Folkways Brewing

Folkways Brewing is in Kiyosumishirakawa, and the owner-brewer, Mr. Furusawa, is an interesting guy. He used to work in IT.

He says, 'I got so deep into my love of making things that before I knew it, I was brewing beer.' His desire to run a business within a range he could handle with his own hands grew, and he obtained a liquor manufacturing license in April 2019 and opened in May.

The distinctive thing here is that the beers don't have proper names; they're all called by numbers. Like #083 IPA, or #085 Pale Ale. That means they've made more than 85 varieties so far. They brew twice a month, about 300 liters per batch, so it's really small-batch and highly varied.

Exactly. Even the same IPA is apparently adjusted five or six times. Furusawa said the most popular #016 IPA is made by 'adjusting the ingredient balance so the body isn't too heavy and it's easy to drink.' They also make gose and porter, so the range of styles is pretty broad.

That's exactly it. #081 Gose has a great reputation, and since there aren't many places where you can drink it, it's a real find. They're also rooted in the neighborhood, and they once got cherry blossom honey from a local shop to make #017 honey beer.

It's a compact space with a counter and one table set, and the only sign outside is a beer barrel. There are 8 taps, and you drink while snacking on things like smoked duck. It's a hidden gem of a brewpub that only opens on Wednesday through Friday and on weekends.