Primary Barrels

Address
Kyoto, 13-1 Uchinaki, Fukuchiyama City
Area
Kyoto Fukuchiyama

What kind of brewery is Primary Barrels?

hop excitedHop Bro

Primary Barrels in Fukuchiyama is a microbrewery inside THE 610 BASE, which was renovated from the former Naka Roku-ninbu Elementary School, now closed.

mugi surprisedMugi

Wait, beer in a closed school? You mean there’s a brewery inside the school building?

hop normalHop Bro

Exactly. It received its brewing license from the Fukuchiyama Tax Office in February 2024 and opened on April 19 that same year. More than 30 people attended the opening ceremony. It’s operated by a local company called Inoue Co., Ltd., and what’s interesting is that it promotes "farmer brewing."

mugi confusedMugi

Farmer brewing? Are farmers making the beer?

hop proudHop Bro

They start by working with local farmers to grow the barley and hops used as ingredients. They brew beer from materials they’ve grown themselves. The brewer trained for a year at a brewery in Kanagawa before returning to Fukuchiyama to begin brewing.

mugi happyMugi

So they do everything from the field to the glass. That’s cool! What kinds of beer do they make?

hop excitedHop Bro

Their flagship, "The Primary," is a golden ale. "610" is an IPA made with locally grown barley, and the name also nods to THE 610 BASE. "STARLIT SEVEN" is a West Coast IPA, and "De boerendans" is a saison inspired by Belgian farmhouse beers.

mugi surprisedMugi

What language is De boerendans?

hop normalHop Bro

It means "the farmers' dance" in Dutch. It fits the farmer-brewing concept perfectly. They also make "Chill to Tipsy," a coffee stout, and "HAPPY," a Hazy DIPA. Their ingredients are diverse too, using malt from the UK, Germany, and Japan, plus hops from the US, Czech Republic, New Zealand, and France.

mugi happyMugi

The coffee stout sounds interesting, and I like that the name "Primary" means the origin point.

hop excitedHop Bro

Exactly. The name carries the idea that every journey begins with that first step. On April 4, they’ll also host the second anniversary festival, "GOLDEN DAYS FESTIVAL 2026," at THE 610 BASE. It’s also available through hometown tax donations, so people far away can try it too.

mugi excitedMugi

A beer festival in a former school sounds fun! Maybe I’ll order some through the hometown tax program first.

Signature beers: The Primary610STARLIT SEVENDe boerendansChill to Tipsy

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