Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon is a brewery on the 4th floor of Ikspiari in Maihama, and the brewmaster, Tomoko Sonoda, has an amazing background.

She originally worked as a cast member at the guest parking lot of Tokyo Disneyland. Then she saw an internal job posting for a "beer brewer" and applied out of curiosity. She started making beer in 1996, and in 1998 she earned the highest-level Master Beer Judge qualification, which only about 10 people in Japan had at the time.

She has served as brewmaster ever since Ikspiari opened in 2000, so it's been more than 25 years now. The name "Harvest Moon" means "the moon of the harvest," and it reflects the desire to express the joy of celebrating the harvest through beer.

Their core lineup has five beers: Czech-style Pilsner, Belgian-style Wheat Beer, English-style Pale Ale, Brown Ale, and German-style Schwarz. They really cover the classic European styles thoroughly.

That's exactly Sonoda's philosophy. She says she wants even first-time craft beer drinkers to like it, and to want another glass. So rather than being too extreme, she has consistently pursued a "clean-tasting beer" that is well balanced and free of off-flavors.

That led to winning a gold medal for their Pilsner at the 2022 World Beer Cup. A gold at one of the world's largest beer competitions. It's the result of always prioritizing sanitation and staying committed to creating an environment where yeast can work happily.