Nara Beer

Nara Beer Naramachi Brewery was the first craft beer brewery in Nara City, and it opened in 2017. It's housed in a renovated former rice warehouse in Naramachi.

The brewer, Masayoshi Aoyama, originally worked as an architectural consultant. When he first encountered Belgian and American craft beer in Osaka at age 37, he was shocked, and from there he toured breweries across Japan and trained for two years at Kibidoteshita Beer in Okayama before striking out on his own in his hometown of Nara.

Yes, it's true. He handles everything himself, from brewing to serving. He runs three tanks alone in small 200-liter batches. His guiding principle is, "I want to make beer that's delicious and interesting." The flagship beer, "ならまちエール," includes hojicha from Nara's Yamato tea.

The roasty aroma of the hojicha blends nicely with the hop's fruity aroma, and it finishes smooth while still having the malt's savoriness and a firm bitterness. And the stout called "玄-kuro-" uses organic cacao that Aoyama roasts himself. It's a cup with deep bitterness like dark chocolate.

The Weizen "白-haku-" won the gold medal at the 2018 Asia International Beer Competition. It features banana and clove aromas, is unheated and unfiltered, and is made with more than 50% wheat malt. It's a beer with living yeast still in it.

Other beers include the honey IPA "碧-ao-" and "翠-midori-", which has five herbs including rosemary and lemongrass. I also like that the lineup is unified by one-character kanji names. At the taproom "麦舎", you can see the tanks over the counter and drink while feeling the brewer's presence.