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The hand-crafted and locally brewed artisanal beers at the Hakuba Brewing Company are an absolute must-try when visiting the Hakuba Valley. But there is so much more to these delicious brews than meets the eye. Events Hakuba chats with Brewmaster Dan to discuss just what makes him tick; from ingredients to inspiration, from origin stories to original recipes, check out the inner workings of the HBC’s Brewery in this exclusive article and video interview.
In 2011, Dan Cockburn moved back to Hakuba from the U.K. and although extremely happy with the lifestyle here, he was missing all the delicious craft beers from back home. During a fireside chat one evening with a friend they hatched a little plan to start a brewery here in Hakuba in order to fill that very need. At that time, there were only a couple of craft breweries in the Nagano area, so finding a shortage in the market, the Hakuba Brewing Company (HBC) was born—a very beery origin story indeed.
HBC IPA
Four years later, they had brews in a tank and a brew pub to match. And just this summer they moved the brewery itself to a new location with more capacity and accessibility. To celebrate their success, the self proclaimed ‘hop-head’ has just released a new Double IPA or DIPA (7.5% abv and 99 IBU) which, “drinks very bitter, very hoppy, yet smooth with a crisp and biscuity malt base.” The DIPA is an homage to the dank and citrusy IPAs that are so popular on the West Coast of the U.S. where most of the world’s hops are grown. This one will blow your ski socks right off.
HBC DPIA
HBC’s DIPA is truly a fantastic hop forward Imperial IPA balanced by the toasted palate of the extra malt, as well it has a more textured mouthfeel than HBC’s flagship beer, the Pale Ale (5% abv and 30 IBU). The HBC Pale Ale is definitely their most popular beer and with good reason: the gentle bitterness and hop aroma balances well with the malt…making for a very accessible and drinkable beer. Popular with both the local and foreign crowd, we highly recommend tapping into this one with a group of heady friends.
HBC Pale Ale
Comparing the flagship Pale Ale to their IPA, Dan has a unique recipe which brings out his British roots; instead of going for a truly West Coast tropical hoppy IPA, he has balanced this beer by using British malt which adds sweetness and body. The HBC’s IPA (6% abv and 55 IBU) is a beautiful marriage of British barley, American hops and Japanese glacial water. And if you find yourself doing some day-drinking, which we often do, and want something not quite as strong, HBC’s Session IPA (4% abv and 35 IBU) is the beer for you. With a bit lower alcohol content, this session ale is surprisingly full-bodied with both wheat and caramel grains supporting the hops—perfect for a gorgeous sunny day.
HBC Session ipa
Distinguished beer connoisseurs will also find that the HBC’s Black Ale (5% abv and 25 IBU) is a complex mix of coffee and cocoa lending a chocolate Porter feel yet the sweetness is balanced by Dan’s rich understanding of hop flavors. Continuing with the winter theme, HBC’s Amber Ale (5% abv and 40 IBU) is a traditional English ESB malt forward beer hit with a piney American hop, dry-hopped and culminates in a very unique cold-weather beer. Both of them supreme in flavor and balance. Of course, HBC has also just re-released the Gold (5% abv and 20 IBU) which was launched last year, an all English ingredient (except for the water) traditional Golden ale which gets hit with elderflower in the hop back creating a punchy and aromatic English ale.
HBC Amber
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