Nakatsu Brewery

Nakatsu Brewery is a place every craft beer lover should visit at least once. It’s in Nakatsu, just one stop from Umeda, and its origins are incredibly unique.

The brewing director, Satoru Suzuki, wasn’t originally from the beer industry at all. He used to handle sales and construction work at the construction company Toho Leo. The starting point was a community project to grow hops, sparked by his sense of the problem that urban communities were losing their connections.

Exactly. By growing hops together, people connected with one another, and from there the idea emerged: if that’s the case, let’s create a place to raise a toast too. The whole idea is that beer is a catalyst for bringing people together.

It’s in the basement of the 58-year-old Nishida Building, in a space that used to be big enough for two parking spots. They also have their own hop field in Heguri Town, Nara Prefecture, where local people can experience everything from planting to harvesting together.

Contract brewing is their main focus, and they make original beers tailored to each client’s story. They’ve produced more than 75 varieties in total, including beers like "Heguri Freshhop IPA," which uses hops they grew themselves. At JGBA2022, they won two silver awards for "Tenryu ALE" and "Brown Porter ver.2."

They also publish all of their recipes. A few times a month, they hold "Engawa Marche" and sell draft beer by the liter, and since the building also has coworking space and a rental kitchen, it’s become a place where all kinds of people naturally mix together.