Tambaji Brewery

Tambaji Brewery's brewer, Kazuma Izutsu, originally worked as a systems engineer.

It seems he was so struck by a beer he drank after work at a craft beer bar that he quit his salaryman job. He first learned brewing fundamentals at Outsider Brewing in Yamanashi, then went to the UK for three months of training.

He visited several breweries, including Nene Valley Brewery, Atom Beer, and Yorkshire Brewing Company. So the foundation is English style, and he launched the brewery in Tanba-Sasayama in June 2017. Each brew is just 400 liters, making it a truly small microbrewery.

Tambaji Pilsner is the flagship, and they release about 20 seasonal beers a year. They even make beers with Tanba chestnuts, and others using burdock root or matcha as adjuncts, plus fruit beers with strawberries and peaches.

You can drink directly from up to six taps at the attached brewpub, Terrano South, and since there's also a glamping facility on site, you can stay overnight and make it a full beer getaway.

Another thing that impressed me was how they use spent grain from brewing as feed for goats at a nearby farm. They really create a local cycle. They also run a farm and grow Tanba Sasayama black edamame. It's a brewery where beer, agriculture, and lodging come together in a way that's uniquely Tanba-Sasayama.