Akatsuki Brewery

Akatsuki Brewery's Hachimantai Factory is a bit unusual. It's operated by Taikyokusha, a design company based in Shibuya, Tokyo. The representative, Izumi Okabe, had been running barBAR Tokyo, a craft beer specialty shop, at Kurobei Yokocho in Kagurazaka since 2004.

They fell in love with Hachimantai's natural resources. They renovated the former leisure facility Hachimantai Trout Garden, which had been closed, and opened in September 2020. The brewing water comes from Kanazawa Shimizu, a spring selected as one of Japan's 100 famous waters, and 99% of the electricity is green power from the Matsuo Hachimantai geothermal power plant.

What's more, it was the first beer in Japan to receive JAS organic certification. It uses certified organic, pesticide-free malt from Germany, and more than 95% of its ingredients are organic. The spent grain left after brewing is returned to nearby farmers as feed and fertilizer, making it a fully circular brewery.

The head brewer, Yu Nakabayashi, used to work in research at a university, and his goal is to create beer with a balance so good that it's easy to drink like water. He's also now trying to develop beer using sake yeast from Iwate Prefecture.

It's the Dragon Eye series. It's named after Kagami-numa near the summit of Mt. Hachimantai, which looks like a dragon's eye when the snow melts. Sky is a pilsner, Magma is an IPL, Sun is a golden ale, and Snow is a pale ale. All of them are organic, and their soft character comes from brewing with famous spring water.

They also have a directly managed shop in Shibuya, Tokyo called Akatsuki Growlers, so trying it there first is a good option too.