Super Dry Museum: Asahi Beer's Factory Tour Goes All-In on Entertainment!

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Moriya, Ibaraki PrefectureI visited the "Super Dry Museum" (Asahi Beer Ibaraki Brewery). Here are my thoughts.

▶︎ Conclusion

Compared to other manufacturers, this was a factory tour (museum) that went all-in on entertainment. It is clear that they spent an incredible amount of money on the presentation (interior, visuals, sound, etc.). At the end, you can drink two glasses of fresh Super Dry. It was an outing spot that I would recommend to both children and adults! (I was a little concerned that it was too focused on entertainment)

▶︎ Reason for visiting

Since I have been to two beer factory tours in recent years, I decided to go to the Asahi Beer Ibaraki factory as well (even though it's a bit far).

▼ Impressions of Kirin Beer and Suntory factory tours

▶︎ Access

Get off at Moriya Station. From there, it takes about 10 minutes to reach the factory by a free shuttle bus that requires a reservation.

▶︎ What is the Super Dry Museum?

There was about 15 minutes from arriving at the museum until the start of the tour. During that time, I finished checking in and storing my luggage.

In addition, with the museum renewal in January 2023, it became a paid facility (Free → 1,000 yen).

During the wait, you can enjoy commemorative photos (a staff member took them for us), a scoring game for the "Asahi Super Dry" sound logo, and learn about the history of Asahi Beer.

▼ Impressions of the Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art (Kyoto Prefecture)

▶︎ Impressions of the tour

The defining feature of the Asahi Beer Ibaraki Factory is that it calls itself a "museum" rather than a "factory tour." Compared to Kirin or Suntory beer factory tours, the quality of the exhibits was outstandingly high (it cost a lot of money). The "Super Dry Museum" also differs from other manufacturers in that the building was designed with the museum in mind.

Below, I will explain in the order of the tour.

✔️ SUPER DRY THEATER

After an introduction by the guide (Dry Crew), we watch a video. I was surprised by the sound system in the theater, which was set up with such intensity that it resonated in my chest.

However, the content we watched was only imagery of people drinking beer and the like. There was no explanation of Asahi Beer's history, the producers' thoughts, or the product manufacturing process at all. If they are going to use such an amazing facility, I would like them to show meaningful content (Kirin and Suntory were solid on that point).

The hallways are also incredibly detailed. TV monitors are placed every few meters, playing videos (though there is no time to watch them slowly).

Even if you consider that each monitor is leased, compared to other companies' factory tours, the amount of money spent is extraordinary. Even before hearing the specific explanations, I thought, "This is the most amazing beer factory tour I've ever been on...".

Even just going up the escalator is incredibly elaborate. The walls are painted black, and the lighting is perfect. There are pictures of beer on the stairs. This was said to represent the number of beers (1,200) produced during the 45 seconds you are on the escalator.

Inside the building, numbers are written everywhere. Seeing them, the guide asks the visitors questions. By doing so, visitors can learn while thinking like a quiz, rather than just listening. For example, "5.9 million" is the amount of cans produced at the Ibaraki factory in one day (in terms of 350ml cans).

In addition, there was an explanation that "Super Dry" is sold in over 50 countries, and that it is manufactured in 5 countries. It is an interesting idea to unravel the product based on numbers.

The entire building is unified with a design based on black and red. Note that the black panels reflect light, making the text difficult to read. It would be helpful if you could use paint or materials that do not reflect light as much.

✔️ SUPER DRY CIRCLE VIEW

"CIRCLE VIEW" is an interesting video expression, but I couldn't grasp the content at all. Moving and watching videos all proceeded quickly, and there was no time to ask the guide questions. It was the Asahi Beer style to do everything through video rather than showing the actual factory floor.

Seeing the kettles at this timing felt abrupt. This is because in a typical beer factory tour, the explanation of the kettles comes after seeing the actual raw materials (malt, hops, etc.).

