Chita Beer Brewery

Chita Beer is a brewery on a small hill overlooking Ise Bay at the southern tip of the Chita Peninsula. It has been brewing beer since 1997, so it's been going for more than a quarter of a century.

The brewmaster, Kentaro Isobe, has been making beer there all this time. He's a strong believer in the German Beer Purity Law, so the only ingredients are malt, hops, water, and yeast. Nothing extra is added.

It's a law established in 16th-century Germany that says beer must be made only from those four ingredients. Chita Beer’s "Chita Marine Beer" is made with 100% malt, and it uses three kinds of diatomaceous earth for filtration. That gives it exceptionally high clarity and no off-flavors.

That pilsner won a silver medal at the Japan Great Beer Awards 2022. It's a lager slowly fermented at low temperature, with a crisp finish and a great balance of bitterness and hop aroma.

Even more interesting is the "Revived Kabuto Beer." Ever heard of it? It's a phantom beer from Aichi that won a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition, and Isobe brought it back to life. The original recipe used nearly twice as much hops as modern beers, giving it a strong bitterness and a rich, full flavor.

It's a project carried out in partnership with the Handa Red Brick Building, the former site of the Kabuto Beer factory. There's also a restaurant called Beer City Minamichita, where you can enjoy freshly brewed draft beer and buffet-style dishes. They also offer Dunkel, Session IPA, and Golden Ale.