Kanpai! Brewing

Kanpai! Brewing has a truly compelling story. The owner-brewer, Yoshiro Arai, spent 15 years working as an urban planning consultant.

In the 1990s, Arai lived in northern Germany for two and a half years. In Bremen and Berlin, he was shocked by the culture of gathering at neighborhood brewhouses to drink freshly brewed beer together. It seems that experience stayed with him ever since he returned to Japan.

Then, while the printing industry in the Waseda and Edogawabashi area where he had lived for nearly 20 years was declining, his urban planning perspective and love for beer came together in a desire to bring energy back to the neighborhood. In 2019, he set up the brewery along the Kandagawa River, with the first floor as the beer bar "Gran Zoo" and the second and third floors as the brewery.

They installed two tanks from a Slovenian manufacturer called Brewiks, and each brew is about 300 liters. There are four fermentation tanks on the second floor. Arai became independent after training at SHIKI BEER in Saitama.

That’s the best part! Bunkyo Ward and Shinjuku Ward have between 100 and 130 slopes, and they name the beers after those slope names. "Munetsuki-zaka IPA" is a double IPA at 8%, amber-colored, with citrusy hop aroma and a firm bitterness. It’s named after the steep slope in Mejirodai, Bunkyo Ward. "Kagurazaka Saison" is 6%, fruity and dry.

The local favorite is "Ukigumo-zaka Micro Hazy IPA," which is all about easy drinkability. "Kichijo-zaka IPA" uses citrusy hops and follows a West Coast style. "Nozoki-zaka Kölsch" is a direct reflection of Arai’s German experience. And the food is wild too, with Australian crocodile meat and kangaroo meat on the menu alongside fish and chips (laughs).