Flora Fermentation

Flora Fermentation might be the brewery I'm paying the most attention to in Shiga right now. Three young brewers are championing "agriculture and fermentation," and they're even growing their own hops.

First is Kohei Onishi, born in 1994 and a graduate of Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology. He studied microbiology at university and, for his graduation research, isolated yeast from plum fruit, so he's a true fermentation enthusiast. After graduating, he spent one year on a hop farm in New Zealand and two and a half years training at Kobukotan Brewing in Hokkaido.

The second is Kai Neubauer Shimizu, also born in 1994 and from Canada. After working for two years at a beer bar in Osaka, he spent three years as a brewing assistant at Nagahama Roman Beer, then returned to Canada and sharpened his skills as a brewer for three years at STEEL & OAK BREWING. The third is Shota Tanaka, born in 1993 and from Shiga. While studying at Akita International University, he encountered beer culture during an exchange program in the Czech Republic, then spent three years at Ginga Kogen Beer and two and a half years at Nara Brewing.

They met in Shiga eight years ago and used to talk about starting their own brewery someday. That finally became a reality in September 2024. The location is Eigeneji in Higashiomi City, at the foot of the Suzuka Mountains and one of the source areas of Lake Biwa. It's an area with exceptionally clean water.

On 0.3 hectares of farmland within walking distance of the brewery, they're growing four varieties: Cascade, Chinook, Hallertau, and Saaz. As expected, they cover both American and European styles. Their plan is to supply all of their annual hop usage with their own hops within three years. In fact, they released FRESH HOP 2025 in 2025, brewed with their own hops.

Their standard beer, Roggenfunt, is a rye IPA they've been brewing since the phantom brewery days before founding the company. More recently, they've released Frigg, a strawberry milkshake ale brewed with local Higashiomi strawberries, and Waldschrat, a three-way collaboration with HINO BREWING and Kyoto Beer Lab. They also make Loki, a session IPA, and Cascara, a Dunkel made with coffee cherries.