1907 Acquisition of Tokyo Beer Shinkabushikigaisha

The Tokyo Beer Hodagaya brewery
The Tokyo Beer Hodagaya brewery
The Tokyo Beer label
The Tokyo Beer label

Dainippon Beer, having cemented a new market advantage through a merger, launched into aggressive management as it plunged ahead. In February of 1907, not even within a year of the merger, they acquired Tokyo Beer Shinkabushikigaisha. The company dated back all the way to the Hakkosha, which was established in October of 1878. They had installed a brewery at Shinbashi 1-chome in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and released Sakurada Beer in May of 1879. Seeking to hold their own against large beer manufacturers, the company built a new brewery in Hodogaya, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1897 that was equipped with German equipment. In December of 1898, they released Tokyo Beer, a new brand featuring a rooster as the trademark. Bottle caps began being used in Japanese beer in 1900s. Tokyo Beer was the first to bring that style of product to market.