Far Yeast Brewing Company of Japan has collaborated with Thailand’s craft beer distributor Beervana to create and release two new, unique beers – Yuzu Sour Ale and ARAN Wood Aged Pilsner.

Both these beers will be introduced to Japan and Thailand, marking the first time that Far Yeast brand products will be sold in Thailand. Japanese consumers can already purchase the beers via Far Yeast’s online store, the beers became available in Thailand in June.

To create these new flavours, Far Yeast worked collaboratively with their Thai counterparts. ARAN Wood Aged Pilsner was developed by Far Yeast and The Brewing Project, Beervana’s brewing arm, and YUZU Sour Ale was developed by Far Yeast and Supachote Chantanasuksilpa, head brewer for award winning Thai craft brewery Samata.

Both the Beervana and Samata teams visited the Far Yeast Brewing Genryu Brewery in Japan to brew the beers together.

Business between Far Yeast and Beervana began in 2013 with the sale of craft beer KAGUA in Thailand. From there, they collaborated with Beervana to sell their Tokyo White, Tokyo Blonde and Tokyo IPA labels in Indonesia.

The exquisite design on the cans reflect the Japanese influence in the brews (Photo: Far Yeast Brewing)

Far Yeast also operate several gastro-pubs in Japan and have been busy spreading their wings around the region with their first directly-managed overseas outlet, the Far Yeast Taiwan Craftbeer Gastropub, located in Taipei which opened up at the beginning of the covid pandemic.

The YUZU Sour Ale is an easy-to-drink, lightly salted and fruited kettle-sour ale that uses yuzu from Kochi Prefecture. Yuzu is a citrus fruit, resembling a small bumpy orange, grown commercially in Japan. It is used in many Japanese beers to provide a citrus-like taste to the brew.

For the Yuzu Soul Ale, the fruit is used in both the kettle and in dry-hopping to bring out its elegant citrus flavor and aroma. The amount of hops were also restricted to let the yuzu shine and bring out an exquisite sourness and freshness.

The Aran Wood Aged Pilsner is made by infusing wood chips from aging Japanese Cypress and Red Cedar trees into the beer. Sandalwood is added for a pleasant spicy wood accent to the beer, producing a clean, easy-to-drink lager with hints of wood.

Both these brews are available in Japan through the Far Yeast online store, and in Thailand through Beervana.