A new limited-edition barrel-aged craft beer from Hiroshima has arrived. HIROSHIMA NEIGHBORLY BREWING (HNB), a craft brewery located in the Hondori shopping district of central Hiroshima (Otemachi 1-chome 5-10, Naka-ku, Hiroshima), began selling "Rinki Ouhen (隣期桜変) – Barrel Aged Wheat Wine" on April 2, 2026 (Thursday). The release is also the latest product from the HIROSHIMA BARREL RELAY PROJECT, a collaborative initiative that has been underway since 2022.
Rinki Ouhen – Barrel Aged Wheat Wine
The beer is a Wheat Wine style with an alcohol content of 8%. After SAKURAO BREWERY & DISTILLERY (Sakurao 1-12-1, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture) used their casks to age Sakurao Single Malt Whisky, those same casks passed to Hiroshima winery VINOBLE VINEYARD in Miyoshi, where red wine was stored. HNB then filled two types of casks with their own Wheat Wine: one previously used for red wine, and another that had held peated whisky. After approximately 19 months of maturation, the contents of both casks were blended to produce the final beer.
The series name "Rinki Ouhen (隣期桜変)" refers to HNB maturing and transforming their beer over time using SAKURAO's casks. The result is a Wheat Wine where the soft wheat acidity of the base beer, combined with the acidity from the red wine cask, has mellowed through long-term aging. Fruity accents, smoky notes from the peated whisky cask, and the wood character of the barrels themselves layer together to create a complex, full-bodied craft beer.
Alcohol content: 8%
What Is Barrel-Aged Beer?
Barrel-aged beer is brewed in wooden casks (barrels). Very few breweries in Japan produce it. Casks come in many types — whisky barrels, sherry barrels, wine barrels, bourbon barrels, and more — and the flavors unique to each barrel transfer into the beer, creating a distinctive character. There are also no fixed rules on what style of beer goes into the barrel, ranging from high-alcohol beers to fruit beers. The flavor varies considerably depending on the type and condition of the barrel, the aging period, and both the brewery and the beer itself.
HIROSHIMA BARREL RELAY PROJECT
The HIROSHIMA BARREL RELAY PROJECT launched in 2022 with the aim of promoting Hiroshima through locally made beverages. Five craft beverage producers from across Hiroshima Prefecture collaborate across different drink categories, passing whisky and wine casks from one producer to the next in a relay format. Each producer then uses those casks to age and release a new product of their own.
Participating makers: SAKURAO BREWERY & DISTILLERY (Hatsukaichi City) / Kamoizumi Shuzo (Higashihiroshima City) / Fujii Shuzo (Takehara City) / Vinoble Vineyard (Miyoshi City) / HIROSHIMA NEIGHBORLY BREWING (Hiroshima City)
Previous HNB Barrel-Aged Releases
1st Release: Rinki Ouhen – Imperial Stout
Aged approximately 10 months in a cask that had held three-year-matured Sakurao Single Malt Whisky. The beer features a rich, deep flavor where moderate bitterness, the toasty aroma of roasted malt, a vanilla-like sweetness, whisky-cask character, and the flavors drawn from the original spirit all intertwine. Alcohol content: 8%. Released August 2022 – sold out.
2nd Release: Rinki Ouhen – Belgian IPA
Aged approximately 15 months in a cask previously used for SAKURAO's "Single Malt Japanese Whisky Sakurao." The extended maturation transformed the original Belgian IPA, softening the hop bitterness into a refined sweetness heightened by brown-sugar notes, with a creamy aroma, rich vanilla character from the cask, and generous smokiness. Alcohol content: 8%. Released May 2024 – sold out.
