Japanese Brewers Bounce Back

When the massive Tōhoku earthquake hit Japan in March, the destruction was immense. In addition to the thousands of lives lost, the 9.0 quake and subsequent tsunami destroyed roadways, ports, homes, and nuclear power plants—along with several craft breweries. To quote the Japan Beer Times, "few individuals and businesses were unaffected negatively." The good news, as I report in the September/October issue of DRAFT magazine, is that for damaged breweries like Kiuchi in Naka city, recovery has been relatively swift. Not only did Kiuchi immediately help the surrounding community by providing free meals and clean drinking water, they went on to open their first gastropub, True Brew Beer Cafe & Shop, a mere ten weeks after the fifth most powerful earthquake in world history.