Fire Valley Beer

Deep in the mountains of Tsu City, in Misugi, there’s a brewery called Fire Valley Beer Factory, and its founding story is seriously intense.

It all started with a family that had run a hot spring inn for 90 years. When the previous generation’s father traveled to the United States, he was blown away by a certain pale ale. After returning to Japan, he couldn’t find the same taste anywhere, so in 1998 he decided, ‘If that’s the case, I’ll make it myself,’ and built a brewery on the grounds of Misugi Resort.

And now the fourth-generation head, Yuuki Nakagawa, is both the president and head brewer. But after graduating from university, he was supposed to go to a hotel school in the U.S.; the business began to falter, he was called back, and at 25 he started by rebuilding the company from the ground up.

What’s amazing here too is the brewing water: they use 100% spring water from Fire Valley, and since no one lives upstream from the source, it’s completely uncontaminated. Their Fire Valley Lager brewed with that water won an award at an international beer competition and was also selected for Mie Selection.

They make a dark lager called Iga-ryu Ninja Beer, using the sake rice varieties ‘Ukon Nishiki’ and ‘Iga Black Rice’ from Iga as adjuncts. It has low bitterness and a light drinking feel, and it’s hugely popular with inbound tourists from overseas. They also brew beer using rice grown by organic farmers in Misugi, so their ties to local agriculture run deep.

Nakagawa has a vision of ‘seeing the entire town of Misugi as one hotel,’ and through crowdfunding he’s even made rooms with beer servers and even beer baths a reality. Beer is at the core of the region’s revival.