MITO -- A new brand of beer was launched using sweet potatoes, a local specialty of Namegata City in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Namegata Beer was developed by the Namegata Brand Strategy Office, which comprises various institutions including the Namegata municipal government, a local branch of Japan Agricultural Cooperative.
Development for the beer began about a year ago. Utilizing a new variety of purple sweet potato with a high level of sweetness called fukumurasaki that were locally cultivated, the sweet potatoes are added during the wort boiling process, lending the beer its flavor and aroma.
Roughly 10,000 bottles have been made and begun selling since April. An official of the city in charge of brand strategy said: "[Our drink] has been called 'easy to drink' by even our female customers. I'd love everyone to enjoy [its] absolute deliciousness."
Each 330-milliliter bottle costs 500, yen including tax. In addition to being sold at shops such as JA Namegata-Shiosai's Rakkyo direct sales depot and the Namegata-Odaka branch of Seven Eleven, it's also given as a gift to those who make donations to the city government under the hometown tax system.
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