Currently, the movement to focus on brewing and selling cider is becoming active in Aomori and Hirosaki.

"Cider" is a fruit wine made from apples. In Hirosaki, Japan's number one apple-producing region, cider-based sixth industrialization is progressing, and in recent years, cider-making has become more active, with Hirosaki City being certified as a special house wine cider zone in 2014. There is.

From this year, the "Hirosaki Cider Association" was established mainly by brewers and consignment brewers. Currently, 34 companies and individuals are enrolled. The activities are divided into two departments, such as a place to learn about brewing and a public relations department to learn about branding.

On April 23, the brewing company "Hirosaki Meijo" (Tomita, Hirosaki City) near Hirosaki University opened an online shop "Aomori Cider" Yoridori Midori "" specializing in cider. The 4th president, Hiroyuki Kato, launched it with the cooperation of the "Hirosaki Cider Association" and volunteers who like cider.

"The impact of the new coronavirus has drastically reduced demand for alcohol delivery to restaurants, and sales have also declined. Among them, we wondered if we could sell cider online in the same way as delivering cider to restaurants. The reason for opening the company, "says Kato.

Naomi Sasaki, a former regional revitalization team involved in the launch of the shop, was often asked where to buy Hirosaki cider. "You can buy cider sold by each company, but there weren't many stores where you could buy them all at once," says Sasaki.

At "Yoridori Midori," we will prepare set products that are put together at the brewery, such as "first set" and "drinking comparison set" for people who have never experienced cider. Mr. Kato says, "It is still not well known nationwide. We want to raise the cider so that we can win the number one cider in Japan at Hirosaki, which is the largest producer of apples in Japan."

Mr. Satoshi Nakayama and Mr. Mio, who are members of the Hirosaki local venture development project "Next Commons Lab (NCL) Hirosaki", will provide cider and sweets in "HIROSAKI ORANDO" (Hyakkokumachi, Hirosaki City) on April 18. "Pom Marche" was opened.

Cider is not only from Hirosaki but also from France and Australia. "Compared to Japanese ciders, which are conscious of the deliciousness of apples themselves, many overseas ciders are a blend of dozens of types of apples. I want you to drink while being aware of the differences," says Mio.

Mr. and Mrs. Nakayama traveled to Europe every year before the Corona disaster. During the trip, the local life of enjoying local sake and local food was impressive. Mr. Satoshi said, "Cider has taken root in the local area, and there were various ways to enjoy it. We would like to prepare a menu using local ingredients that are familiar to us and disseminate the cider culture in Hirosaki. ".

According to the Hirosaki Cider Association, cider movements are becoming more active in the prefecture outside of Hirosaki, and there are also movements to set up cider breweries in Goshogawara and Hirakawa. Hideyuki Aiuchi, the secretary general of the association, said, "Although the number of brands and breweries has increased, the situation is a little behind compared to Nagano even in the same apple producing area. I want to make it a local sake. "