Hop Kotan Brewing

Microbrewery in Sorachi, Hokkaido, Japan 🇯🇵
Associated Venue: Tap Room Beer Kotan

Established in 2017

Contact
上富良野町西8線北33号, Sorachi, Japan
Description
北海道の真ん中、美しい景色で知られる富良野・美瑛エリア。
その一部をなす上富良野(かみふらの)は、
道内で唯一、ホップが商用栽培されている町です。
そして私たちブルワーにとって、希少な地のホップを使って
ビールを醸すことは、この上ない幸せでもあります。

ホップづくりのプロと語らいながら、生きたホップとふれあい、
ビールづくりのプロとして、さらなるおいしさを追究したい。
ここでなら、それができる。だから私たちは、ここに集いました。

立ち上げたブルワリーの名は、忽布古丹(ホップコタン)醸造。
コタンとは、村や集落を意味するアイヌの言葉で、
まさに北海道のホップ集落=上富良野のことを指す名称です。
この国がもっとビールを楽しめる国になることを願い、
コタンから多種多様なおいしいビールを全国にお届けします。

ホップに囲まれ、幸せいっぱいの私たちは、FULL OF HOPPINESS!
このホピネスが、お飲みいただくみなさまにも伝わりますように。
数年先には、すべて地のホップを使うブルワリーをめざして。
そしていずれは地の大麦・小麦も…。
農作物のように成長する忽布古丹にご期待ください!

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Partial translation:

The name of the brewery that was launched is Hop Kotan Brewing. Kotan is an Ainu word meaning a village. It is a name that refers to the hop village of Kamifurano on Hokkaido.

I hope this country will become a country where you can enjoy more beer. We deliver a wide variety of delicious beers nationwide from Kotan.

Surrounded by hops, we are full of happiness, FULL OF HOPPINESS! I hope this happiness will be conveyed to everyone who drinks it. A few years from now, aiming for a brewery that uses all the hops of the earth. And eventually, the local barley and wheat.

     Show


6.8/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 6.5 Flavor 6.5 Texture 7 Overall 7
blonde color. Lots of cereal malts in the nose. Hops dont shine, kinda odd character on the palate. The bitterness coats the back of my throat, I get this ripping bitterness over a semi sweet malt backbone but the edges show some butter.
Aiming for the Czech style maybe ok. Actually now that I think about it, it is not a bad take on Czech pils. Just not my thing
Tried on 02 Aug 2021 at 09:32

7/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
light amber color. Very bitter, light body, lots of tangerines and apples. Dry and enjoyable
Tried on 02 Aug 2021 at 06:51

7.4/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 7 Overall 7.5
medium amber color. Nice malt, copper and a touch of mineral character. Medium bitterness, copper, apples, bready mineral and a touch of smoke. Excellent malt character and good bitterness. Smooth and balanced. Excellent Vienna lager
Tried on 02 Aug 2021 at 06:24

6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Tap at Komachi. Spicy nose with caramel and citrus. Tart and citric flavor, almost sour, spicy too. Not bad but slightly too sour for me, although probably not infected.
Tried from Draft on 04 Jul 2021 at 15:23

8/10
Nice stuff! Sorachi funky chess and chive and plastic plus a bit of roast and choc.
Tried from Draft at Craft Beer Bar iBrew on 14 Mar 2021 at 12:51

6.9/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 6.5 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
light straw color. Hoppy mangoes pineapples. Light medium body. Not that well put togheter
Tried on 01 Jan 2021 at 12:54

6.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Tap at Craft House. Orange-brown. Nose is cocoa, caramel, bready, orange, light fig. Toasty flavor, grainy bready, cocoa, with a herbal, slightly nutty finish. Quite bitter, actually. A bit light and bitter but all right.
Tried from Draft on 13 Dec 2020 at 13:07

7.8/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 7 Overall 8
Super fizzy fruity, but like sweets. Tart and juicy.
Tried from Draft on 09 Dec 2020 at 11:00

6.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Tap at Komachi. Bright pale gold, slightly hazy. Thick head . Simple malt nose, grassy, lemony hops. Creamy, subtle malts. Fresh hops. Grass, lemon. A bit simple overall but no real flaws. I guess they kept the malt simple so as to show off their homegrown hops, but it ends up a bit watery.
Tried from Draft on 06 Dec 2020 at 03:19

7.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Tap at Bungalow. Amber-orange, dark. Nicely smoked, bit of chocolate in the nose, caramel. Nice smoke flavor but the malt doesn't really come across as a dunkel--more like marzen. Nice though.
Tried from Draft on 15 Nov 2020 at 09:57