Every long-term resident of Japan eventually asks the same question: how did this country change so fast? Somewhere between the bullet trains and the temple gates, the answer usually leads back to a single era and a handful of names. If you have ever wanted to sit down with that history, this twelve-bottle set is a good excuse.
Twelve figures, twelve bottles
Meiji Restoration 12 People Beer comes from Nippon Craft Beer’s themed line in Tokyo, part of a modern themed Japanese craft series released under the Ōkuma Shigenobu name. It is a variety pack of twelve 330ml bottles at 4.5% ABV, with each bottle dedicated to a major figure of Japan’s Meiji Restoration of 1868.
The set features Sakamoto Ryoma, Saigo Takamori, Katsu Kaishu, Okubo Toshimichi and others. Public detail on the individual recipes is limited, so we won’t describe the flavor of each bottle. What the set offers is a structure: one beer per person, twelve names, and a reason to talk about each one as you open it.
It is a themed niche product, closer to a conversation piece than a single-style purchase. The brand name itself points to another Meiji-era figure, Ōkuma Shigenobu, which keeps the whole line within the same period.
How Meiji Restoration 12 People Beer is drunk at home
In Japan, a round starts with Kanpai (乾杯) (KAHN-pie), “dry the cup,” raised with eye contact, the same characters used in Chinese gānbēi and Korean geonbae.
A set like this belongs to the nomikai, the after-work drinking party that is the foundational Japanese social ritual. It goes with yakitori, the grilled chicken skewers that define the after-work table. Edamame arrives first, young soybeans with salt, the universal opener before anything else is ordered. As the night goes on, otsumami takes over: the pickled, fried and dried small bar snacks that keep the table busy between rounds. Come hanami in April, cherry-blossom parties under the trees bring sake and beer out together, and twelve bottles, each with a name on it, give a group plenty to pass around.
How to drink it in Japan
Chill the bottles and pour each into a glass, so everyone can read the label and pick a figure. From the conbini, pick up a pack of salted peanuts at FamilyMart; they suit a table that will be talking for a while. For a Japanese dish, try it with sukiyaki, the beef hot pot, a meal with a long history in Japanese dining.
It works in any season, but a winter evening around a hot pot is the best fit. At a Tokyo izakaya, a bottle of craft beer can run ¥800 or more, and twelve adds up quickly. By the case at Omori Mart, the per-bottle price comes down noticeably.
Get Meiji Restoration 12 People Beer delivered in Japan
Meiji Restoration 12 People Beer is available now at Omori Mart, as a set of twelve 330ml bottles.
- Free shipping on orders over ¥15,000
- Pay at FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, or Lawson, plus bank transfer and card
- Delivered nationwide across Japan
Rakuten and Amazon Japan don’t carry this themed set. If you like beers with a story behind them, this is where to find twelve.
[Shop Meiji Restoration 12 People Beer →]
https://omorimart.com/product/meiji-restoration-12-people-beer-330ml-x-12-bottles/
Kanpai (乾杯) is the word every other toast in this shop comes back to. Raise a bottle to whichever figure you drew, dry the cup, and drink to the ones who shaped the country you live in.
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