Christian Mitterbauer clenched his fist and brought it to his chest to mark his moment of triumph in April 2001, when he turned out a local Japanese beer.
The eyes of manager Kenji Nagase, 34, of Koedo Brewery's Miyoshi brewery in the town of Miyoshi, Saitama Prefecture, lit up as he looked at the beer-filled mug. "It's just supreme," he said.
Mitterbauer, 33, who hails from a small village in the German province of Bavaria, knew at that moment the regional brew he and his Japanese colleague produced had been born.