Ikikata Brewery

Actually, Yokkaichi didn't have a craft beer brewery. Then, at the end of 2025, Ikikata Brewery was born as Yokkaichi's first brewery. The representative is 37-year-old Toshimasa Kondo.

He's originally the head of a company that works in child-rearing support. From there, he taught himself brewing theory, trained at breweries in Japan, and even earned the German brewing school qualification, the Doemens Beer Sommelier.

But at the core, it's the same. Mr. Kondo's philosophy is to "expand the measures by which we live our lives." What he's aiming for is "the brewery with the lowest barrier in Japan," a place where children and people who don't drink can just drop in. There are even scenes where kids help apply labels.

And the flagship beer, "Kohaku no Toki," is great too. It uses Yokkaichi water as the brewing water, combines Canadian malt with Meyer lemon from Mie Prefecture. A citrus aroma rises first, with a creamy foam over amber color. In a recent post, it sounds like it was finished richer, with more malt depth than usual.

They've also released a new beer called "Kaze Makase," and the name alone conveys a free-spirited attitude. The concept is to reflect the voices of local people in product development, so it's a style of growing the brewery together with the people who drink its beer.