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Mills are way too expensive in Japan. I've also searched high and low for corona mills but to no avail. I was actually considering trying to convert a pasta maker into a mill. That will be my next project after I test out the mash tun.

Shin Shuwase is another Japanese hop.

I ended up being able to get most of the parts by going to several DIY places. I did a test yesterday and nothing seems to be leaking. I'm not entirely satisfied with it though. It cost a lot more than I was hoping it would and each fitting was individually wrapped in plastic (HUGE pet peeve...

Sorry for the massive delay in posting. I've been uber busy since September with no real end in sight! I grew three kinds in giant planters this summer. Magnum and centennial from Brendan and Shin Suwase and centennial from another friend. I actually ended up with about 20gs of dried hops...

Thanks for the advice guys. I was able to finally get all the pieces together that I needed. I'll report back after I give it a go sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Hey ya'll! It's been a while. Hope everyone is brewing up a storm! I'm trying make a new mash tun from a cooler and am having a hell of a time getting the parts I need locally. Particularly the piece that goes through the opening of the cooler. I've been to several plumbing places and...

Thinking about my first brew since the summer. Not sure what to go for this time… Suggestions? :) Btw, the biwa wheat ale was awesome!

Wine, eh? That sounds interesting. I'm debating doing a mead but I think I've left it too late now. Might have to try one at the end of September when the temps go down a bit. Hopefully I'll have everything bottled up by mid-week next week. My wife is looking forward to me putting...

Hey Brendan, how's the biwa beer going? I've been taking my time with it because I don't have any bottles at the moment (d'oh!). Probably going to rack onto the fruit today. This will be my last brew until the fall. I've got a massive back log of beer I need to get through anyway. Think...

Thanks for the advice! I'm in Shizuoka, Japan. A somewhat rural area (city of 250,000) near Mt. Fuji. I've met a few home brewers but nobody making mead. Fingers crossed it'll all work out! I'm going to get my order together soon! Cheers!

Alright, so I'm gathering together everything I think I need to make my first mead and melomel. The only problem I have is that where I live there are no LHBS (at all). I can only order my supplies online and it takes as long as a week for them to arrive. As you can imagine, it's a major PITA...

I dry hop in my primary. In fact, I'm going to go do that now!

It doesn't have to be glass but I don't feel the love when using plastic.

Excellent information. Hopefully I'll be able to get a batch going before the big heats hit. We are already regularly into the high 20s here in Japan. I'll have to wait about 10 days or so until my fermenters are free. I'll definitely report back if I can get something going! Cheers!

Also, do any of you Japan based guys have any good ideas on where to get 1-3 gallon glass jugs? I'm thinking of making some mead during the summer because it can ferment at higher temps than beer. I'm looking for something that I can use for conditioning. Cheers!

Sounds great! I'm going to be brewing 12L of wheat beer this weekend and will hopefully be able to rack it onto the biwa in about ten days. We are certainly getting into the swamp cooler days around here.

I've never made mead so pardon my ignorance. I live in a sub-tropical part of Japan and summer get really hot and sweaty here. We probably average 35C (95F) for a few months with 80% (or more!) humidity. Will I be alright to make mead or melomel? Thanks for the advice! Brad

This is awesome. I've never made mead but I'll be sure to give it a try now!

I'll probably do it in the same way I usually do fruit beer. When the beer is finished in the primary I'll rack it onto the fruit in my secondary fermenter. I've heard that the seeds are poisonous and that there is a thin bitter membrane around the seeds that should be discarded too. I'm...

We usually make umeshu each year since we have two very large plum trees in our yard. Every two years there is a bumper crop to be had. We also get a bunch of biwa to mess around with. I'm even thinking of making a wheat biwa ale this time around.