Kamado Brewery

So, Kamado Brewery. It’s in Kamado, Mizunami City, and the presence of its head brewer, Satoshi Niwa, is just incredible.

A legend with over 25 years in brewing. He originally worked for a stone company in Nakatsugawa, but when the 1994 liquor tax law revision sparked the local beer boom, he was put in charge of the company’s local beer division and entered the world of brewing at 40. He sharpened his skills largely on his own and became the first person in Japan to make a barley wine with 14% alcohol.

And on top of that, he achieved an unprecedented three consecutive wins at the Beer-1 Grand Prix, then took overall victory at the Beer One Grand Prix in 2024. His winning brew, "Belle Fonce," is a barley wine aged for one year through a two-stage fermentation with beer yeast and wine yeast. It’s on another level.

Niwa’s philosophy is "subtracting in beer making." Rather than adding this and that, he carefully selects ingredients by thinking about what he wants to bring out. And yet he also makes a "dashi beer" using local shiitake mushrooms and bonito flakes, which shows his range.

It’s meant to be a beer that goes well with Japanese food. Even the regular lineup is interesting: "Kanko IPA," "Yattokame Ale," "Anki Lager," and "Honde White" all use Tono dialect expressions. "Anki" means safe and easygoing, and "honde" means "and then" or "so."

True. He has also trained more than 30 brewers. At Kamado Brewery, company representative Toh uses experience from working as a TV station reporter and with the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers to handle planning, while Okabe, at the attached beer bar "Hakofune," offers original beer cups in collaboration with local Mino ware artisans. The team is rallying the whole region.