✔️ SUPER DRY 318 THE DIVE

Here, you learn about the process from adding yeast to the wort until young beer is made through powerful video. I was able to understand a little that "It's amazing that Super Dry uses '318 yeast'!"

✔️ SUPER DRY GO RIDE

In "GO RIDE," you can "experience" the five processes of "transporting cans," "stamping the production date," "washing the cans," "filling the beer and sealing the lids," and "checking the volume of the contents" in five minutes, while feeling like you are riding on top of a can.

Beer loses its flavor when it oxidizes. To prevent oxidation, they are very particular about delivering freshly made beer. It seems they ship within three days of production.

Inside this room, it's just like a 4D movie theater, with wind blowing, chairs shaking, and water spraying. I could immediately tell that a lot of money was spent on the narration, music, and graphics.

However, because you are distracted by the impressive sound and visuals, I felt it was difficult to properly understand the essential content. This is because the explanation is rushed and there is a lot of information to take in over a short period of time.

As a publicly traded company and beverage manufacturer, sustainability branding was also incorporated into the tour.

Asahi Beer promoted "Good Health and Well-Being for All" in connection with the SDGs, and highlighted "responsible drinking." It was surprising to see "Smart Drinking" cited in their sustainability pitch.

Admittedly, things like CO2 reduction and biodiversity are difficult to convey to the general public. Furthermore, each company has a different name for it, such as Asahi Beer's "Smart Drinking" and Suntory's "SMART DRINK." I thought it would be better if the industry unified under a single name to promote these efforts toward solving social issues.

I couldn't see the operating factory line up close. Instead, we toured using meticulously crafted footage such as CG and drone aerial shots. Note that the Ibaraki factory also produces chuhai and soft drinks.

✔️ SUPER DRY SKY ROAD

The corridor leading to the tasting area was decorated with gorgeous projection mapping and was very photogenic. Asahi Beer must be making a lot of money.

✔️ SUPER DRY HALL

The final part is the Super Dry tasting! (I'm not very knowledgeable about beer, but) I certainly felt that the dry taste remained on my tongue even after two or three sips.

Tasting is limited to two glasses per person. For the second glass, you can choose to pour it yourself using the server or have a staff member pour it using a foam printer.

My father always drank Super Dry. Sometimes, the smell of beer would drift from the crushed Super Dry cans my father drank in the trash area at home. Memories of how I somehow disliked that came back to me.

✔️ MUSEUM SHOP

The shop had a wide variety of merchandise. It was a shame that they didn't sell individual postcards.

✔️ Points of concern

In addition to the large amount of information in the tour, it consisted only of one-way explanations from videos and the guide. There was no opportunity for dialogue between the company and the visitors. Also, while the facility is impressively luxurious, the message was scattered, and it was unclear what they wanted to convey. The core concept seems weak.

The issues I felt were: 1) it's not memorable what the 'Super Dry Museum' wants to say most, 2) there is no 'story' throughout the tour, and 3) compared to factory tours by other manufacturers, there is less to learn.

▼ Planning and design of the Super Dry Museum by TOPPAN

Immersive facilities are fun. However, too much of a good thing is not good. What you want to say should be repeated until it's persistent. For example, Kirin focuses on 'innovation' and Suntory on 'natural water'; the 'what is it in a word?' was clearly communicated, and the tour was built around that.

Additionally, as a consumer, it would be interesting to have the following content: ・
Corporate history accompanied by videos and guide explanations ・
Behind-the-scenes development stories of Super Dry (origin of the name, etc.) ・
Comments from production staff ・
Behind-the-scenes branding stories such as commercials and can designs

▶︎ Summary

What did you think? It was a rare type of factory tour (museum) that went all-in on 'fun'. Memories were made, but I was concerned about the tour design that makes it hard to remember what is so great about Super Dry. However, since everyone from adults to children can learn about Super Dry in a fun way, it is definitely a great option for a day off!

▶︎ Today's Museum Meal