Izu Kogen Beer Brewery

Izu Kogen Beer was founded in 1997, and they make a beer called "HONEY BEER." It is a unique brew that recreates a recipe from the White House in the United States.

Exactly. Their core lineup is built around two staples: "Omuro," a Kölsch-style beer, and "Amagi," an Alt. In particular, "Amagigoe" uses 1.5 times the usual amount of malt, so true to its name, it has a bold, rich body.

They use spring water from the Amagi mountain range for brewing, and everything is unpasteurized and unfiltered. It is a "fully fresh beer" with thousands or tens of thousands of live yeast cells still alive in the glass. Their commitment to freshness is intense: it takes only 3 to 4 weeks from brewing to shipment.

You can taste the character of the yeast directly, so it's completely different from filtered mass-market beer. And Shuji Kusuyama, who is involved in the current management, used to work in sales. He returned to his hometown of Izu and took over the business, and he is building a system that lets people enjoy not just beer, but all of Izu's ingredients.

The main brewery is near Jogasaki Coast, and from the restaurant on the first floor you can see the brewing tanks through the glass. Their signature dish is a giant "fisherman's meal" seafood bowl! They also make "Yamamomo Beer" using Izu-grown yamamomo fruit, as well as a blueberry fruit beer, and they operate three directly managed stores along National Route 135.