Mingel

Mashiko is known as a pottery town, but there’s now a farmhouse beer and bread shop called "Mingel" there. It opened in August 2024.

It’s a coined word combining Mashiko's "mingei" (folk crafts) and "mingle," meaning people coming together. It’s run by Mashiko Hakkosha LLC. Bread and beer are both tied to fermentation, and the concept is to root fermentation culture in a pottery town.

And the way they use local ingredients is amazing. They make a Belgian White with Hachiman wheat and yuzu from Mashiko, and a Belgian Pale Ale with local Tochiotome strawberries. Plus, the vessels are works by Mashiko kilns and ceramic artists.

Their styles are centered on farmhouse beers, and "Golden Dream Saison with Osmanthus" is a fall-only saison. The osmanthus aroma spreads gently, but the dry finish keeps it from feeling heavy. At 5%, it’s designed to be easy to drink. It has consistently maintained a high score of 4.3 to 4.4 on review sites.

Their latest release, "Tanememi," is the 19th in the series and a rice pilsner. They're already putting out new beers at a pretty quick pace. They also had a booth at the Kobe Port beer festival, so they're starting to share their beers beyond Mashiko.

Spending time in a wooden single-story building, nibbling on country loaf and drinking a farmhouse ale... I think it's a place where you can taste the atmosphere of Mashiko itself.