Meet The Brewer: Hitachino’s Mr. Toshiyuki Kiushi

This coming Monday, March 5th, we welcome a special guest, all the way from Japan: Mr. Toshiyuki Kiuchi of Kiuchi/Hitachino Brewery.  Mr. Toshi Kiuchi—whose brewery is in the region devastated by the earthquake/tsunami last year—will be in NYC and wants to personally thank all the brewers, reps, chefs and others who participated in last year’s “Brewers4Brewers” Japan benefit at Brooklyn Brewery. Of all the fundraisers that focused on the Hitachino/Kiuchi Brewery, our event raised the most ($12,000).

On tap and in the bottle will be a special selection of Hitachino beers (along with Brooklyn Brewery’s Sorachi Ace), including Three Day Beer, which was how long this batch of beer sat unrefrigerated and untended after the earthquake, allowing for wild yeast to form. Other beers available:

  • Hitachino White
  • Hitachino, Ginger
  • Hitachino, Classic
  • Hitachino, Red Rice
  • Hitachino, Nipponia (special draft)

Also will be specially made Sake from the region. Mr. Toshi Kiuchi will be at the bar starting around 6 p.m.

Jimmy Carbone remembers how he became involved with the Hitachino brews upon opening Jimmy’s No. 43 in 2005:

“Hitachino White Ale was the hottest thing you could get on draft back then, so we added it along with Red Rice Ale and Hitachino Classic. We worked closely with the American distributor, B United, and met Mr. Toshi Kiuchi twice during those early years. After last year’s tragedy, a couple regulars at the bar who were Japanese natives asked if we could host a fundraiser, which turned into Brewers4Brewers, the single largest fundraiser dedicated to helping breweries in the region. We’re happy that our friendship has allowed for these limited and special taps to be at Jimmy’s No. 43.”