Before 1994, microbreweries were illegal in Japan, but now the Japanese craft-beer scene is growing:
Big Japanese beers are similar to American macrobrews, with all the flavor and aroma of air, liberally substituting rice or corn for malted barley to keep cost (and flavor) low.
But the Japanese brewers who have taken up the challenge to offer something else are a bit different than their American counterparts. American craft beer has roots in home brewing. Scratch the surface of many successful American craft brewers, and you’ll uncover early horror stories of batches lost to infection and weeks of work and money literally gone down the drain.
But in Japan, most craft beer is made by sake brewers, with full command of sanitation, fermentation, bottling, and aging. They needed only to master malted barley, hops, and different yeasts, so the learning curve wasn’t as steep for them. And the sake breweries’ traditional emphasis on craftsmanship and quality ingredients served them well in the specialty beer world.