William Copeland (10 January 1834 – 11 February 1902) was a Norwegian-American brewer. In 1869 he established the Spring Valley Brewery in Yamate, Yokohama, Japan.
Spring Valley Brewery was one of Japan's first beer breweries, and in 1907 became the founding production facility of Kirin Brewery Company, one of Japan's largest domestic beer producers.
Copeland was born Johan Martinius Thoresen in Arendal in Norway. In the 1840s, Copeland worked for five years as an apprentice to a German brewmaster a few blocks from his home before immigrating to the United States and changing his name to William Copeland.[1][2]
Work in Japan
Moving to Yokohama, Japan in 1864, Copeland first worked in the dairy business and then set himself up as a brewer in 1869 with the Spring Valley Brewery. It was located at the site of a natural spring next to the Amanuma Pond below the Yamate foreign residential neighborhood, where he dug a 210-meter cave into the side of a hill and used its low fixed temperature to help the beer mature. After Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization, Copeland was quick to adopt the new technique in his factory. Copeland produced three varieties of beer: a lager beer, a Bavarian beer, and a Bavarian Bock beer. His beer was principally sold in casks to local Yokohama taverns with a small amount of bottled beer being made available to foreign residents in Yokohama, and then was shipped to Tokyo and Nagasaki. He went back to Norway and married Anne Kristine Olsen in 1872. They lived in Japan but she became sick and died seven years later. Although Copeland showed talent as a beer brewer, he was a poor manager, and in 1884 Spring Valley Brewery was put up for public auction.[2]
With the assistance of Scottish merchant Thomas Blake Glover, the Spring Valley Brewery was sold in early 1885 to a group of Japanese investors and renamed The Japan Brewery.[3] German brewmaster Hermann Heckert was hired to oversee production. Glover was also instrumental in establishing a sales agency contract with Meidi-ya for the relaunched brewery, Kirin Beer, which was launched in May 1888.
William Copeland's grave, maintained by Kirin Brewery Company, is located in the Foreigner's Cemetery in Yamate, Yokohama. The site of the former Spring Valley Brewery is now occupied by Kitagata Elementary School. Monuments and water wells visible at the edge of the school grounds attest to the site's history.[4]
Revival of the Spring Valley Brewery Brand
In July 2014 Kirin Company, Limited announced its intention to revive the Spring Valley Brewery brand as a wholly owned subsidiary company to focus on producing and retailing microbrewery-style beers produced using traditional ingredients and brewing methods.[5]
After internal debate about the strategy to pursue craft beer, in 2015 the company opened a new brewery/restaurant location in Daikanyama (Tokyo)[6] on the newly cleared land of the formerly above-ground Toyoko rail line, which had been recently routed underground in 2013.[7] As of 2022 the company has brewery/restaurant locations in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Yokohama[8]
^Alexander, Jeffrey W. (2013). Brewed in Japan: the evolution of the Japanese beer industry. Vancouver, BC, Canada: UBC Press. p. 12. ISBN978-0-7748-2504-7.
william, copeland, brewer, william, copeland, january, 1834, february, 1902, norwegian, american, brewer, 1869, established, spring, valley, brewery, yamate, yokohama, japan, william, copelandbornjohan, martinius, thoresen, 1834, march, 1834arendal, norwaydied. William Copeland 10 January 1834 11 February 1902 was a Norwegian American brewer In 1869 he established the Spring Valley Brewery in Yamate Yokohama Japan William CopelandBornJohan Martinius Thoresen 1834 03 10 10 March 1834Arendal NorwayDied11 February 1902 1902 02 11 aged 67 Yokohama JapanResting placeForeign General Cemetery YokohamaOccupationBrewerSpring Valley Brewery was one of Japan s first beer breweries and in 1907 became the founding production facility of Kirin Brewery Company one of Japan s largest domestic beer producers Contents 1 Early life 2 Work in Japan 3 Revival of the Spring Valley Brewery Brand 4 See also 5 ReferencesEarly life EditCopeland was born Johan Martinius Thoresen in Arendal in Norway In the 1840s Copeland worked for five years as an apprentice to a German brewmaster a few blocks from his home before immigrating to the United States and changing his name to William Copeland 1 2 Work in Japan EditMoving to Yokohama Japan in 1864 Copeland first worked in the dairy business and then set himself up as a brewer in 1869 with the Spring Valley Brewery It was located at the site of a natural spring next to the Amanuma Pond below the Yamate foreign residential neighborhood where he dug a 210 meter cave into the side of a hill and used its low fixed temperature to help the beer mature After Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization Copeland was quick to adopt the new technique in his factory Copeland produced three varieties of beer a lager beer a Bavarian beer and a Bavarian Bock beer His beer was principally sold in casks to local Yokohama taverns with a small amount of bottled beer being made available to foreign residents in Yokohama and then was shipped to Tokyo and Nagasaki He went back to Norway and married Anne Kristine Olsen in 1872 They lived in Japan but she became sick and died seven years later Although Copeland showed talent as a beer brewer he was a poor manager and in 1884 Spring Valley Brewery was put up for public auction 2 With the assistance of Scottish merchant Thomas Blake Glover the Spring Valley Brewery was sold in early 1885 to a group of Japanese investors and renamed The Japan Brewery 3 German brewmaster Hermann Heckert was hired to oversee production Glover was also instrumental in establishing a sales agency contract with Meidi ya for the relaunched brewery Kirin Beer which was launched in May 1888 William Copeland s grave maintained by Kirin Brewery Company is located in the Foreigner s Cemetery in Yamate Yokohama The site of the former Spring Valley Brewery is now occupied by Kitagata Elementary School Monuments and water wells visible at the edge of the school grounds attest to the site s history 4 Revival of the Spring Valley Brewery Brand EditIn July 2014 Kirin Company Limited announced its intention to revive the Spring Valley Brewery brand as a wholly owned subsidiary company to focus on producing and retailing microbrewery style beers produced using traditional ingredients and brewing methods 5 After internal debate about the strategy to pursue craft beer in 2015 the company opened a new brewery restaurant location in Daikanyama Tokyo 6 on the newly cleared land of the formerly above ground Toyoko rail line which had been recently routed underground in 2013 7 As of 2022 the company has brewery restaurant locations in Tokyo Kyoto and Yokohama 8 See also EditBeer in JapanReferences Edit Alexander Jeffrey W 2013 Brewed in Japan the evolution of the Japanese beer industry Vancouver BC Canada UBC Press p 12 ISBN 978 0 7748 2504 7 a b en japantravel com Alexander Brewed in Japan p 18 Ota Shinya Spring Valley Brewery Weekend Walks in Yokohama Shinya Ota Retrieved 5 June 2014 Kim Chang Ran July 16 2014 Japan s Kirin pushes into craft beer to halt market share slide Reuters Retrieved 24 July 2014 Kirin aims to become Japan s top brewer with jump into craft beer Nikkei Asia August 13 2019 1200 Station Workers in Tokyo Shift Tracks From Above to Underground in Just One Night Spoon and Tamago Spring Valley Brewery home page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Copeland brewer amp oldid 1136032447, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
