Hitachi Beer Brewery

There’s a brewery in Hitachi City that was born from a dream that took over 10 years to realize: Hitachi Beer Brewery.

The representative, Tatsuya Seike, originally from Kanagawa, moved to Hitachi when he got married and had been running restaurants there since 2006. The turning point came when he encountered the German beer Warsteiner at the 2014 Yokohama Oktoberfest. That sparked his desire to brew beer himself.

At first, he had it contract-brewed by Kiuchi Brewery, the one famous for Hitachino Nest Beer. They debuted their first beer, "Sakura Hitachiel," at the 2016 Hitachi Cherry Blossom Festival, but the plan for their own brewery was delayed significantly by COVID. Using a business restructuring subsidy, they finally opened in April 2024.

The brewery itself is impressive too. On the first floor of their own shop, Second Earth Diner, there’s a glass-walled brewing space where you can see all the stainless steel tanks. The second floor is the restaurant, the third floor has private rooms and a beer garden, and the fourth floor has a BBQ terrace.

What’s great is that all the beer names come from the beaches of Hitachi. "Sakura Hitachiel" is a white ale made with cherry blossoms. "Kawarago Sunrise" is a golden ale, and "Kujihama Moonlight" is a pale ale. Their new release, "Ajigaura Sunrise Hazy," is a DDH hazy IPA at 6%.

Seike’s goal is to make Hitachi a "beer town." He wants to supply original beer to restaurants across the city and create a place where young people want to stay. They also return brewing byproducts to local farmers, so it’s a vision that involves the whole community.