Hokkaido Brewery

Tomakomai has a plant called yachiyanagi that actually grows wild there, and there's a beer that uses it instead of hops. It's Hokkaido Brewery's Kamuy Gale series

Yachiyanagi is a shrub that grows in wetlands, and it actually has a history of being used for flavoring beer in medieval Europe before hops became widespread. Hokkaido Brewery president Kenji Takahashi noticed that and started the Kamuy Gale line to create a taste you can only find in Tomakomai.

Right. 'Kamuy' means god in Ainu, and 'Gale' is the English name for yachiyanagi. The flagship 'Kamuy Gale Retara' is a Weizen-style beer, and Retara means white in Ainu. Because it uses only yachiyanagi and no hops at all, it has a rich herbal character and wheat sweetness, with almost no bitterness.

They also have three canned products. The red ale 'Canis Red' is malt-forward with a stronger acidity. The IPL 'Primitive' is crisp with four kinds of hops. The American IPA 'West Coast' is juicy. Another interesting point is that it's brewed with Tomakomai tap water.

Tomakomai's water comes from the Shikotsu Lake watershed, so its mineral balance is good. Brewer Koichi Takahashi completed the brewing method using fresh yachiyanagi leaves directly with the 4th-generation recipe. They originally contracted production with SOC Brewing in Ebetsu, but since October 2024 they've been making it at their own factory.

They're open from Tuesday through Saturday starting in the evening. Kamuy Gale Retara is 1,100 yen for 270 ml. It's a beer born from Ainu culture and Tomakomai's nature, unlike anything else.