Oyoroko Brewery

Oyoroko Brewery is one of the most unusual breweries out there. Brewmaster Mitsuru Niwa spent more than 40 years mastering French cuisine as a top chef. He trained at Hotel Nagoya Castle, studied French cooking in Tokyo and Kyoto, and even served as president of the Nagoya French Cuisine Research Society. Then, after turning 60, he put down the knife and started making beer.

When he visited Portland in the United States in 2019, he was blown away by the world of craft beer and decided, "I want to bring the marriage of beer and food to Japan." He trained seriously at multiple breweries from 2021, and began in-house brewing in 2023.

The regular lineup has four labels, and all of them use kanji related to "joy." "Ki" is a pale ale, "Kan" a pilsner, "Etsu" a double IPA, and "Kei" a witbier. Because it’s made by a chef, the beers are designed to pair with food. "Ki" is a glass to soothe the fatigue of everyday life, and "Kan" is for getting the whole group excited, so you can choose by occasion.

The parent company is a wedding company called Bride to Be. It has operated a wedding venue and French restaurant in Nagoya for more than 20 years, and this business was started by a company that has spent years facing life's greatest moments of "joy," wanting to deliver everyday little joys through beer as well.

What's more, they donate part of their sales, actively promote hiring people with disabilities, and circulate the byproducts from brewing back to local farmers as fertilizer. The company philosophy that "happy people create happy people" is all connected.

A beer that the French chef pursued even after putting down his knife at 60, I hope you'll enjoy it with food.