Lake Toya Beer

Did you know there's a craft brewery in the Toyako Onsen district? It's called Lake Toya Beer, and the person running it has a really interesting background.

The representative, Yoshihiro Miura, is 57. He's from Sapporo and previously worked for many years as a systems engineer at an IT company. As management duties increased and he found himself drifting away from the hands-on world of making things, he grew frustrated, quit, and switched to brewing beer.

He says, "It's good because you can brew beer year-round," so he probably just really wanted to make things. He started the business in March 2022 and obtained a happoshu manufacturing license in October. It's ultra-small scale - so small that he brews 150 liters per batch using a stockpot, truly micro of the micro.

That's why they can go after a wide variety. The regular lineup has four kinds: Toya IPA, Toya Session IPA, Toya Weizen, and Toya Lager. Toya IPA is 6.5% ABV, and the hop bill keeps bitterness modest while bringing out grapefruit and tropical fruit aromas. The brewing water comes from Lake Toya.

What's more interesting is the limited-edition beer. There's a wild-yeast series called "WLD-Y," and they ferment the beer with natural yeast that clings to seasonal fruits. Wild grapes, plums, apricots, shiso, haskap... the flavor changes every year.

They also have the "Biquette" series using wine yeast, and they've handled more than 50 OEM projects. It's a tiny taproom in the hot spring district, with only about five standing counter seats, but dropping in after a soak for a pint is the best.