Osaka Shibutani Brewery

Osaka Shibutani Brewery - the reading is "Osaka Shibutani Bakushu." It's in Fujiidera, but this brewery's roots are incredible.

That's right, "Shibutani." In 1872 - the 5th year of the Meiji era - a man named Shibutani Shozaburo became the first Japanese person to commercialize beer brewing. He built the "Shibutani Beer Brewery" in Dojima, Osaka. The ninth-generation head of that Shibutani Shozaburo family is the husband of the current representative, Kana Shibutani.

Kana herself is from Habikino, and she originally worked in medical office administration. But after learning about her ancestor Shozaburo, she resolved in 2019 to "carry on this history with my own hands." In 2020, she obtained a low-malt beer brewing license and started brewing all by herself.

With a small setup consisting of a 100-liter mash kettle and four 120-liter fermentation tanks, she handles everything herself from brewing to bottling. The standard lineup is the "Kawachi no Ale" series, with four varieties: Weizen, Pilsner, Pale Ale, and Stout. And every beer contains peel from thinned mikan mandarins grown in Taishi Town, South Kawachi.

Exactly. She gets the citrus thinned from Unshu mikan trees in June and July from local farmers, turns it into peel, and uses it in all of her products. She also reuses the spent grain as feed for local cattle, putting waste materials to good use. She clearly cares about the SDGs, but the best part is how natural and unforced it feels.

It seems it was featured on MBS Radio's "Pikatto Morning." Sansho is another ingredient that really fits this region, and their style stays consistent - packing local culture into every glass, whether it's hojicha ale or Tenmangu ale. It's moving to think that a woman from a medical office background is carrying on Shozaburo's dream from 150 years ago all by herself.