Osaka: Kuninocho, Doutonbori, Minoh, Sakai Harvest, Chitei Ryoko, Marca, Têtard Vallée § Kyoto: Ichijyouji, Kizakura, Kyoto Machiya, Kyoto Brewing Co., Tango Kingdom § Hyogo: Izushi Shiroyama, Zigzag, Awaji, Kinosaki, Akashi, Konishi, Rokko, Kihachiro, Kobe Taishikan, Starboard, In Tha Door, Harbor Beer, Toki § Nara: Soni Kougen, Golden Rabbit, Mugiya § Wakayama: Heiwa Craft, Nagisa, Voyager Brewing, Sandaime, Blue Wood § Shiga: Biwako Iimichi, Nagahama Roman, Blumen no Oka
Craft beer fan Duncan Brotherton (gee-beer.blogspot.jp) sets out on an epic journey to discover all 36 Kinki Breweries in the Kansai area. (日本語は下にあります!)
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Kinki Beers showcases the craft beer breweries in the Kansai area. So far just under 1/3 of the breweries in Kansai have been feature; Nagisa, Akashi Beer, Kyoto Brewing Co., Heiwa Craft, Zigzag Brewery, Golden Rabbit, KONISHI Beer, Ichijyouji and Harvest Hill (in that order).
Duncan Brotherton is a freelance designer and translator based in Kyoto. He works as a designer for the annual craft beer event showcasing brewerys in Kansai, called Craft Beer Live, designs beer labels for the collaboration beer Think Tank Beers and redesigned the logo for Dotonbori Beer in 2017.
Time flies when you’re drinking beer; and here
we are at the 10th article in the Kinki Beers series. I feel that a
10th article is a small milestone, which prompted me to do something
different from another brewery interview. Rather than forwards I think it’s
better (for myself more than anyone else) to go back and rediscover how I got here;
not just writing Kinki Beers, but also as the designer for the annual gathering
of craft beer breweries in the Kansai area Craft Beer Live (CBL), doing beer labels
for Think Tank Beers and the new logo for Dotonbori Beer in Osaka.
Craft beer fan Duncan Brotherton (gee-beer.blogspot.jp) sets out on an epic journey to discover all 36 Kinki Breweries in the Kansai area. (日本語は下にあります!)
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Kinki Beers showcases the craft beer breweries in the Kansai area. So far just under 1/3 of the breweries in Kansai have been feature; Nagisa, Akashi Beer, Kyoto Brewing Co., Heiwa Craft, Zigzag Brewery, Golden Rabbit, KONISHI Beer, Ichijyouji and Harvest Hill (in that order).
Duncan Brotherton is a freelance designer and translator based in Kyoto. He works as a designer for the annual craft beer event showcasing brewerys in Kansai, called Craft Beer Live, designs beer labels for the collaboration beer Think Tank Beers and redesigned the logo for Dotonbori Beer in 2017.
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| FLAG - Foreigner's Live Art Guide |
I’m a designer by trade, and from 2008-2014
I worked independently in a share office in Osaka called OOO (Out of Office) doing
odd design jobs here and there. A friend and I started a freepaper called FLAG
(Foreigner’s Live Art Guide), which we published on and off over the years. It
was an interesting, self initiated job, and I learned a lot about editorial work
while doing it. I was drinking more craft during my time at OOO, and thought it
would be cool to design a beer label. The designer I used to do FLAG with,
Tetsuya Goto, gave me some advice one day; “if you really want to design a beer
label, why not start with a freepaper?”
Which brings us to Gee! Beer, a freepaper I
ran for a whopping two issues before I realized that I had more fun making it
than I did distributing. Freepapers are an emotional sinkhole in a way; you
give them out and get nothing back… it was natural that the fire sizzled out. I
made the first issue about the time Beer Zen started I think. I remember
meeting Maek Post for a beer at Yellow Ape to talk about our magazines and
their directions; Ajen Birmingham put us in touch when he heard we were both
going to launch craft media at the same time. We’ve always kept in good
contact; we teamed up to run a homebrew event in 2013 at Chitei Ryoko in
Bentencho called “BREWLAB” (totally legal, relax).
