Local News

The Yamaga Kirara microbrewery in Oita Prefecture has released two new products on the market brewed with a patented process in which the beer is pasteurized in three steps to place the yeast in a state of suspended animation. The yeast comes back to life after the beer is drunk, and is said to provide the consumer with amino acids. The new beer, which is made from brown rice, has two brands. The first is Don Otomo Sorin, named after a local Christian daimyo and warlord, which sells for 870 yen for a 500-milliliter bottle, and the second is Don Xavier, named after the Jesuit priest Francis Xavier, which sells for 860 yen. It is sold at Oita department stores, ryokan, and the local airport, but the president of the company says he hopes to turn it into a national product.