Kaneku Brewing

Kaneku Brewing in Hachinohe goes by the brand name "Hachinohe Beer." This is a brewery that finally became reality after 10 years of planning.

Founder Takuichi Yamagata is the president of the machinery repair company Hard Kogyo. On a business trip to Germany, he drank a Weizen and was deeply impressed, and he kept wishing he could drink beer like that in Hachinohe too. At last, he managed to make his first shipment in 2021.

What's interesting is that they renovated and use the former school lunch center building in the old Nango area. Nango is known as an area of jazz and soba.

The beer itself is great too. Their Hazy IPA uses six kinds of hops for a tropical-fruit-like aroma. Their White Ale is made with equal parts wheat malt and barley malt. And the "Vanrare Ale" is a collaboration with J3's Vanrare Hachinohe, using Aomori-grown rice "Masshigura," with part of the sales donated to the club.

And the label design features cats. It was modeled after the three cats at Yamagata's home, drawn playing musical instruments. It's inspired by Nango's jazz culture.

They've also switched all products to unpasteurized brewing, and some of the flavors have changed dramatically. They release four new seasonal products a year too, so this beer born from a former school lunch center keeps evolving.