On August 28, harvesting started in eastern Hokkaido’s Akkeshi Town in for two-rowed barley to be used in making whiskey.
Japan Agriculture Cooperative Kushiro Ota and others in Akkeshi have been testing barley cultivation since May. They have been under subcontract with the Akkeshi Distillery of Kenten Co., Ltd., a company that aims to make whiskey from all Akkeshi materials. There are no problems with harvest amount or quality, so two-rowed barley will be used for whiskey fermentation next summer. Akkeshi Distillery currently depends mostly on British-grown raw materials. With the goal of brewing the highest quality whiskey with all ingredients made in Akkeshi, which is known as a difficult place to grow barley due to the cold, wet climate, farmers have been testing two-rowed barley cultivation for beer-brewing since 2017.