Because Gee! Beer was to be a first issue,
I wanted to introduce some events happening in the Kansai area. I did a bit of
research and heard about Craft Beer Live 2013, which happened to coincide with
the release. I called the number on their makeshift website and Miyoshi-san
from Kyoto Machiya beer (Kinshimasamune) picked up; I said I wanted to
interview a brewery and introduce their event. She put me in touch with
Kutsuna-san at Dotonbori beer, the lady who practically runs CBL, and we hooked
up for my first ever brewery interview. Gee! Beer, was a bellows style fold-out
freepaper with lots of space, so I wrote about Miyoshi-san talking about why we
should all drink craft. One side featured Craft Beer Live.
I really worked hard at that showcase; it
would have been easy to just write a column about the event, but I thought it
would be more interesting to feature all the breweries and their beers offered
at the event. I phoned the 19 breweries who participated that year. I got them
to send me a pic, a short intro, and recommend something from their lineup. It
was hard work, but my experience from FLAG helped. I think at this time I first
began to feel that the Japanese language was no longer a hindrance, and that even
by myself I could do anything with a bit of gumption.
Kutsuna-san was very happy with Gee! Beer and
asked if she could hand it out CBL 2013; almost all the copies I printed
disappeared there. I was having a drink at Dotonbori beer after the event
telling her about how I was really impressed. All these breweries scattered all
over Kansai, coming together, putting aside competition, etc. to bring craft
beer people to the people of Osaka. A few beers down and I said their website needed
work; it wasn’t good. Right on the spot she says “well, why don’t you do it?”
And next thing you know I’m working on the CBL 2014 official website. In 2015, she
asked me if I had an idea for the tees that the staff have. I had always though
that the CBL image was weak. It needed to show ‘Kansai’ and ‘all the breweries’
in a way that everyone could understand (i.e. English), and hence the CBL
identity was born. It became the glasses, which sold out. And from 2016 I was
doing posters, fliers, tickets… the whole works.
But the real clinch for me was when Kutsuna-san
invited me in for a meeting one time and said that every year she joins the
guys at Akashi Brewery (Hashimoto-kun and formerly Shiro-san) to brew. At that
time their beer was called “Hero Beer.” It was an interesting name but I
thought it said little about the beer itself. When I asked about why they
collaborated, she said it was an important chance for them both to learn a bit
about brewing from each other; a study group. I asked if the beer had a fixed
name. Nothing. Would they mind if I proposed one. Sure.
A chance to do a beer label with the naming
thrown in is a designers wet dream. And so, Think Tank Beers, with a name that
more accurately reflects exactly what it is, was born with a draftsman’s image.
That advice that Tetsuya gave me actually came to fruition, with a cherry on
top; In 2016 I was called in by Kutsuna-san to have a meeting with her boss who
was looking at a Dotonbori Beer rebrand and wanted a new logo. I’m still
surprised and flattered they asked me. And so the old Dotonbori Beer logo,
which was an image of the Shochikuza theater was replaced with a more
appropriate logo showing a more familiar image of the Dotonbori river at
Sunset, which is when the area really comes alive.
Maek and I sit at the information booth at
CBL each year. He gives out copies of Beer Zen and sells tees and I try to
steer patrons in the right beer direction. In 2015 he asked me to write about
local beer. It was a great opportunity. I enjoy sitting down and having a
proper talk to local brewers, and being involved in CBL makes it all the easier.
CBL and Beer Zen offer an important way for people in Kansai to discover what
the area has to offer, and I’m happy to be involved. And now we’re 10 issues
in. Already. So what’s next? I think I might start again with Dotonbori Beer.
