Wolves Brewing

"Wolves Brewing" is a brewery in Tabayama Village, the smallest village in the Kanto region, and the story of its founder, Hideo Sonobe, is incredibly passionate.

It's right on the border between Yamanashi and Tokyo, just by Lake Okutama. Sonobe originally worked for a company related to electronic devices, but in 2008 he went to USC for an MBA and lived in Los Angeles for two years, where he discovered a microbrewery and was shocked by the idea that "you can make beer yourself."

After returning to Japan, he kept working for a foreign-affiliated company, but four years before opening the brewery, his passion for beer became impossible to hold back, and he quit a year later. He launched the brewery at age 58.

As for why Tabayama Village, Sonobe loves mountaineering and fishing, and he found an old house near the trailhead for Mount Kumotori where he could install a brewery. He renovated a 70-year-old traditional house and turned it into a taproom that makes use of the tatami rooms and earthen floor. The four seats on the earthen floor are designed so you can come in wearing hiking boots.

The brewery name "WOLVES" comes from the wolf faith that has long been passed down in Tabayama Village. It's a real sign of respect for local culture. The beers focus on American IPAs, and the flagship "First Trek" has an IBU of 65, so it has a solid bitterness, but dry hopping gives it a fruity character, making it a perfect match for meat dishes.

Exactly. "Base Camp" is a tropical Hazy IPA, and "Mountain Ridge" is a low-alcohol Session IPA. Sonobe has also said he wants to foster a culture of pairing beer with food, like wine, and with just four small 120-liter tanks, they can afford to take bold brewing risks. A beer while looking out over Lake Okutama is something special.