Kamakura Beer

Kamakura Beer is the only beer brewery in Kamakura City. It was founded by Hiroshi Imamura in 1997, but it originally started as a neighborhood liquor store that had been run by three generations since the Taisho era.

What’s interesting is the founder’s idea: he chose craft beer as something people could enjoy together regardless of status. It’s an extension of how the place had long been loved as a local all-purpose shop.

Their classics are three kinds: Moon, Star, and Flower. Moon is an alt, Star is a pale ale, and Flower is a brown ale. All are top-fermented ales, and they bottle them unfiltered with the yeast still alive.

They have an IPA called ROUTE134 BEER. It’s a label inspired by National Route 134, the road that runs along the Shonan coast. They also make Hayama Beer, an Australian pale ale, and Enoshima Beer, an American-style pale ale. What stands out is that they use local place names.

They’ve got the results too. They took first place at the Japan Brewers Cup in 2019, and seven of their products won awards at the 2021 Japan Great Beer Awards. For a small brewery, those are impressive achievements.

Their brewers are distinctive too. Naoko Goto became fascinated by fermentation while staying in Sri Lanka, and fell in love with craft beer on a trip to Belgium. The other brewer, Naoto Sawada, entered the world of fermentation after being inspired by the manga Moyashimon.