Ken-chan Beer

I wanted to talk about Ken-chan Beer, the brand-new brewery that just opened in Hikone, Shiga. It started in May 2024, and there’s a lot that makes it interesting.

Exactly, that’s part of the point. The president, Kenji Oka, was born in 1965 and originally ran a renovation company called Okaken Reform. Since elementary school, his nickname has been Okaken, and the beer brand name became Ken-chan. The logo was intentionally made retro, and he even says, “The name is tacky and the logo is childish, but that’s what makes it good.”

Oka himself had an experience that affected his health, and that seems to have been the trigger for wanting to make a beer he could drink with peace of mind. That’s why many of the beers are set at a lower alcohol content. He had already been homebrewing, and when he felt he had plenty of beers he wanted to make, he launched the brewery.

The flagship is Vivid IPA, with 5.5% ABV and 29.3 IBU. It has a good balance of sweet hop character and a punchy bitterness. They also use spring hops grown in their own hop field, and that has made it especially popular with women. Another beer, Crystal Ale, is based on Oka’s concept of recreating the “bitter!” memory of secretly drinking his father’s evening drink as a child, which is a fascinating way to express Showa-era memories through flavor.

Right? Another distinctive feature is the strong lineup of lighter beers, like Showa Ale Light and Crystal Ale Light. Breweries that put drinkability at the center are actually pretty rare. Plus, it’s located along Sazanami Kaido by the shores of Lake Biwa, and it even has an attached bakery. You can enjoy bread baked only with domestically produced wheat flour and rice flour alongside the beer.

They’re also growing their own hops in planters and a greenhouse, and there’s no other brewery that goes this far with a Showa-retro concept. A brewery started by a renovation-company president on the cusp of 60 is only going to get more interesting from here.