YUMEGAOKA SUNDAY BREWING

YUMEGAOKA SUNDAY BREWING is on the first floor of Yumegaoka Soratos, a shopping center in Yokohama, but this place isn't just a beer spot inside a mall.

It's quite rare in Japan. It's glass-walled so you can see the brewing tanks, and it operates six fermentation tanks and three brewing tanks. And the head brewer, Yuta Kuriyama, is only 25.

He studied science and worked at Baird Beer taproom during his student days. He apparently has an incredible obsession with flavor. The GM, Shunichi Hirama, used to work in corporate sales for a major travel agency, got hooked on craft beer while living in the UK, and even managed hop cultivation there.

There's a beer with the place name in it called Futamatagawa HAZY IPA, and people say it's fruity and juice-like. WINTER ALE is distinctive for the sweetness of brown sugar and the aroma of cinnamon, and it won gold at the Japan Great Beer Awards.

That one is actually their flagship made with wheat malt from Yumegaoka. They also work with a social welfare corporation to grow hops locally. They grow hops together with people with disabilities, and the harvest event is open to the public too.

And apparently the sausages are so good it feels like you've gone to Germany. Every Monday they also run a campaign where all beers are priced the same, and their all-you-can-drink plan has come back too. Being directly connected to the station makes it easy to stop by after work.