And Beer

And Beer Katsunuma Brewery has been doing some really interesting things lately. It originally started in 2018 as a brewpub in Koenji, Tokyo, but at the end of 2024 it consolidated all of its brewing operations in Katsunuma, Yamanashi.

Well, it’s run by owner brewer Yuriko Ando and company representative Koji Ando, a married couple, and the trigger was their encounter with barrel-aged beer in Portland. Katsunuma is in Koshu City, where there are 45 wineries, so wine barrels are easy to get. That led them to launch ROUND TRIP, a brand specializing in barrel-aged beers.

Exactly. For example, a saison called "Wonder Wanderer" is aged for 16 months in a Muscat Bailey A barrel from Kurambon Wine. It’s the kind of beer you’d drink slowly from a wine glass.

What’s interesting is that they deliberately don’t have fixed flagship beers. They release new creations almost every week. They get ingredients from producers all over Japan, from fruit and vegetables to seafood, and use them as adjuncts. Recently they’ve made things like an oyster stout using oysters from Kesennuma, and "Nahual," a Mexican Dark Lager inspired by a trip to Mexico.

Koji even created a system called "wandering leave," and he went to Mexico to train in taco making, while staff members train with farmers and hunters. The concept is beer born from travel.

And they also make a point of working with local ingredients, like "Weizen Fermenting," which uses raw wheat from Yamanashi. With 11 fermentation tanks running, it’s a small brewery but one with a very aggressive spirit.