Shingetsu Beer

Have you heard of Shingetsu Beer? It's a microbrewery in Ushigome-Kagurazaka, and it's pretty fascinating.

That's what makes it great. The brewery is next to a diner called Aoyagi, which has been around for 60 years, and they share the same space. Founder Yudai Aoyagi runs it together with Ushigome Beer Hall, where his younger brother Tomoya is the manager.

Exactly. Yudai used to be a company employee, but he quit and launched the brewery. They started brewing in 2021, and one distinctive feature is that each beer name has an "Op." number attached to it.

Exactly. It's like a work number. They started with American Amber Ale Op.1, and then kept adding new Op. entries like Juicy IPA Op.7, Oatmeal Stout Op.4, and Double IPA Op.11. The idea is that each beer is a piece of work in its own right.

They also have Belgian White Op.14 and American Belgo Style Ale Op.18, which is interesting because they're not sticking to IPAs alone. It feels like they're expanding their styles experimentally.