Hideji Beer marks its 30th anniversary at JR Miyazaki Station with Kuri Kuro and YAHAZU on draft
Miyazaki Hideji Beer will hold its 30th-anniversary festival from July 10 to 12 at Amu Hiroba in front of JR Miyazaki Station. Around 30 draft beers will be poured, including the award-winning Kuri Kuro and the 100% Miyazaki malt beer YAHAZU.
Hop BroThis one caught my eye: JR Miyazaki Station is basically turning into Hideji Beer heaven. From July 10 to 12, the Hideji Beer 30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Festival will pour around 30 beers on draft.
MugiWait, 30th anniversary festival at the station and it's that big? I want to walk in looking responsible and somehow leave holding a beer.
Hop BroThe headliners are strong. World-winning Kurikuro will be on draft, and YAHAZU made with 100% Miyazaki-grown malt is showing up too. Kurikuro is a chestnut dark beer with deep roasty charm.
MugiHold on, 100% Miyazaki malt sounds impressive, but the second you say malt I feel like I need goggles and a lab coat. What makes YAHAZU special?
Hop BroThat part matters. House-made malt means they take barley, let it sprout, and prep it to build the sweetness and aroma beer needs. So the local grain character goes straight into the glass.
MugiWhoa, so sprouting the grain is part of the flavor-making? That is absurdly craft. YAHAZU already sounds like it should come with a tiny badge saying locally raised.
Hop BroAnd the food lineup is dialed in. Beer-steamed mussels plus Hiroshi smoked sausage from pigs raised using spent grain and yeast means the pairings are doing real work.
MugiWhat is that, spent-grain pork? That is peak beer-world recycling. Delicious and weirdly educational at the same time.
Hop BroIt also goes beyond beer. Miyazaki drinks too are part of it, with local shochu, wine, and liqueurs on hand, so the event widens the drinking lane without losing the beer focus.
MugiBut then the article suddenly drops Tendo Brewery and my brain teleports from Miyazaki station to a hot spring inn.
Hop BroThat contrast is the point. As a destination brewpub, Tendo Brewery at Tendo Onsen makes the cherry beer Seiohbo, also called Saint Cherry, and the buckwheat-scented Mr.A, and only overnight guests get the just-poured fresh beer.
MugiSo Miyazaki Hideji Beer celebrating in front of the station and Tendo Brewery pouring quietly at an onsen are both really drinking the region. Now I am genuinely stuck on whether to start with Kurikuro or YAHAZU.
Hop BroThe order is obvious. First glass plan is Kurikuro, then YAHAZU, then Saint Cherry after a bath in Tendo. This article had my throat open for business halfway through.
Miyazaki Hideji Beer will host its 30th-anniversary event, "Hideji Beer 30th Thanksgiving," from July 10 to 12 at Amu Hiroba, the roofed plaza in front of JR Miyazaki Station. The venue will pour around 30 draft beers, including regular and limited releases, as well as Kuri Kuro, a world-champion beer, and YAHAZU, which is brewed with 100% Miyazaki-grown malt and is offered only at selected restaurants in the prefecture.
The food lineup is also built around beer. Dishes include mussels steamed with Hideji Beer and "Hiroshi Kuns Sausage," made from pork raised with brewers' spent grain and yeast. Visitors will also be able to enjoy shochu, wine, and liqueurs from across Miyazaki, giving the event a broader drinking experience beyond beer alone.
The brewery was founded in 1996 and has continued to focus on local ingredients and regional production. Kuri Kuro won a world title in international competitions in both 2017 and 2022, and YAHAZU reflects the company’s effort to work with local barley and self-made malt. The thread running through the brewery’s work is clear: show what local ingredients can become when they are brewed with care.
For a different but related example of place-based beer culture, Tendo Brewery (Ichiraku) in Yamagata is a distinctive brewpub inside Yubo Ichiraku, a hot-spring inn in Tendo Onsen. It produces beers such as Seioubou (Scent Cherry), made with cherries, and Mr. A, which highlights the aroma of soba. Guests can drink fresh draft beer drawn directly from the brewery, turning the stay itself into part of the beer experience. One event takes over a station-front plaza, while the other is built into a hot-spring inn, but both bring beer closer to their local communities.
Information may be inaccurate. Please refer to the venue’s official channels for the latest details.
Hop BroThis one caught my eye: JR Miyazaki Station is basically turning into Hideji Beer heaven. From July 10 to 12, the Hideji Beer 30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Festival will pour around 30 beers on draft.
MugiWait, 30th anniversary festival at the station and it's that big? I want to walk in looking responsible and somehow leave holding a beer.
Hop BroThe headliners are strong. World-winning Kurikuro will be on draft, and YAHAZU made with 100% Miyazaki-grown malt is showing up too. Kurikuro is a chestnut dark beer with deep roasty charm.
MugiHold on, 100% Miyazaki malt sounds impressive, but the second you say malt I feel like I need goggles and a lab coat. What makes YAHAZU special?
Hop BroThat part matters. House-made malt means they take barley, let it sprout, and prep it to build the sweetness and aroma beer needs. So the local grain character goes straight into the glass.
MugiWhoa, so sprouting the grain is part of the flavor-making? That is absurdly craft. YAHAZU already sounds like it should come with a tiny badge saying locally raised.
Hop BroAnd the food lineup is dialed in. Beer-steamed mussels plus Hiroshi smoked sausage from pigs raised using spent grain and yeast means the pairings are doing real work.
MugiWhat is that, spent-grain pork? That is peak beer-world recycling. Delicious and weirdly educational at the same time.
Hop BroIt also goes beyond beer. Miyazaki drinks too are part of it, with local shochu, wine, and liqueurs on hand, so the event widens the drinking lane without losing the beer focus.
MugiBut then the article suddenly drops Tendo Brewery and my brain teleports from Miyazaki station to a hot spring inn.
Hop BroThat contrast is the point. As a destination brewpub, Tendo Brewery at Tendo Onsen makes the cherry beer Seiohbo, also called Saint Cherry, and the buckwheat-scented Mr.A, and only overnight guests get the just-poured fresh beer.
MugiSo Miyazaki Hideji Beer celebrating in front of the station and Tendo Brewery pouring quietly at an onsen are both really drinking the region. Now I am genuinely stuck on whether to start with Kurikuro or YAHAZU.
Hop BroThe order is obvious. First glass plan is Kurikuro, then YAHAZU, then Saint Cherry after a bath in Tendo. This article had my throat open for business halfway through.
