Nishinari Riot Ale is a craft beer that was born in Nishinari-ku, Osaka, where “workers enjoy drinks from the morning.” With a caramel sweetness and slight hop bitterness and aroma, the beer has an easy-to-drink character that everyone can enjoy. The idea for craft brewery arose from workers who said, “We drink and truly know better than anyone else, so if the company can make a drink, we will promote and sell more than anyone else.” This was during the time when the company was supporting welfare aid and nursing care, in which employment support is often simple work and the retention rate does not increase. Derailleur Brew Works was uncertain about the beer business, but anticipated that producing beer would be good for motivation and an employment support program. The company hired users of the employment support project who are now engaged in the company’s operations, such as preparation and bottling. The company has produced more than 30 types of beer so far, and has won awards in international beer competitions.
More than 60 years have passed since the 1961 Nishinari riot by frustrated day laborers, and although people’s ideas about Nishinari have been changing, the stereotype image of the town still exists. To convey the image of “Nishinari is cool,” which is exactly the opposite from the stereotype image, the company named the beer Nishinari Riot Ale with the aim of creating a product that Nishinari people can take pride in as a “worker’s beer.” The beer is accompanied by a story and key visuals created based on the concept of Nishinari’s daily life. This American Pale Ale makes people relate to the imagined scene of Osaka in the 1990s when an American backpacker named Emily visited the riot’s town Nishinari and drank beer with the town workers.