Okhotsk Beer Factory

Okhotsk Beer is an essential name when talking about the history of Japanese craft beer. After the 1994 revision of the Liquor Tax Law, it was the first company to apply for a brewing license. Along with Echigo Beer, it is called one of Japan's first local beers.

The founder, Naoya Mizumoto, was inspired by beer he encountered during a visit to a German rural village in 1987. After returning to Japan, he launched the "Kitami Beer Research Society," spent seven years preparing, founded the company in 1994, and opened the Beer Factory the following year.

The beer is all-malt with no adjuncts. It uses two-row barley from the Okhotsk region combined with hops from Germany and the Czech Republic. The regular lineup has five kinds: Pilsner, Ale, Weizen, Kölsch, and Mild Stout, and with seasonal limited releases they brew about 10 varieties a year.

Exactly, it's an easy-to-drink stout. They also have something you can only get there called "unfiltered ale," served with the yeast still alive. You can only drink it if you go to the Beer Factory restaurant, which has 200 seats.

What's more, they have over 30 years of history, and they even brewed a commemorative limited-edition Hazy IPA. I love how a long-established brewery still takes on Hazy styles.