Tsubame Beer
- Address
- Tsubame City, Niigata Prefecture, 272-1 Aouze
- Area
- Niigata Prefecture Tsubame City
What kind of brewery is Tsubame Beer?
Hop BroThe interesting thing about Tsubame Beer’s Kimihiko Maebeya is his career. He’s from Wakayama, and he originally worked as an engineer at an electronics manufacturer, designing signal generators and video processing equipment.
MugiWhat, from engineer to beer brewing!? Those are completely different worlds, aren’t they?
Hop BroAfter eight years in design, he moved to Honko Seisakusho in Tsubame City and worked there for 14 to 15 years. In other words, after spending more than 20 years as an engineer, he started making beer because he wanted to give something back to Tsubame, where he had lived for 17 years.
MugiMaking beer as a way to give back...! His love for Tsubame is incredible.
Hop BroAnd it’s really paying off. “Pear White Ale” won a silver medal at the International Beer Cup 2025. It’s a white ale made with pears from local Kosugi Farm.
MugiA silver medal at an international competition! And it uses local pears too!
Hop BroThe lineup really embodies “Tsubame, the city of manufacturing.” “SAISON” uses pesticide-free rice from Tsubame, “WEIZEN” uses Tsubame-grown figs, and “SESSION IPA” uses Niigata yuzu. And “IRON STOUT” is a stout inspired by the metalworking city of Tsubame-Sanjo.
MugiIRON STOUT is so Tsubame-Sanjo! A stout from the city of iron sounds so cool!
Hop Bro“RED IPA” is inspired by the sunset sinking into the Sea of Japan. As you’d expect from someone with an engineering background, I can feel a rational, engineering-like logic in the way the recipes are built. The ingredient combinations are carefully calculated.
MugiThey’re designing beer with an engineer’s eye. I definitely want to try Pear White Ale! Tsubame City is officially my next beer-tour destination!
