Libushi

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.