Muginomitsu.

There’s a brewery called Muginomitsu in Niitsu, Akiha Ward, Niigata City, and Kobayashi-san there has quite an interesting background. He worked in healthcare until he was 45.

He had to leave his job because of family circumstances, and when he seriously thought about what to do next, he decided to turn his hobby and love of craft beer into a job. He said it was sparked by being inspired by BREWDOG.

He trained for a month at a brewery in Tochigi, then spent about two years preparing from there. He also obtained his liquor manufacturing license by visiting the tax office over and over and doing everything on his own. He said, "Instead of spending money, I spent time."

It opened in 2025, and now he brews around three core beers: pale ale, Weizen, and IPA. It’s the first brewery in Akiha Ward. The taproom is open only on Fridays and Saturdays from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., so the hours are extremely limited.

It’s a renovated space with a white-based interior tucked into a residential neighborhood, and the person who made the beer pours it himself. The name "Muginomitsu" comes from seeing golden beer as a "rewarding nectar born from barley."

Mr. Kobayashi says he wants to make this a place where people connect, and he has also started bottled sales at a local liquor store. Eventually, he wants to brew beers using locally sourced ingredients from Akiha Ward too.