Weather affects crops worldwide
In case you missed it, the hurricane season came in with a bang. Hurricane names are now wending their way through the Greek alphabet, which is what happens when there are so many in a season that they run out of English alphabet names to give them.
There are several stories of crops that have been destroyed, which can be a waste of potential food. However, a new trend in Japan’s craft beer industry could hold the start of an answer, at least for now.
Pear Weizen beer is one craft brewer’s solution to a bad situation. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. In this case, when life gave them bad pears, they made Pear Weizen.
Bad weather events seem to be on the rise recently, which has destroyed crops globally.
This past August, millions of acres of crops were destroyed in the Midwest of the United States. Such force majeure events have seemingly become more common lately.
News media images and stories of crops being destroyed are hard to think about, not only for their effect on the farmers but also because of the effects on the consumers who rely on the food to feed their family.
A Unique Solution
In Japan, however, their nation’s oldest craft brewery has found a unique solution for combatting the issue of damaged crops that on the surface may appear to be unusable. Could this technique work for Shore Craft Beer breweries, too? Let’s take a more in-depth look.
Poor weather conditions this past year in Japan led to the country’s oldest craft brewery, SanktGallen to try to utilize the damaged crops, which are not able to be sold at markets, so as to not waste them.
The brewery shared their process for using these damaged pears to create an end product that craft beer aficionados and newbies alike can savor. The Japan Today website indicates that SanktGallen bought 350 kilograms (approximately 770 pounds!) of pears to use in their Pear Weizen beer so that the product would not go to waste.
After the pears have been sliced, the pears are made into a puree. Later, they’re processed for their juice, which is then added to their beer recipe.
The result is Pear Weizen beer, which according to the website, has a 5.5% ABV and “is a very fruity beer with very minimal bitterness which captures the sweet aroma and fresh flavor of Japanese pears.”
It is sold in 330 mL glass bottles and has a cost of 460 yen, plus tax. In US dollars, that is about $4.39 plus tax. Maybe the Shore Craft Breweries can get in on this action? Only time will tell.
Author: Jack Bradley
Jack Bradley is a contributor to Oceancity.com and ShoreCraftBeer.com and works as an Academic Counselor at Delaware Technical Community College. He assists students with academic advisement, teaches first year seminars, manages the food pantry, and serves as advisor for the Alpha Zeta Kappa Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the Community College Honor Society. An English major at the College of the Holy Cross, Jack has always loved to write and is grateful for the opportunity to be a contributor to this site. He received an an M.B.A. from Clark University and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware. When he is not working or writing, he can be found out and about in Ocean City and surrounding towns, enjoying the amazing attractions they have to offer.
Have you ever made home made beer? Is it easy?
I never have but I’d love to try it! Do you have any experience making homemade beer?
kudos to japanese ingenuity. interesting story…
Thanks for the comment, avid reader!