Sakata Traditional Beer

Sakata Traditional Beer, abbreviated as "Sakatra." It’s not a brewery from the beer industry, but is backed by Pipe-Line Engineering, a metal piping company.

The president, Kazuo Ikeda, is from Sakata, and they built a factory locally in 2015. From there, they wanted to do more for the community. Then they hit it off with Riki Ando, who runs restaurants locally, and Takami Katsuta, who runs a beauty salon, and set up a brewery on the factory grounds. It was born in 2024.

Sakata is a land surrounded by the Sea of Japan and Mt. Chokai, where a sake and shochu culture has long taken root. The brand name comes from the wish to add craft beer to that "tradition of alcohol."

Four staples. The Pale Ale uses Tsuyahime rice from Shonai as an adjunct and blends four kinds of hops for a citrusy aroma. The IPA is packed with hops and fruity. The White Ale has a white-wine-like aroma. The Stout has a strong malt depth. The label features Sakata's symbol, the "Great Lion," as its motif, making it highly impactful.

On top of that, at the Japan Great Beer Awards, the IPA and White Ale won silver, while the Pale Ale and Stout won bronze. The following year, three other beers also won silver. For a brewery so new, that record is impressive.

It's satisfying to see award-winning beer emerging from the grounds of a pipe factory, isn't it? It's the beginning of a new sake culture in Sakata.