Kuniumi Brewery

Next is Kuniumi Brewery in Taga Town. It opened in August 2024, and the amazing part is that one former bartender handles the entire process by himself.

That's right, Jun Miyashita. He ran Salon Bar Thistle near Hikone Station for 20 years, and the trigger was wanting to give something back to his hometown, Taga Town. He was determined, saying, 'Starting something new at this age will be the last time,' and opened it as a brewpub.

It's a one-minute walk from Taga Taisha-mae Station, right by the torii gate in front of the station. And the name "Kuniumi" comes from the creation myth of Taga Taisha's enshrined deities, Izanagi and Izanami. The rooster in the logo is inspired by the myth of opening the Rock Cave of Heaven.

This is the fun part: they have three "Taga Series" beers, and all of them use local ingredients. "Taka" is a pale ale that combines Taga-grown kuromoji aromatic wood with Sorachi Ace hops. "Gen" is a stout made with Taga-grown buckwheat, pairing roasted malt with buckwheat. "Megumi" is a rice ale made with Taga rice and Nelson Sauvin hops.

And if you line up the three cans side by side, they form a single ink-wash painting. The design, based on motifs associated with Taga Taisha, was drawn by Professor Yasuhiko Hamanaka, so it works as art even before you drink the beer.

Their classic series also includes a Scottish ale and a Hefe-Weizen. The Scottish ale has the richness of chocolate malt with aromas like cocoa and black tea, and it's easy to drink because the bitterness is low. You can really feel a cocktail-like delicacy in the beer, which makes sense coming from a former bartender.