Shiokaze Blue Lab Brewery

Shiokaze Blue Lab is something else. The owner, Chris Pool, is amazing. He came to Japan in 1980, and the first place he lived was Chiba. After that, he spent more than 10 years as the brewmaster at Baird Brewing.

Exactly. He joined in 2002 as a brewing assistant, then became brewmaster in Numazu and plant manager in Shuzenji. After building up that kind of career, he went independent in Soga in 2020. He says Chiba is his “home in Japan.”

At first, it was a phantom brewery. They brewed using equipment borrowed from places like Snark Liquid Works in Ikebukuro and Beer Brain in Kashiwa. The fact that the name includes “Lab” comes from their belief in deepening research into ingredients.

Their staple, “Keiyo Kölsch,” is fruity and crisp with no bitterness. They also have “Yazamani Pale,” and one interesting one is a daringly named beer called “Shibakuzo!” (laughs). More recently, they released the IPA “Shiokaze Meidō,” made with NZ hops, at ABV 6.0% and IBU 43.

And the brewer, Takashi Watanabe, has an interesting background too. He’s from Minamiboso, trained at beer bars in Azabu-Juban and at Galapagos Racing in Kanagawa, and met Chris at Yggdrasil Brewing in Hiratsuka before joining the team.