Home Brew Consumers worldwide are thirsty for American beers.

Pure, unadulterated American brew--just the thing to quench thethirst of the world's beer enthusiasts. Just ask Jack Joyce,president and founder of Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co. in Newport,Oregon. When this brewer broke into the Japanese market three yearsago, consumers' tastes for American microbrews were ripening.Today, the country now quaffs literally thousands of bottles of hispremium beer annually.

Although foreign interest in American beer is intensifying,before you take your lagers and ales abroad, consider thefollowing, says Charles Papazian, president and founder of TheAssociation of Brewers:

• Identify the countries with the most promise. "The areathat has expressed the most interest is Japan," says Papazian,who has 19 years of industry experience. "Within the last fouryears, there have been a few special interest groups in Japan thathave been promoting the beer culture." Other favorable areasinclude Canada, South America and parts of Europe--in 1995, forinstance, the United Kingdom's imported beer market exceeded$1.8 billion. And in Hong Kong, the United States leads the way inbeer imports.