Michinoku Fukushima Road Beer

Michinoku Fukushima Road Beer was founded in 1997, and the Yoshida family has run it for three generations. The current head brewer, Shinji Yoshida, used to work in hotels and entered the world of beer in 2009.

Yoshida makes German-style pilsner the foundation of his brewing, and about 40% of production is pilsner. While saying that "yeast can't be fully controlled," he carries out daily quality control with microbiological testing to German standards. It's understated, but that solid foundation is what makes the brewery so versatile.

"Peach Lager"! It's a fruit lager made with about 30% Fukushima-grown Akatsuki white peaches, and it won silver at the JGBA in 2023 and 2025. The key philosophy is to express peach through aroma, not sweetness. It takes two months, twice as long as a typical ale, with peach juice and secondary fermentation.

At first they pressed the peaches themselves, but the aroma wasn't coming through, so they switched to outsourcing the juicing to a professional processor and storing it frozen. After the earthquake, they partnered with a peach farmer from Date Farm whom they met at a music event, and by using off-grade fruit and thinned peaches as well, they also support local farmers.

"Rice Beer" is especially unique: an ale made with Fukushima's Hitomebore rice and the prefecture's original sake yeast, "Utsukushima Yume Kobo." It has an apricot-like ginjo aroma and pairs well with sashimi and soba. It has also been recognized at the International Beer Cup.

It's located inside "Annagarden," a European-style shopping area, and it's brewed with spring water from the Azuma mountain range. At the attached "PROST," you can drink draft beer from six taps, and the terrace offers a full view of the Azuma mountain range. In spring, they also set up at Ueno Park's "Ueno Sakura Festa," so they're very active in beer events too.