Koganei Shuzo

Do you know Koganei Shuzo? It’s a long-established sake brewery that has been around since 1818, the first year of the Bunsei era, and it’s also been brewing craft beer called "Sagami Beer" since 1998.

The current owner is the ninth generation, and the brewery sits in Nanasawa, Atsugi City, at the foot of the East Tanzawa mountains. There’s a well on the premises that has been in use for 200 years, and the groundwater from East Tanzawa was a perfect fit for brewing beer too.

What’s more, Sagami Beer is brewed with 100% barley and only the first wort, with no rice or corn starch at all. It’s unfiltered, unpasteurized draft beer, delivered with the yeast still alive.

The standard Kölsch is great, but the one I want to recommend is "Sagami Beer White." It combines Atsugi-grown wheat with kabosu and sansho pepper.

Exactly. They’re especially good at flavor beers made with local produce. Their Weizen also uses Atsugi-grown wheat, and they even release seasonal peach ale made with Atsugi peaches. Thanks to the sake brewery’s network, they have strong ties with local farmers.

In fact, about 80% of Sagami Beer is consumed within Kanagawa Prefecture, centered on Atsugi. It’s truly local beer, brewed locally and drunk locally. Stopping by the brewery after a hike in East Tanzawa is the best.