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Original article featured in Beer Zen #19
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| Gee! Beer Issue 01 |
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| Gee! Beer Issue 02 |
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| Brew Lab: A homebrew event, beer for everyone |
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| Craft Beer Live 2017 |
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| Think Tank Beers, labels from 2014-2016 |
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| Think Tank Beers, 2017 Poster |
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| Think Tank Beers, 2017 Poster |
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| Dotonbori Beer branding |
飲んでいると時間が早くたつ。もうはや「Kinki Beers」の１０号目ですね。10回目はすこしでもの標石ので普段のブリュワリーに取材するより違うことしようかなぁと思いました。自分のためでもあり、前に進むより過去を振り返て現在地にどうやって来たか再度調べるべきだと。Kinki Beersの記事以外にもCRAFT BEER LIVE（以下CBL）のデザイン担当、「THINK TANK BEERS」のラベルデザインと道頓堀ビールの新しいロゴデザインをどうやってやるようになったんでしたけ？
2008〜2014年の間、OOO (Out of Office)というシェアオフィスで活動していました。そのデザイナーでいる後藤哲也さんと「FLAG
(Foreigner's Live Art Guide」のフリーペーパーを運営していて編集についてたくさん学べた。ビールに興味ある僕がラベルデザインしたくて、かれが「ラベルデザインやりたいなら、クラフトビール誌から始まったらどう？」とアドバイスがあった。
ほんで「Gee! Beer」が生まれた。フリーペーパーって、大変です。配達よりデザインのほうが楽しかったので２号以降続けませんでした。第１号はBEER
ZENと同じタイミングに発行したと思う。そのころ、Yellow Apeで編集長のマイクさんといろいろ自分らのアイディアでお話をしてその後よく連絡取れるようになった。結果として2013年に「BREWLAB」という自家醸造のイベントを弁天町にあるクラフトビールメーカ地底旅行で開催しました。完全に法律上だったので落ち着いてください。
Gee! Beerは第１号のため、イベントを紹介したくてネットでCBL2013年を見つけた。そのころの間に合わせのサイトに載せた電話番号に電話し、京都町家麦秋の三好さんが出ました。CBLを紹介したくて醸造所に取材したと言いました。道頓堀ビールの忽那さんに紹介してくださって初ブリュワリーインタビュー行った。その号の片面はCBLの紹介だった。
CBLの紹介は一所懸命だった。コラムや記事で紹介することは出来てたけど、せっかくとおもってイベントに参加する醸造所19件とビールを紹介したいなぁと思って、全て電話しました。醸造所の画像やポルフィールテキストとおすすめビールを送っていただくことにしました。仕事として大変だったけど、事前にシェアオフィスでやった仕事の経験が役に立った。やっと日本語は壁になってないと初めて感じたと思う。
忽那さんがCBLの紹介嬉しかった。CBL2013年で配ってもらって全てなくなった。その後道頓堀で飲んで、CBLのサイトを良くした方がいいよと話をして、早速に「ダンカンがやったら？」と聞いてくれた。それで2014年からサイトの担当しました。2015年、「スターフのTeeシャツ、いいアイディアない？」と聞かれて、「関西」と「各醸造所」をだれでも分かる形（＝英語）で見せたくて現在のアイデンテティーが生まれた。売れきれたグラスにも使われていました。2016年からポスターや、チラシ、チケットなど、いろいろ担当になりました。
個人的なは見所はビールラベルデザインの誘えでした。ある打ち合わせ、明石ビール（橋本くんと元社員城さん）と忽那さんがコラボで作っている「Hero」と呼ばれたビールがありました。新しいラベル作ってくれない？と。事前の名前は面白いけど、ビールの由来を聞くと３人がお互いに勉強し、いろいろ新しいことを挑戦してみる研究班らしい。ビールに固定の名前があると聞いた。ナシ。提案していいか？もちろんだと。
ビールラベルとそのネーミングをやるチャンスがデザイナーとして最高でございます。それで「THINK
TANK BEERS」とその製図イメージができた。後藤さんから聞いたアドバイスが実を結んだ。さらに、2016年に道頓堀ビールの新しいロゴを作ってくださいと忽那さんに依頼されました。今でもその機会をうれしく光栄に思います。そして道頓堀ビールの古い松竹座イメージのロゴがより相応しい日暮れの道頓堀川とロゴと入れ替えることができました。前より、「道頓堀」のイメージが伝えているとおもいます。
BEER ZENの編集長マイクさんとCBLでの案内をやっています。かれが誌を配ったりしてTeeシャツを売ったり、僕はビールの選択を迷っている人にアドバイスをする。2015年に関西のビールについて記事を担当してくれと誘えました。CBLに関わって関西の醸造所を知っていて、ビールを作っている人とゆっくり話すことがいつまでも楽しいと思っている僕として、これはとっても良い機会だと。CBLとBEER
ZENのおかげさんで関西のみなさんがローカルとして何があるかより分かるようになっていると思います。僕はそれに関わってなによりです。そしていきなり「Kinki
Beers」が１０号目です。もうはや。次はなんでしょう？再びスタートで、初インタビューした道頓堀ビールから行こうかなぁ。
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Original article featured in Beer Zen #19
