2 hours. I don't know if I can drink 6 pints (to make it "worth" the ¥5,000 entry) without getting a little silly. Are a lot of people going (from the mailing list)?

I don't know, I sent Chuwy a message to see if he knows. A few of the people I met last time are busy and wont be there. Even then, with an event on Monday for me I can't let myself get too messy. I am thinking maybe I will pass this one up and we could try to get a small meetup together from the HBT group at a later date?

OppamaBrendan said:

I don't know, I sent Chuwy a message to see if he knows. A few of the people I met last time are busy and wont be there. Even then, with an event on Monday for me I can't let myself get too messy. I am thinking maybe I will pass this one up and we could try to get a small meetup together from the HBT group at a later date?

Click to expand...

Just checked the mailing list, there are 61 people that are going.

I think I'll pass on tomorrow, though I've never been to Popeye's and have been meaning to go.

I am all for getting together with the HBT group at a later date!

Guess I'll sleep on it see how I feel in the morning.

I started getting a bit concerned about my beers freezing in the crawlspace under the house, pulled them out this afternoon. I forgot I had so many down there, summer beers cleaned up their flavors significantly

srgwuggles said:

By the way I have a friend who wants me to make a yuengling clone. I check around but it doesn't seem that I can get ahold of the ingredients needed for it here. Namely crystal malt 10. Anyone ever tried this? Or any suggestions? Thanks

Click to expand...

You can get C15 from Advanced Brewing.

mpearce said:

I looked this up on ebay and, wow they are cheap. Have you used one before? I need something that will turn on and off my heater while I am asleep or at work, can this do that?

Click to expand...

They work great. With a basic knowledge of DIY skills, you can make a box and connections for it. I have two freezers for fermentation and each is hooked up to a controller.

Wow, i have never had an ebay account but for 15 USD free int shipping i can afford that temp controller, and maybe pick up the refractometer i was eyeing. I wish I had space for 2 freezers though! Ill be lucky if swmbo lets me buy one and keep it outside

tektonjp said:

They work great. With a basic knowledge of DIY skills, you can make a box and connections for it. I have two freezers for fermentation and each is hooked up to a controller.

Click to expand...

Well I haven't played with this kind of thing can someone who has wired one tell us what they did? Would save me a lot of time.

OppamaBrendan said:

Wow, i have never had an ebay account but for 15 USD free int shipping i can afford that temp controller, and maybe pick up the refractometer i was eyeing. I wish I had space for 2 freezers though! Ill be lucky if swmbo lets me buy one and keep it outside

Click to expand...

Haven't been married that long have you? You have to line up friends that will cover for you. Example: honey look what Jim gave me! He doesn't need a small freezer/fridge and wanted to get rid of it. I told him I would give him 12 bottles of beer for it.

This will let her see that your brewing pays off too. Call Jim and say cover for me. And it is all good.

mpearce said:

Well I haven't played with this kind of thing can someone who has wired one tell us what they did? Would save me a lot of time.

Click to expand...

I won't go into details on this thread as there is a great thread covering this here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/
this:
http://myrtlebeachbeerlovers.com/stc-1000-ebay-temperature-controller/

If you have any questions, let me know. You need a box, receptacle set (one "plate" with two plugins if you want to heat and cool). Some 1.6 mm house wire and some type of power cord to supply the power.

This controls two chambers.

mpearce said:

Haven't been married that long have you? You have to line up friends that will cover for you. Example: honey look what Jim gave me! He doesn't need a small freezer/fridge and wanted to get rid of it. I told him I would give him 12 bottles of beer for it.

This will let her see that your brewing pays off too. Call Jim and say cover for me. And it is all good.

Click to expand...

Not married at all, 6 years of dating her I know I got to take one thing at a time, this years plan is a cooling unit of some kind 3 types of hops and a propane burner outside. Her obsessions take space too, right now we have a dozen bottle gourd lamps in the next room and she has a workshop set up in the genkan to build/carve them.

tektonjp thats a nice setup, I will def build one when I get a fridge or freezer. I watched a vid on youtube that pointed out something important about the stc1000; they had a different connection setup on theirs than a common diagram found on the net, we need to check the diagram on the device when wiring it to be sure.

OppamaBrendan said:

Not married at all, 6 years of dating her

Click to expand...

Six years!!!!!! Oh, you are well and truly married, you just don't know it, yet:fro:

Ogri said:

Six years!!!!!! Oh, you are well and truly married, you just don't know it, yet:fro:

Click to expand...

I agree. Poor soul.

OppamaBrendan said:

6 years of dating her

Click to expand...

Bout time you gave her a ring and asked her.....to go steady!

tektonjp said:

Bout time you gave her a ring and asked her.....to go steady!

Click to expand...

Ah, happens to be in the works, staying in Japan long term its the simplest way to ensure I have a visa. Neither of us cares much for the institution of it though.

Monday night did I meet any Tokyo/Yokohama peeps from HBT out in Yokohama? Organized by Chuwy, it was a pub crawl through Bashamichi, Full Monty and Thrash Zone. There were some people I met at beerfest and some I didn't know. Nightmare Rye IPA of Baird's was great!

OppamaBrendan said:

Ah, happens to be in the works, staying in Japan long term its the simplest way to ensure I have a visa. Neither of us cares much for the institution of it though.

Monday night did I meet any Tokyo/Yokohama peeps from HBT out in Yokohama? Organized by Chuwy, it was a pub crawl through Bashamichi, Full Monty and Thrash Zone. There were some people I met at beerfest and some I didn't know. Nightmare Rye IPA of Baird's was great!

Click to expand...

I would've been so down for that. I've been wanting to go to the Yokohama Baird for a while now.

santa was kind. got three extract kits for Christmas. A porter, ale, and lager. Now have to get more bottle to keep it all. Will be brewing this week looks like.

Nice!
Merry Christmas! Looking forward to 3 days off at the beginning of January so I can brew too. My last brew was on the 3rd of December and it feels like forever since I did anything!

No kidding!!! 2 sacks of malt arriving this Friday... I'm hoping to use up one over the break... Busy break! A little exciting, though. Perfect weather for cold crashing, eh?

Haven't been checking the forums lately because I've been working part time at the SOGO department store at Yokohama Station recently. And guess what, I was assigned to the alcoholic beverages section



Just got myself a can of Suiyoubi no Neko (a whitbier by the company that makes Yona yona Ale) and Apple cinnamon ale by SanktGallen. Both shipments arrived today. A convenient place to work, because I can get craft and import beer on my way home

SanktGallen really loves to make fruit beers huh? Orange, Pineapple, and Apple. Does anyone have any tips on buying fruit cheap in Japan? I wouldn't mind making a country wine or fruit beer if the price is right! Grapes are crazy expensive when I see them at the super, as are berries (blackberry, raspberry, currents...). Apples seem to be cheaper at the moment, maybe a cider would be cheap enough if I buy a case of them? Does anyone know of a farmers market type place to purchase bulk fruit? Is there somewhere that the "ugly" fruit gets sold? At the supermarket every fruit seems to be hand polished with not a speck of scab or blemish, so they must be sorting them for use in bakeries/processing somewhere right? When I have looked online at Advanced Brewing, their wine kits are always sold out so I don't know what to do for a "base" wine even if I do get some fruits...