Brewpub Ozone

Brewpub Ozone, located in Nagoya's Ozone shopping street, is a pretty unusual presence in the craft beer world. It is operated by the NPO Wappa no Kai, which has created workplaces where people with and without disabilities work together.

That's right. Wappa no Kai has over 40 years of history and has run all kinds of projects, like a bread workshop and a recycling center. In 2021, they launched this brewpub to help bring energy back to the Ozone shopping street. And they started with zero brewing experience.

That's the amazing part. The brewing manager, Mr. Matsumoto, is incredible. He steadily built up his skills from scratch, and now "JOKER" won gold at the International Beer Cup 2023, while "Acchamoi" won gold at the Japan Great Beer Awards 2024. KENZO IPA has also taken bronze at the JGBA for two consecutive years.

KENZO IPA has the bitterness of bittering hops layered with a soft, sweet aroma from citrusy aroma hops, and a solid malt presence as well. And Acchamoi is a dry stout brewed with coffee beans, so its defining notes are coffee aroma and sweetness. Even the names are unique, aren't they?

The ingredients are interesting too. They use barley from Anjo, apples from Nagano Prefecture, and pesticide-free plums, and they insist on using healthy domestically produced yeast rather than importing from overseas. They also make an IPA called Trigger with six kinds of hops, so they're really pushing things forward.

Not directly in terms of taste, but I think the concept of "a place where everyone can feel that they are together" shapes the entire atmosphere of the brewery. There's also the bread workshop "Yume Wappan" right next door, so you can enjoy pairings of beer and bread baked with Aichi-grown wheat.