“Tekika Jutaro Hazy IPA,” a Craft Beer That Utilizes the Unique Characteristics of Rejected Fruits
＜The key characteristics of Tekika Jutaro Hazy IPA＞
・Made using the thinned-out rejected mandarin oranges that are generally discarded.
・Made using the juice of the Jutaro mandarin orange variety grown in Shizuoka Prefecture, which is considered the best variety in Japan.
・A craft beer that utilizes the characteristic tartness of rejected fruits.
A craft beer made with ingredients that would have otherwise been discarded.
Tiels Brewery is a craft beer brewery that opened in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2021. It makes beer from corn that has been rejected for not meeting size specifications or for other reasons.
Shortly after its opening, the brewery was approached with a request to try and develop a beer using corn that couldn’t be sold for fresh consumption. The brewmaster Katsuhiko Akita tells us why they decided to make a craft beer with such an uncommon and almost unprecedented ingredient.
“I was positive that corn grown in Shizuoka and on the western foothills of Hakone would make a great ingredient. The brew that we made exceeded my expectations. I believe that we’ve succeeded in drawing out the natural flavor of corn.”
Tekika Jutaro Hazy IPA was born from the desire to use local citrus fruits.
One of Tiels Brewery’s most popular beers is Tekika Jutaro Hazy IPA. It uses the rejected fruits of the Jutaro mandarin orange variety, which is considered the best variety in Japan.
Mr. Akita, who’s partial to beer made with fruits, apparently strived to create a beer in Mishima using the area’s famous local citrus fruits. While researching ways to utilize rejected fruits, he encountered a farmer who was growing Jutaro mandarin oranges.
“When making a fruit-based beer, what matters the most is not so much the sweetness but the aroma. The unripe thinned fruits have little to no sweetness to them. Instead, they’re packed with an intense, fresh aroma and tartness, which are the elements that you want in a beer.”
Thinning out is an essential task in plant cultivation. The picked fruits aren’t suitable for fresh consumption and are usually thrown out. When it comes to making beer, though, it’s a different story.
Tekika Jutaro Hazy IPA is easy to drink and characterized by its smooth mouthfeel and juicy taste.
Thanks to the use of highly aromatic thinned fruits, it allows you to fully enjoy the aroma of mandarin oranges.
“As I explain to customers how to read the name of this beer and what tekika (fruit thinning) means, they become interested in giving it a taste. It’s gotten to the point that it’s now as popular as our signature American pale ale.”
More than just thinned fruits—beer making that leads to creating a sustainable cycle.
When asked about making beer in an area with a thriving agriculture industry, Mr. Akita said, “I’m not consciously making an effort to incorporate SDGs in my activities. It is a natural result of working in this region.”
In addition to brewing beer with rejected corn and mandarin oranges, Tiels Brewery effectively utilizes malt lees, which are the byproducts of the beer brewing process. Usually, malt lees are disposed of as industrial waste, but Tiels Brewery provides them to nearby farmers. Mixing malt lees into compost not only makes up for nutrient-rich fertilizer but also enables better drainage from the fields. Such a way of utilizing malt lees is only possible because the region has many fields and a robust agriculture industry.
Furthermore, malt lees are used in the feed at local poultry farms. Tiels Brewery offers a malt egg risotto made with eggs from the hens raised on such feed at their restaurant.
Not only is it tasty, but it also helps protect fruits from being wasted. We encourage you to try Tekika Jutaro Hazy IPA!
シェア 
ツイート 
