Handa Ginzan Brewery

At Handa Ginzan Brewery, the brewer here, Suzuki, actually hates beer.

That’s the interesting part. He grew up in Koori Town, and his older brother runs a Japanese restaurant, so he also helped with the family business. But in 2019 he studied brewing and got his license in 2020. Because he dislikes beer, he’s making beer that even people who hate beer can drink.

The brand name is "SOLDER CRAFT." It plays on Handa Ginzan, one of Japan’s three great silver mines, and on solder. Their flagship beer, "Orin Pale Ale," is a pale ale made with juice from Orin apples, a specialty of Koori Town. It won a silver award at JGBA 2022.

Exactly! They’ve been presenting peaches to the Imperial Family since 1994, and they also make a pale ale called "Akatsuki" using Akatsuki peaches from that area. Oats and lactose make it juicy, and a soft sweet peach aroma rises through it. It’s apparently the shop’s most popular beer.

There’s a brewery next to the restaurant called "Uwamachi CHEERS," and it’s a 5-minute walk from JR Koori Station. Another specialty is the "Beer Chicken Plate," fried chicken made with their own beer. The "Handa Ginzan IPA" has citrus and pine aromas from American hops, strong bitterness, and won a bronze award at JGBA.

And apparently Suzuki starts brewing at 7 a.m. and works until 9 p.m., and bottling can even go on past midnight. The handwritten messages on the bottles they ship out are so much like him. He also makes a black IPA called "Fukushima Ale" in collaboration with Michinoku Fukushima Road Beer and Minami Aizu Mountain Brewing.