Libushi

What kind of brewery is Libushi?

hop excitedHop Bro

Libushi Bashamichi is actually the Yokohama base of Anglo Japanese Brewing Company, or AJB for short, whose main brewery is in Nozawa Onsen, Nagano Prefecture.

mugi confusedMugi

Nozawa Onsen? The ski and hot spring town? Why beer from there?

hop happyHop Bro

The founders are British sculptor Thomas Libbey and his Japanese wife, Emiko. In 2010, Thomas visited Nozawa Onsen on a sightseeing trip, fell in love with the nature and the warmth of the people, and moved there.

mugi surprisedMugi

A sculptor brewing beer!? And moving to a hot spring town too? That’s impressive drive!

hop normalHop Bro

Emiko realized, 'The craft beer I drank after the hot spring was amazing. But there isn’t a brewery in Nozawa.' So they decided to make one themselves. It all began in 2014, when they opened a pilot brewery right in front of the communal bath, Oyu.

mugi movedMugi

Beer after a hot spring was the spark...! That’s such an amazing origin story.

hop proudHop Bro

What’s especially remarkable here is their obsession with barrel aging. In 2019, they introduced Japan’s first foeders—two massive 5,000-liter oak casks—and they’re doing long-term aging with natural and wild yeasts in wine and whiskey barrels. They also have what’s said to be the country’s only solera system.

mugi surprisedMugi

What! Solera, like the kind of fractional aging used for sherry?

hop excitedHop Bro

Exactly. Their flagship beer, 'King Kong Needle Drop,' is an imperial stout aged for a long time in whiskey barrels, and they’ve also released beers like 'Ichibō Senri,' a collaboration with Belgium’s Oud Beersel. They even make a 'bread beer' from discarded bread, so they’re always pushing boundaries.

mugi excitedMugi

King Kong Needle Drop! What a name! I want to try it!

hop normalHop Bro

The Bashamichi location is on the first floor of KITANAKA BRICK & WHITE, a renovated building in Kitanaka, Yokohama. It also has a DJ booth, and they regularly host a music-and-beer event called 'Brew & Flow.' In August 2023, they also obtained a brewing license on site.

mugi happyMugi

From beer after a hot spring in Nozawa Onsen to music events in a historic Yokohama building... I want to follow this couple’s world!

Signature beers: King Kong Needle DropIchibō SenriBread Beer

articles about bars serving beers from Libushi

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