Gora Brewery Public House

Let me tell you about Gora Brewery, the only brewery in Hakone. The globally renowned chef NOBU, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, was involved in its production.

Exactly. It started by inheriting the recipe for "NOBU BEER," originally brewed at Hokuetsu Shuzo in Niigata, and then evolving it in Hakone. The brewing lead, Tatsuya Kashiwada, was formerly a chef and began with no brewing experience, but in the very first year, 2018, they won a gold medal at the International Beer Cup.

It was a wheat beer called "HAKONE KOHAKU (Amber)," a fruity brew with coriander aroma. They also have "Urushi," a Japanese blonde ale designed with food pairing in mind. Because Kashiwada came from the culinary world, he aims for a flavor that is completed at the table, not in the glass alone.

The building itself is impressive too: designed by architect Hiroshi Nakamura, it's a single-story house with a bright red exterior. And the pillar standing right in the center of the shop is made from a 185-year-old cedar tree that fell within the grounds of Hakone Shrine.

More recently, they released "PLANNED CHANCE," a DDH IPA brewed with six kinds of hops, and it's said to have a juicy finish bursting with citrus and berry notes. They're really pushing boundaries.