OKD KOMINKA BREWING

OKD KOMINKA BREWING, 'OKD' is an abbreviation of Okada in Chita City, but the brewer's story is incredibly dramatic.

Brewer Yasuki Niimi was born in Okada, and his family runs the long-established confectionery maker 'Takenoshin Seika,' now in its fourth generation. What's more, when he was young, he had an unusual career, playing baseball professionally in the U.S. and Germany.

He did join the family business at one point, but at 34 he left Okada and moved to Tokyo. There he was blown away by craft beer at T.Y.HARBOR BREWERY, then trained at Daisen G Beer in Tottori. At 36 he returned to Okada and launched OKD in 2019.

It was the desire to 'make Okada town more interesting and create a business that can attract people from around the world.' Okada has been a cotton-producing area for more than 400 years, dating back to the Edo period, but it had been declining. He renovated a more-than-100-year-old kominka by hand, originally a senbei factory, and personally built everything from bringing in the tanks to the piping.

Their flagship beer, FIG ICHIJIKU WEIZEN, is a weizen made with figs from Aichi Prefecture, and it won gold at the 2021 Japan Great Beer Awards. PLUM UME SAISON is a saison made with plums from the Chita Peninsula, and they also make use of off-grade fruit collected from local farmers.

They use hops from New Zealand and Germany depending on the beer, and they also make beers like MOCHA BROWN and MOKU CAFE STOUT. In addition, the nearby complex 'SoN,' renovated from an 86-year-old kominka, includes a taproom, bakery, and coffee stand.