Ichinomiya Brewery

Ichinomiya Brewery is a tiny microbrewery, even by Japanese standards. The brewery itself is only 4 tsubo in size. It even started out brewing in a 100-liter stock pot, which is astonishing.

You can, if you have the skill. The head brewer, Fumitaka Yamada, originally served as the brewer at Owari Brewery, which opened in 1997. When Owari Brewery stopped production in 2006, he wanted to preserve its flavor, so in 2011 he launched this brewery with Hiroshi Hoshino, the representative of the NPO Shiminren Ichinomiya.

Yamada's ideal is "craft beer with a traditional feel, yet crisp and easy to drink by the glass." He uses German malt and hops, brewed with the pristine underground water of the Kiso River. Their most popular beer, Spicy Weizen, is a white beer with spices like nutmeg, and it has a one-of-a-kind taste.

Also, the Golden Ale is a revival of a recipe from Owari Beer from 20 years ago. It's not too sweet and has a fruity flavor. And there's something called the 138 Coffee Stout, which is interesting too: it's a stout made with Ichinomiya's original 138 Blend Ichinomiya Coffee, and its coffee aroma and richness are lively.

What makes it even better is where you can drink it. It's served at the adjacent com-cafe Sanpatsuya, a shop with a different manager every day, and there are pizza pop-ups three times a month. On the 23rd of every month, it's 38 Beer Day. Hoshino's NPO also organizes lots of community events like Mori no Miya Ichi.

They also make a beer called Toyone's Dream using blueberries from Toyone Village in Aichi Prefecture, and it apparently has a fruity character like wine. It's easy to enjoy at 600 yen a glass, and now they've added a 300-liter tank, so production is increasing too. The dream that started with a 4-tsubo space is steadily expanding.