Ken's Brewery

Kens Brewery is in Sagamihara's Nishimon Shopping Street, and this place has a characteristic you notice the moment you drink its beer: sweetness.

You can really feel the owner's, Ken's, preferences. A lot of the beers bring out the sweetness of the malt. For example, the flagship "Sagamiha Lager" has a honey-like malt sweetness, and "Mizumizo Saison" is a 6% saison, but the malt sweetness gently wraps around its spiciness. A beer geek who has visited more than 260 breweries said this level of sweetness is rare.

He turned 60 in 2025. He opened the shop in 2022, obtained a brewing license in January 2024, and started brewing in-house from March. The energy to become a brewer anew at 60 is incredible.

And it's not just beer. Their red ale called "Aka no Te" has a perfect balance of fruity aroma and malt sweetness, while "Hayabusa Black," an oatmeal stout, has an interesting balance of sweetness and bitterness. "Nishimon Ale" is an American pale ale named after Nishimon Shopping Street, where the shop is located.

And that's not all. They play jazz in the shop and hold a monthly music event called "GATOS LIVE." They also invite an udon artisan called Phantom Zebra to host a pairing event with their in-house brewed "Udon Dashi Amber" and hand-cut udon. They even released a seasonal limited beer called "Sakura Saison - Mai."

The food is grounded in local ingredients too. Their signature dish is a bacon steak made with Kanagawa's branded pork, "Koza Pork." There's probably nowhere else in the shopping street where you can enjoy music, beer, udon, and Koza Pork all in one place.