海特真露（HiteJinro）获麒麟授权在韩国全州工厂本地酿造「麒麟一番榨」，但消息已在10月12日韩语媒体广泛传播且量级很小

Consumers in South Korea can now drink Japan's Kirin beer brewed at home. HiteJinro (000080.KS) has signed a licensing agreement with Kirin Brewery of Japan and begun producing Kirin Ichiban Shibori at its plant in Jeonju, Jeonbuk Province. It is the first time one of Kirin's partner companies in Asia has brewed Ichiban Shibori directly.
HiteJinro said on the 12th that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kirin Brewery in July on a technology partnership for domestic production and began shipping locally brewed Kirin Ichiban Shibori this month. Before signing, the two companies spent more than a year on technology exchanges and test brewing to verify quality. "We applied the ingredient formulation, brewing temperatures and times, and quality control standards used in Japan to the Jeonju plant exactly as they are," HiteJinro Chief Executive Jang In-seop said.
The initial production run totals 1.5 million liters, equivalent to about 3 million 500-milliliter cans. The company is starting with cans, which account for a large share of domestic sales, and plans to brew about 75% of its annual domestic sales volume at the Jeonju plant by next year.
Ichiban Shibori means "first wort" in Japanese. The beer uses only the wort drawn first from the malt, a method that brings out the natural flavor of barley. To maintain that flavor profile, the company applied Kirin's proprietary Ichiban Shibori brewing method at the Jeonju plant. The yeast is supplied directly from Kirin's plant in Japan. Trial batches brewed in Jeonju passed Kirin's quality evaluations at least three times before receiving final production approval.
The partnership comes as Japanese beer grows rapidly in South Korea. Imports of Japanese beer rose 22% from a year earlier to 100,322 tons last year, topping 100,000 tons for the first time, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Kirin Ichiban Shibori has grown more than 14% a year on average since the exclusive import and distribution agreement was signed in 2011, and posted its highest sales volume last year since entering the Korean market.
"Japanese beer has grown to account for close to 50% of the imported beer market," said Kwon Kwang-jo, head of HiteJinro's premium division. "With demand rising in both Japan and Korea, supply had fallen somewhat short."
HiteJinro first imported bottled Kirin Ichiban Shibori to South Korea in 2004. It signed an exclusive import and distribution agreement covering cans and draft beer in 2011 and has sold the brand in earnest since. "Brewing Kirin Ichiban Shibori in Korea is the fruit of a successful business model built on two decades of mutual trust with Kirin," Jang said.