Rydeen Beer: Craft Beer From the Hakkaisan Sake Brewery in Niigata

If you drink sake, you know the name Hakkaisan.

The brewery was founded in 1922 at the foot of Mount Hakkai in Niigata, in Minamiuonuma, deep snow country, and one of the most respected sake regions in Japan.

Rydeen is what happens when a sake brewery that old decides to make beer.

Where the Name Comes From

Rydeen is named for the water.

Minamiuonuma is known for a spring associated with Raiden, and it produces an enormous volume, over 400 tons a day, of extremely soft water. That water is what Hakkaisan brews its sake with, and it's what goes into the beer.

Soft water matters here. It's low in the minerals that make a beer feel firm and grippy, so it tends to produce something rounder and softer. It's the same reason Niigata sake reads as clean and light.

There's a monkey on the label, after the ones that turn up around the brewery.

Rydeen Pilsner

A German-style pilsner.

This is where the water shows most clearly. German pilsner is a style with nowhere to hide, no fruit, no haze, no adjunct sweetness, so the base ingredients are the whole beer. Soft water gives it a rounder body than a crisp Czech-style pils, without losing the dryness.

Rydeen IPA

An American IPA.

Hop-forward and bitter in the American tradition, but built on the same soft water, which takes some of the harsh edge off the bitterness. It's an IPA that doesn't scrape.

Pair Them With

The Pilsner is the utility player. It goes with the whole yakitori section, karaage, tebasaki, and anything fried.

The IPA wants something that can push back, pork kimchi, spicy ramen, or the loaded fries.

Try Them at Juraku

Both Rydeen beers are on the list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. If you already drink Hakkaisan sake here, it's worth tasting what the same water does in a different format.