Going against the (malted) grain of Dry January, one of Japan's largest secondhand book retailers has partnered with a Saitama-based brewery to launch a limited-edition beer. Unlike traditional boldly-flavored IPAs, BOOK IPA takes a more subtle approach. COEDO's brewers deliberately toned down the bitterness while maintaining herbal and citrus notes, with an alcohol content of 6% that aims to 'open the senses' without overwhelming them.
The collaboration, launched on 20 January 2025, brings together two companies with complementary approaches to sustainability: ValueBooks through its secondhand marketplace that extends the lifecycle of books, and COEDO through its practice of upcycling local ingredients like sweet potatoes in its brewing process. A preview campaign generated significant interest, with over 5,000 customers signing up in July 2024.
BOOK IPA's label was created by illustrator Kyoka Tanno, who also designs book covers. Priced at JPY 1,650 for a three-bottle set, the brew represents the first of what ValueBooks hopes will become a series of reading-optimized beers, with future releases planned to match different literary genres. The partnership highlights how brands can find shared values in unexpected places — in this case, combining circular practices from publishing and brewing to create an experiential product appealing to their overlapping audiences.