[Factory Tour] Suntory Beer Musashino Brewery: Natural water is the strength! 3 glasses of fresh Premium Malts and a tour for 1,000 yen!

[Approx. 3,800 characters, approx. 50 photos]
Tokyo/Musashino I went to the Suntory "Natural Water Beer Factory" and participated in the "The Premium Malts Taste Discovery Tour." I will write my impressions of it.

▶︎ Conclusion

Suntory's strength is "natural water"! The good points are: 1) You can drink up to three glasses of fresh Premium Malts!, 2) You can learn about the manufacturing process of Premium Malts in a fun way, and 3) The participation fee is inexpensive at 1,000 yen. Since it is located in Tokyo, access is relatively good. A beer factory tour is a great idea for a holiday outing!

▶︎ Reason for visiting

The satisfaction level of the Kirin Beer Yokohama Factory I visited recently was very high. This was mainly because: 1) It was educational and fun, 2) I was able to drink four glasses of fresh, special beer, and 3) It was inexpensive at 500 yen. So, I decided to go to the Suntory beer factory in Tokyo as well.

▼ Impressions of participating in the Kirin Beer Yokohama Factory tour

▶︎ Access

From the south exit of Keio Electric Railway's Bubaigawara Station, there is a free shuttle bus to the factory (ride time is about 10 minutes, no reservation required for the bus).

▶︎ "The Premium Malts Taste Discovery Tour" impressions

To participate in the factory tour, booking online in advance is a must. The fee is 1,000 yen per adult (free for those under 20). It seems they switched from free to paid in April 2024. The entire tour is about 1 hour. By the way, the Kirin Beer factory tour was 500 yen.

Visitors included married couples, couples, parents with children, and groups of men who seemed to love beer. Also, if you want to take notes inside the factory, only ballpoint pens can be used; pencils are not allowed (it's the opposite of an art museum, isn't it).

✔️ Visual Theater

Suntory's corporate message is "Mizu to Ikiru SUNTORY (Living with Water)". Even during the factory tour, the emphasis on "natural water" was strong. Kirin Beer focused on the "craftsmanship and innovation" of Ichiban Shibori. It is interesting how the key selling points clearly differ depending on the company.

Beer is made of 90% water. Since natural water has no variation in taste, it is said that Suntory is thoroughly committed to the quality of its water.

By the way, the name "Suntory" is said to have been created by combining "Sun" (the English word for sun), as the "Akadama" (red ball) of "Akadama Port Wine," which was the foundation of the company, was likened to the sun, and the surname of the founder, Shinjiro Torii, "Torii," to form "Suntory".

Since the company's founding, they have valued the philosophy of "creating good products from good water". As part of their "Natural Water Sanctuary" activities, they manage ( ≠ own ) about 12,000 hectares in 26 locations across 16 prefectures (as of August 2024) of forest. Factory locations are limited to places where high-quality natural water can be obtained, and the factory names are also "Natural Water Beer Factory".

I have visited the Suntory Hakushu Distillery (Yamanashi Prefecture) in the past, where you can tour facilities like the "Single Malt Whisky Hakushu" and "Suntory Natural Water" production. Even then, they emphasized the importance of "natural water."

In 1928, they acquired a beer company and started the beer business, but withdrew in 1934. Keizo Saji, the second son of Shinjiro Torii and the second president, made a comeback in 1963 by opening Suntory's first beer factory in Musashino (it was their 60th anniversary in 2023!). In 2003, they launched "The Premium Malts" (hereinafter referred to as Pre-Mol).

By the way, Pre-Mol is mainly made through the following processes.

1) Ingredient Selection…Ingredients are only malt, hops, and natural water.
2) Mashing…Crushed malt is added to warmed natural water (malt starch is broken down into sugar), and hops are added to provide aroma and bitterness, resulting in wort.
3) Fermentation…Yeast is added to the wort to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. After about 7 days, young beer with an alcohol content of about 5% is created.
4) Storage…Young beer is aged at low temperatures to mellow the taste and aroma.
5) Filtration…Sediment and yeast are removed.
6) Packaging…Filling into containers.

✔️ Ingredient Selection

Premium Malts mainly uses two-row barley malt and also adds Diamond Malt, which accounts for only 4% of the harvest in Europe.

Hops (the source of aroma and bitterness) use "aroma hops" and "fine aroma hops". In reality, they are imported as solids rather than in their plant state.

✔️ Mashing Process

There are six tanks and kettles in the mashing process.

"Mashing tank"…Creates the base for wort using natural water and malt.
"Wort receiving tank"…Temporarily holds the filtered wort.

"Mashing kettle"…Boils the wort base to draw out the beer's flavor.
Here, the "double decoction method", which creates rich wort by boiling a portion of the wort twice while raising the temperature, is used to draw out the malt's inherent deliciousness and deep richness.

"Filtration tank"…Removes the malt husks.

"Boiling kettle"…Adds hops and boils.
Here, the "Aroma Rich Hopping Method", which adds only aroma hops at the start of boiling and fine aroma hops at the finish, achieves a gorgeous aroma and high-quality bitterness.It took 10 years to develop.

"Sedimentation tank"…Removes hop residue and the like.

✔️ Fermentation, Storage, and Filtration Processes

By the way, the difference between beer and draft beer is due to whether or not it is heat-treated. Beer that is heat-treated to kill the yeast is called "beer", and beer that has the yeast removed through filtration is called "draft beer". Since draft beer is not heat-treated, the original freshness of the beer is not lost, and you can enjoy a rich flavor.

✔️ VR Experience

A VR experience was newly established when the factory tour was renewed in April 2024. When you look through the scope, you can see the sensory inspection room, which you cannot usually enter. People in white coats sharpen their five senses to check the condition of the beer every day.

When you move the VR scope up, down, left, and right while wearing it, the image also changes accordingly. Since there are many spaces in the factory that you cannot enter, I thought it was an interesting attempt to be able to see scenery that you normally cannot. Using VR for an experience, rather than just showing images on a TV screen, is unexpected and fun.

✔️ Packaging Area

You cannot see the actual canning of the beer, but you could see it being boxed. This is where the factory tour ends.

✔️ Tasting Time

At the end of the factory tour, you can drink a total of up to 3 glasses of fresh "The Premium Malts," "Kaoru Ale," and "Master's Dream"! I can't tell the subtle differences in taste between beers, but I felt that Premium Malts had more of a crisp finish compared to other beers. Since beer is delicious when it's freshly made, they were also promoting packs shipped directly from the factory.

Also, after drinking two beers, I became extremely sleepy. I realized that to enjoy a beer factory tour, it is important to: 1) get plenty of sleep the night before, and 2) eat a good breakfast on the day of the tour 😅

Furthermore, the guide will be kindly answer any questions you have from the beginning until you board the bus to leave. Since this is a valuable opportunity, make sure to eagerly think of and ask questions during the factory tour.

You have 20 to 30 minutes of free time until the return bus departs. You can buy souvenirs at the brewery shop, or take commemorative photos at the photo spot (if you ask the staff, they will kindly take a photo for you).

▶︎ Summary

What did you think? In addition to being able to drink 3 glasses of fresh Premium Malts, you can learn in a fun way about the secrets behind the deliciousness of Premium Malts, making it an incredible deal at 1,000 yen! Also, I gained a good understanding that Suntory's strength lies in its "natural water". It is interesting to visit factory tours of multiple companies because it makes each company's unique selling points stand out more.

▶︎ Today's factory tour meal

▶︎ Bonus (Tama Zoological Park)

You can get from Bubaigawara Station to Tama-Dobutsu-Koen Station in about 20 minutes by train.