門司にある”サクラビール”に行ってみた。サッポロビールと関係がある？

門司港ではなく門司という駅

2020年　今年の1月に北九州の門司というところに行った。

門司港は結構　有名なので　よく知ってるしまた、何回かいってはいるが、門司という駅は初めてだった。目的は、この駅の駅前にある　大正時代に作られビール会社”サクラビール”の建物をみるためにって感じで　この門司という駅に降りた。

大阪からの電車旅だったので　結構、楽しかった。新大阪から新幹線に乗って小倉まで、そこから在来線に乗って引き返す感じで　門司の駅まで行った。今回は新幹線の切符が非常に安く手に入った。

新大阪から小倉まで往復で1万円ちょっと、非常に安い。時間も新大阪から1時間40分ぐらいだったと思うが　最近は非常に早い。新幹線もシートが広く　非常に快適で　久しぶりの新幹線が　非常に快適だった。

世界のサクラビール

で、この九州の”サクラビール”だが、大正の時代にできて　ここから全国に発送されていたみたいだ。北海道の札幌にも”サッポロビール”っていうのがあるが、このサッポロビールは明治時代の　帝国ビールの延長らしいが、少し、サクラビールのほうが遅いか。がしかし、このサクラビールは、旧サッポロビールの九州工場らしく　両方とも帝国ビールの流れらしい。

大正期には、この九州で作られたサクラビールは、国内外に出荷され、日本のビールといえばサクラビールといわれるほど　世界で称賛されたらしい。

最盛期には、日本のビールのシェアーが第3位ということで　その名のネオンが　東京でも大阪でも街かどに建ったらしい。

その当時のサクラビールの製造方法は　今はサッポロビールが持っているらしく、2019年はサクラビールができて　100年目らしく　サクラビールの復刻版が販売されて　その売り上げは、このビール工場の赤れんがの維持費に充てられているらしい。

赤レンガの建物がきれい。

訪問した日も日曜だったと思うが、建物には人が来て　何かの催しの準備がされていた。

2019年は100年祭で何かと忙しいような感じがあった。それでも　赤レンガの建物は見栄えがよく　写真もたくさん撮った。当日はめっちゃ天気で　空が青い。雲もなく　少し風はあったが、青空にこの赤レンガが映えて　風景がすごくきれいだった。

そういえば、何年か前にっていっても　2年か前ぐらいに北海道のサッポロビールにもいってる。その日も天気がよかった記憶があるが、札幌の場合は　まだ、サッポロビールは全盛期なので　ビールもあって、建物を見て回ったあとに　ききビール的なものもあった。

3種類ぐらいのビールがタンブランに入っていて　それで500円ぐらいだったと思うが、このサクラビールにはなかったのが、少し心残りで　また、札幌は観光客もたくさんで　すごくにぎやかだったが、サクラビールはそんなではなく　閑散としていた。

そのへんがやっぱ、現役と今はなきサクラビールとの違いだとは思うが、どうでしょう。

I went to “Sakura Beer” in Moji.

A station called Moji instead of Mojiko

In January 2020, I went to a place called Moji in Kitakyushu.

Mojiko is quite famous, so I’m familiar with it, and although I’ve said it several times, it was my first time to see a station called Moji. My purpose was to see the building of the beer company “Sakura Beer”, which was built in the Taisho period, in front of this station, so I got off at this station called Moji.

It was a train trip from Osaka, so it was quite fun. From Shin-Osaka, I took the Shinkansen to Kokura, then boarded a conventional train and headed back to Moji Station. This time I got a Shinkansen ticket very cheaply.

A round trip from Shin-Osaka to Kokura is just over 10,000 yen, which is very cheap. I think it was about 1 hour and 40 minutes from Shin-Osaka, but recently it’s been very fast. The Shinkansen also had wide seats and was very comfortable.

world sakura beer

So, this Kyushu “Sakura Beer” seems to have been made in the Taisho era and shipped from here all over the country. Sapporo in Hokkaido also has a beer called “Sapporo Beer”, but this Sapporo Beer seems to be an extension of Teikoku Beer in the Meiji era, but Sakura Beer is a little later. However, this Sakura Beer seems to be the Kyushu factory of the former Sapporo Breweries, and both seem to be Teikoku Beer.

During the Taisho period, this Kyushu-made Sakura Beer was shipped both domestically and internationally, and it seems to have been so admired around the world that when it came to Japanese beer, it was said to be Sakura Beer.

At its peak, it was the third largest beer market in Japan, so neon lights with that name were erected on the corners of both Tokyo and Osaka.

It seems that Sapporo Breweries now owns the manufacturing method of Sakura Beer at that time, and in 2019, Sakura Beer was made, and it seems that he is celebrating his 100th anniversary. It seems that it is allotted to the maintenance cost of the red bricks of this beer factory.

Beautiful red brick building.

I think it was a Sunday when I visited, but there were people in the building and preparations were being made for some sort of event.

2019 felt like a busy year with the 100th anniversary celebration. Even so, the red brick building looks nice and I took a lot of pictures. The weather was really good that day, the sky was blue. There were no clouds and there was a slight breeze, but the red bricks reflected in the blue sky and the scenery was really beautiful.

Come to think of it, a few years ago, I went to Sapporo Beer in Hokkaido about two years ago. I remember that the weather was fine that day, but in the case of Sapporo, he was still in the heyday of Sapporo Beer, so he had beer, and after looking around the building, he had something like beer.

There were about 3 types of beer in the tumbler, and I think it was about 500 yen for him, but this Sakura beer didn’t have it, but he was a little disappointed. However, Sakura Beer was not like that and was quiet.

I think that’s the difference between the active and now-defunct Sakura Beer, but what do you think?