OB Brewery marks World Beer Day with employee brewing event at Icheon factory

OB Brewery held a staff brewing event at its Icheon factory in Gyeonggi Province to mark World Beer Day — observed on the first Friday of August — the company announced Thursday.

The event, titled "A Glass Brewed by Icheon," was organized to give employees a hands-on experience of craft beer brewing using locally sourced produce. More than 50 employees took part, including Executive Vice President Koo Ja-bum, Icheon factory manager Kim Du-young and brewmaster Kim Jun-gyu.

Participants toured the beer museum inside the Icheon factory, where exhibits traced the development of South Korea's beer industry alongside OB Brewery's history and brewing methods. They then moved to the craft lounge to sample six varieties of craft beer, including "Cheers from Icheon," made with local Icheon ingredients.

The brewmasters at OB Brewery's Icheon brewery created "Cheers from Icheon" to commemorate World Beer Day. They began developing the recipe three weeks in advance, analyzing Icheon specialties — Icheon Imgeum-nim rice, Janghowon peaches and Baeksa-myeon cornelian cherry — before fermenting them with malt to produce the finished beer.

An educational program on the beer-making process followed. Participants learned about fermentation, aging and filtration, and received explanations of how alcohol and carbonation form. They also took part in a bottling session, filling bottles with beer prepared for a home-brewing experience.

"We organized this event for employees from headquarters and the Icheon factory to experience firsthand the culture of Korean beer and the distinctive character of Icheon's local produce on World Beer Day," an OB Brewery official said. "We plan to continue highlighting the value of beer and the importance of locally sourced ingredients."