Orion Breweries
Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan · Est. 1957
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Okinawa's beer, built for heat and the local table. Nomura and Carlyle took it private in 2019, and the archive spent years noting that private equity has an exit date its brands do not share. The exit came in 2025: Orion listed on the Tokyo Prime Market and the funds walked. The islands still drink what they always drank, and the brewery now answers to a share register instead of a fund.
The Museum
Timeline
- 2025Listed, and the fund left
Orion returns to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market. Nomura and the Carlyle Group exit through the IPO, six years after taking the brewery private.
The Beer Library
Beers
Orion Draft
Year-RoundJapanese Rice Lager
Okinawa's own beer, founded in 1957 while the islands were still under American administration. Brewed light and dry for subtropical heat, and rarely seen on the mainland.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Orion The Draft
Year-RoundOkinawan pale lager
Japan Pass 1. Official nutrition table and investor materials identify the flagship.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Orion The Dark
CURRENTDark lager
Japan Pass 1. Official nutrition table.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Orion The Premium
CURRENTPremium lager
Japan Pass 1. Released 2022. Current official product lineup; detailed ABV not captured.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →75BEER Pilsner
CURRENT CRAFT RANGEPilsner
Japan Pass 1. Current official product lineup.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →75BEER IPA
CURRENT CRAFT RANGEIndia pale ale
Japan Pass 1. Current official product lineup.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →75BEER Weizen
CURRENT CRAFT RANGEWeizen
Japan Pass 1. Current official product lineup.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Orion Clear Free
NON-ALCOHOLNon-alcoholic beer-taste beverage
Japan Pass 1. Released 2013. Official product page states 0.00% and a carbonated-beverage legal category.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →On the record
Awards
- 2024
Grand Prix / highest award — Non-alcoholic beer-taste beverage
Japan Food Selection
Only awards we could attribute to a named body and year appear here. An empty section means unresearched, not unawarded.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Orion Breweries is controlled by Public company.
Carlyle announces listing of Orion Breweries on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange · The Carlyle Group · 2025-09
PrimaryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Orion Breweries
- Who owns Orion Breweries?
- Orion Breweries is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan.
- Is Orion Breweries independent?
- Yes. Orion Breweries is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- When was Orion Breweries founded?
- Orion Breweries was founded in 1957 in Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan.
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