98BEERs

98BEERs started as a brewery founded by people from a winery. The mastermind was Shigeyuki Hirayama, a veteran who has been making wine since the 1980s.

He is said to be one of the people who built the foundation of Japanese wine by honing his brewing skills at a major wine producer. After launching his own winery, 98WINEs, and getting it on track, his love of beer apparently grew strong enough that he wanted to make it himself. Then he met brewer Naofumi Miyazaki from Koshu City, and that is how 98BEERs began.

The biggest feature is that everything comes only in 750 ml large bottles. No cans, no small bottles. It undergoes bottle conditioning like champagne to create fine bubbles. The concept is for people to gather around the table and enjoy it slowly with food.

The regular Kyu-Hachi series includes Saison, Belgian Bitter, and Red Ale, while the seasonal Jokei series uses Yamanashi fruit. There is also Yohou, which is over 8% ABV and meant for long aging. The brewing water comes from the Hirasawa water system in Enzan, Koshu City, and it is soft water.

And this is the amazing part: the first floor is a taproom, and the second floor is STAY366, a lodging facility limited to just two groups per day. It's built in the forest, has views of Mount Fuji, no TV, and birdsong as the background music. It is Japan's first inn attached to both a winery and a brewery.