Brew Lab Kurayoshi

Do you know the Shirakabe Dozo Group in Kurayoshi? It's a nationally designated Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and right in the middle of that townscape there's a craft beer brewery: Brew Lab Kurayoshi.

They renovated an old house and turned it into both a brewery and brewpub. It also has a large garden of over 200 square meters, so the atmosphere is great. It was launched by Tsunemi Fukui, the representative.

He was born in Kurayoshi, worked in Tokyo as a trading company employee, and then returned to his hometown. The inspiration for making beer was unique: there was a man from Kurayoshi named Chozo Isono, one of the initiators behind the founding of Kirin Brewery, and after about seven to eight years of planning with the idea that 'local people should know more about Isono,' he finally made the brewery a reality.

Before the 2020 opening, they ran a crowdfunding campaign, and more than 100 local residents supported it. The renovation and garden work were also helped by local people.

Their flagship is 'Starry Sky Ale.' It's brewed with Tottori's brand rice 'Hoshizora Mai' and locally grown barley, and it won both the Grand Prix overall and the Best Beverage Award at the Tottori Specialty Food Products Contest.

They also make 'Sake Lees Brew,' brewed with daiginjo sake lees from the neighboring Edo-period sake brewery Gensui, and 'Pear Brew,' which uses juice from Oshu pears. They keep turning Tottori ingredients into beer one after another. What's more, after brewing, they provide the spent malt to local farmers as chicken feed, and they even built a recycling system where those eggs are used at the restaurant.