Ome Beer

Ome Beer is a craft beer hall in a shopping street about a 3-minute walk from JR Ome Station, and its origins are really great.

The owner, Kazuyoshi Muto, is the third-generation owner of a local liquor store called Muto Jisakuten. Ome once flourished as a post town, but with the population declining, the shopping street had grown increasingly quiet. Wanting to do something about that, he launched a crowdfunding campaign, and in 2018 he renovated a former cosmetics shop that had been vacant and opened this place.

And the original beer is called VEPAR. The name means "boar" in Croatian, inspired by Ome's mountainous terrain. At first, brewing was outsourced to VERTERE in Okutama, but in 2024 they finally installed brewing equipment in a corner of the shop and started brewing in-house.

They even obtained a beer manufacturing license using a government business restructuring subsidy. They are aiming for an annual production of 7,000 liters. VEPAR is characterized by a refreshing lime-like aroma with a subtle spicy depth, and they also keep about eight taps of craft beer from breweries in the Nishi-Tama area on offer at all times.

They serve things like hamburgers made with 100% Ome-grown pork, and they also reduce food waste by using out-of-spec local vegetables in their dishes. They are thoroughly committed to what makes Ome unique.

Exactly. They regularly hold live events, so it's more of a community space than just a beer hall. The third-generation owner of a liquor store revived an empty storefront in the shopping district and is bringing people back to town through craft beer. I think stories like this are what make craft beer so compelling.