Hello from Okinawa, Japan

I have been on this site for a while, doing beer reviews. I have served in the USAF in Okinawa Japan for the last 6 years, however I will be returning back to the Springfield Missouri area in June! As a beer lover, I enjoy drinking Pilsners and Wheat beers!

 

My original home is actually Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, my wife and I met in college in Kansas and we decided to make Missouri our home, specifically the Springfield area because it represents the halfway point from both of our hometowns.

The Okinawan beer and brewery culture is unique in that since their is so many Americans that are stationed here, the breweries seem to follow a western like culture in how their made whereas with others they are more along the lines of the Asian culture like beers.

 

The beers in mainland Japan are quite a bit different than Okinawan beers in that most Okinawan made beers resemble American and European Style beers. For instance, Orion which is the primary beer of Okinawa, is made in Nago Okinawa and it taste very much like a Coors Banquet beer. I know tonight I am doing a review over a new brewery KaneHide which is based out of Naha Okinawa. It was only established in 2022, but seems to resemble more of a Western Style type of beer. In the American parts of Okinawa, the bar scene is all westernized but then you go out to the more isolated areas and you see Izakayas which are Japanese bars. I have been to Osaka, Kyoto and I am heading to Hiroshima this comming week, and the culture is vastly different from Okinawa, the mainland culture is very fast food moving whereas the Okinawan culture is about 20 years behind the mainland culture.

 

I am a huge fan of Boulevard brewery in KC and theirs tons of local brewerys in Missouri, so I am sure I will find plenty of wheat beers.

I honestly did not see many local wheat beers here, I think Kyoto brewing has something, Orion brewery which is based in Okinawa taste a lot like Coors banquet beer. My favorite beer here is called Okinawa Sango it is a floral and citrus style of beer. The water they use is filtered from a limestone cave located near the brewery. For me, what I will miss the most is Orion Watta, which is a essentially a mimosa in a can, its one of those dangerous drinks because you cant taste the alcohol and it actually taste amazing.