Nanbu Craft Brewery

Nanbu Craft, in Hachimancho, Morioka, has a unique origin. Its representative, Toko Sasaki, originally studied architecture.

But while studying West Coast architecture in the U.S., she encountered craft beer culture and came to think, "If I could devote the rest of my life to beer." The parent company is Good One Reform, a renovation company, and over about two and a half years it moved ahead with introducing brewing equipment and obtaining licenses, starting to serve beer in March 2022.

And because it's a renovation company, they handled all the facility design and construction for the brewery in-house. It's interesting that architecture professionals designed the space for making beer themselves.

Their core lineup has four types. The Pale Ale has a good balance of citrus aroma and malt sweetness, the Stout has nutty and chocolatey roastiness, the Weizen has banana-like fruitiness with restrained bitterness, and the IPA is a bold, hop-forward glass.

And they also have a farm through their group company, and they even offer a seasonal Pale Ale made with blueberries from Takizawa City. In the future, they have a vision of brewing beer with vegetables and hops they grow themselves.

They have locations in Hachimancho and Uchimaru, so you can drop in while strolling around Morioka. I'm looking forward to seeing how this farmer's beer, made in earnest by an architecture company, evolves.