Hirosaki's brewery "Be Easy Brewing" (Matsugae, Hirosaki City, TEL 0172-78-1222 ) started selling Aomori Prefecture limited craft beer "Aomori Lager" on February 9th.

The brewery was founded by Gareth Barnes, a former U.S. Air Force soldier who now lives in Aomori. He started brewing in 2016, initially selling wholesale to restaurants, but due to the impact of the new coronavirus, he created a sales channel for general consumers by handling bottles and cans.

“Aomori Lager” uses hops purchased directly from the hop farm “Freestyle Hops” in New Zealand. The malt is from England. “The ingredients we chose were chosen so that the people of Aomori would find them easy to drink. As we continued to make beer, we realized that even with the same brand of hops, the taste of apples of the same variety changes depending on the production area. I realized that I chose 'Freestyle Hops'," says Gareth.

According to Gareth, one of his strengths is being able to negotiate in English, and he says that there are only a few breweries in Japan who visit the local area and purchase hops directly from Hopform. “We are going to New Zealand in March to get some new hops,” says Gareth.

Mr. Gareth has been living in Aomori since he was assigned to Aomori Misawa Air Base in 2005 at the age of 19. Next year, he will spend more time in Aomori than in his home country of America. Mr. Gareth said, "I want craft beer to become a standard drink like in the United States, not a trend. I want to make a beer that makes Aomori lively."

“There is a feeling of gratitude behind the fact that we are particular about selling only in Aomori Prefecture. I want people in Aomori to drink what only I can make in Aomori,” he said.

The price is 600 yen for 350ml. They are sold at turnip centers and Gareth's hideouts in the prefecture.