HUMANS BEER

HUMANS BEER is a brewery run by Gary, a Canadian, together with his family of six. It’s near Fukuura Fishing Port in Yugawara.

Apparently Gary fell in love with Yugawara’s nature. He says it has mountains, the sea, and a river, which reminds him of the landscapes in Canada. His wife Sophia handles operations, their eldest son Andy is assistant brewer, their daughter Mico Michelle handles PR, and another daughter, Alicia, manages all the design work. The whole family is involved.

And the brewing water is soft water from the Hakone mountain range, so because it has very few impurities, the beer’s flavor comes through clearly. Their flagship, "Your Stories Hop Juice IPA," uses four hops: Magnum, Mosaic, Citra, and Amarillo. Even at 7.5% ABV, it’s beautifully balanced.

"Dancing Trees Hazy IPA" has oats that give it a smooth mouthfeel. They also make a beer with local ingredients called "Mr & Mrs Plum's Spring Parade," a sour pale ale made with Nanko plums from Yugawara. They’ve also released a Session Hazy IPA called "HUMANS to the sea," which is easy to drink at 5.0% ABV.

That’s exactly the kind of thing you can do there. On the third floor, there’s a terrace seating area called the "taproom above the sea," where you can drink about 10 kinds of beer while looking out over Sagami Bay. They also seem to be setting up at the Fujisawa craft beer festival in April, so things are really picking up.