Echigo Beer Company - Egao Ga Tsudou Kagayaki Beer (笑顔が集う輝きビール)（THE FIRST BATCH from NASU Brewery）

This lager beer features ingredients sourced from three distinct regions: sake rice from Niigata Prefecture, the birthplace of Echigo Beer; two German hop varieties (Hallertauer Blonde and Hallertau Perle), tracing the roots of the goat featured in our brand mark; and malt from Tochigi Prefecture, our new production base. Characterised by the sake rice's mellow, smooth flavour, the umami of domestic malt, and the refined aroma of hops, it is a crisp lager with a brilliant colour. The Tochigi Prefecture malt used is the ‘New Sachihoro Golden Malt’, a LOX-free malt. LOX-free malt is produced from barley varieties specifically bred to lack LOX-1 (lipoxygenase), an enzyme found in barley that degrades beer flavour. The absence of the LOX-1 enzyme helps suppress the deterioration of beer freshness (a cause of diminished flavour), allowing the beer's deliciousness to last longer. The illustration depicts the Indian elephant, polar bear, tiger, and the Niigata Prefecture bird, the Japanese crested ibis – all featured on past labels of Echigo Beer products – smiling as they gather towards the Tochigi Prefecture animal, the serow, holding up the beer produced at the Nasu brewery. Behind them, Mount Chausu (Nasu-dake), one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains, rises, emitting plumes of smoke. This illustration expresses the sentiment that, having established a new Nasu brewery, Echigo Beer—previously based in Niigata—will unite all staff from Niigata and Nasu, and the entire company, to brew ever more delicious beer.