1st college-produced beer sells out shortly after launch

Wednesday 15th December, 10:27 AM JST

SAPPORO —

Tokyo University of Agriculture launched a beer produced by students at its Okhotsk Campus in Abashiri, Hokkaido, on Wednesday as Japan’s first college-produced beer. The students cultivated the hops and barley themselves to make the beer, called Iwai (Celebration).

The 500 packs of six 330-mililiter bottles, priced at 3,150 yen, sold out immediately after the launch, mainly through advanced orders. The favorable sales prompted the students to say, ‘‘We hope to produce it again next year.’‘

The university is the only domestic college licensed to brew beer on a trial basis.

Mitsutaka Magara, a 22-year-old senior who was involved in producing the beer, said, ‘‘We put all our hearts into creating the beer. We hope people will drink it on special occasions.’’