Brooklyn Brewery has been turning heads in the Northeast with their extensive lineup of craft beers for some time, and now they’re about to turn heads in the far east. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kirin, which is the second-largest beer maker by market share in Japan, is buying into Brooklyn Brewery.

Kirin Holdings Co is announcing that they’re agreeing to take a minority stake — 24.5%, specifically — in Brooklyn Brewery, the financial details of which were not released. Their aim is to expand the craft beer market in Japan and to eventually develop a joint original product in which Kirin would own 60% and 40% would go to Brooklyn.

At a news conference, Takayuki Fusion, President of Kirin’s core beer unit, said “The country’s (Japan) top four beer makers are competing ruthlessly with each other, so with value-added products like craft beers, we can get our heads above such competition.” There are also plans to expand this new partnership to Brazil.

For Brooklyn Brewery, partnering with a large company like Kirin will absolutely help them bring their craft beers to a much larger audience, so we’re certainly excited to see where this takes them.

Photo via Flickr user aslakr