Persona Brewery

Kofu's Persona Brewery is, in a very good way, a brewery that feels wonderfully relaxed. The owner, So Takahashi, started in 2020 with absolutely zero experience in the restaurant business or beer brewing.

He loved drinking beer while traveling, and he started simply because he thought, "I wish there were a place where I could casually enjoy local beer in the city where I live too."

The location choice is interesting too: a residential neighborhood in Asahi, about a 10-minute walk from Kofu Station's north exit. Instead of the bustling south side, he deliberately chose a quiet area, and he honestly said the reason was that he didn't feel confident he could make it if he, as someone without restaurant experience, tried to do it there.

But the beer itself is serious business: there's the IPA called "Columbus's Egg," another IPA called "Polaris Tears," and "Belgian on a Sunny Day," which has a gentle mandarin aroma, low bitterness, and is easy to drink. "Sudachi no Kimochi" is a fruit weizen made with plenty of sudachi from Shimoda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and it comes served with a slice of sudachi on the glass.

Everything is unpasteurized and unfiltered, so the yeast's flavor comes through clearly. They also release limited seasonal fruit beers using peaches, strawberries, kiwis, plums, and other ingredients from around Kofu, so you encounter new labels every time you visit.

What Takahashi values most is "connecting people with a single glass of beer." He says, "Everyone has beer in common, and if they share one more thing they like, people can become friends," and this is a place where regulars become friends with each other over beer. They also joined the local shopping street association and take part in festivals.