Stellato Brewery

If you heard there’s a brewery in Shirako Town, Chiba, that applies Japanese sake-style wooden barrel brewing to craft beer, wouldn’t you want to know more?

It’s called STERRATO BREWERY, and all of its beers are fermented in Yoshino cedar wooden barrels. What’s more, those barrels were carved by the only wooden-barrel craftsman in Japan. Through the synergy of the wooden barrels and cedar chips, the beer takes on the aroma of cedar as it ferments.

The head brewer, Takayuki Yaguchi, studied brewing science at university, then worked in spice research and development, and later was involved in sake brewing in Fukushima. That experience in sake making really comes through in the beer.

The owner, Tokuro Mori, originally worked in medical support for developing countries at an NPO and moved to Shirako Town in 2021. It all started at a year-end party, when he drank sake made by Mr. Yaguchi and was so moved that he said, 'This is real craftsmanship,' and invited him to make beer together.

The first batch, 'YAMABUKI,' is a golden ale with a beautiful yamabuki-gold color when poured. It has a cedar aroma, a bright flavor, and a refreshing finish. The second batch, 'HISUI,' is an IPA with cedar notes layered with the citrus aroma of hops, giving it a Japanese-inspired character. It also uses Koshihikari rice from Shirako Town as a supplementary ingredient, and is designed to pair well with Japanese cuisine.

On the crowdfunding campaign, they raised 1.29 million yen against a target of 300,000 yen, reaching 430% of the goal. The concept of 'bringing something the world has never seen from Shirako Town' is clearly resonating. They also have the determination to create a new industry in a town where the birthrate is declining and the population is aging.