Aqula Beer

Aqula Beer has "Namahage IPA," which won gold at the World Beer Cup 2022. It was named the world's best in the International India Pale Ale category.

Exactly. And this Namahage IPA uses IBUKI hops grown in Yokote. Winning the world with local Akita hops is seriously impressive.

When President Hiroshi Takado traveled to Germany in 1997, he was inspired by the sight of breweries in every small town and started this with the idea of doing the same in Japan. The name "Aqula" comes from "a-kura" - a renovated kura, or traditional sake storehouse, that was originally a sake brewery. It also plays on "aqua," the Latin word for water, and "kura," meaning storehouse.

The atmosphere of the sake brewery facing the Asahi River is still intact, and on the second floor there's a hidden-gem restaurant called Beer Bar Aqula. You can enjoy draft beer with the food. The label design is interesting too: the red umbrella is the trademark. It was created through a public call for designs by students at Akita University of Art, and it came from the association of water -> rain -> umbrella.

There's "Akitakomachi IPL" made with Akita's Akitakomachi rice, "Kodaimai Amber" brewed with ancient rice, and "Sakihokore Brut IPA," which are all worth checking out. This brewery is really good at turning Akita rice into beer.

Also, since 2022, the business has been taken over by the Akita Northern Happinets, a pro basketball team, so a new development combining sports and craft beer has started too.