Bishu Brewing

Bishu Brewing is a brewery where Ichinomiya City's textile industry and beer intersect beautifully.

Ichinomiya City has been one of Japan's largest woolen textile production areas since the Nara period. Their beer lineup includes the 'Wool and Ale' series and the 'Merino' series. Names like Wool and Ale Hazy Pale Ale and Merino Hazy IPA reflect the city's textile heritage.

It's run by Hayashiya, a long-established liquor retailer founded in 1923, and the fourth-generation owner, Terunobu Hayashi, left a Tokyo advertising agency to return home and start the craft beer business to revitalize the local area.

And the brewing lead, Shuhei Ito, is interesting too. He's from Kyoto and originally worked in apparel production management in the fashion industry. He decided to change careers after questioning the industry's environmental problems, became interested in beer culture through part-time work at a British pub, trained for five months at Octagon Brewing in Hamamatsu, and became a brewer.

There was a batch of Wool and Ale Hazy Pale Ale made with Mosaic and Motueka, and its tropical aroma comes through nicely. Merino WC DIPA is a West Coast-style double IPA, so it also appeals to people who like a solid bitterness.

They're also pushing the fruit beers. Wool and Ale Fruit Ale Mango is a smoothie sour made with mango, at 5.0% ABV. The building is right next to JR Owari-Ichinomiya Station inside Bishu Village, and because it's a glass-walled skeleton structure, the brewing equipment is fully visible from outside.