Sandi Brewery

A super interesting brewery has opened in Kawamae-machi, Iwaki, Fukushima. It's SANDi BREWERY. It's the only brewery in Iwaki City, and it was started mostly by one person, Daisuke Mito.

He was originally a band member, but after hitting a wall, he set off on a trip around Japan. Later, he went to Australia and was working on a banana farm when he first brewed his own beer with a homebrew kit. That's where it all began.

From there, he went to Berlin, Germany, interned at a brewery to sharpen his skills, and then traveled through the Czech Republic, Belgium, and even the Nordic countries. After returning to Japan, he also helped launch a brewery in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, and later joined Kawamae-machi in Iwaki City as a member of the local revitalization cooperation team.

And on top of that, he's using abandoned farmland in Kawamae-machi to grow his own hops and barley. Through a community-wide effort called the "Beer Village Kawamae Project," they're aiming to source ingredients locally, starting from the raw materials.

Their flagship is "KAWAMALE." It's an American-style ale with 5% ABV. It has a bright grapefruit-like citrus aroma, followed by a strong bitterness and a lasting malty richness. The key point is that it uses fresh hops and barley grown in Kawamae.

Their crowdfunding campaign raised 3.53 million yen against a 1 million yen goal, and the brewery also includes a brewpub, a community space, and an area for bonfires and BBQs. Drinking beer in the forests of Kawamae sounds incredible, doesn't it?