Kurashiki Brewing Company

Have you heard of Kurashiki Brewing Company? It’s a rather unusual brewery, because a oshibori rental company started making beer.

It’s a company called Ichikura, founded in 1970, and they’ve long been delivering oshibori to restaurants. Then when the restaurant industry took a major hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Soichi Akagi decided he wanted to energize the food and dining scene over the long term, and he set out to revitalize the region through beer, like places such as San Diego and Portland.

What’s more, the brewer in charge, Shintaro Hirao, started with absolutely no beer-making experience. He trained for several months outside the prefecture and developed the recipes from scratch.

The brand name is "OKAYAMA JIMOTO BEER 086." 086 is Okayama’s area code, and from there they’re rolling out beers inspired by different parts of the prefecture. #2 OKAYAMA PALE ALE uses citrusy hops, and #4 KURASHIKI HAZY IPA is fruity with a firm bitterness.

And that #4 won gold in the Japanese beer category at the Feminalise World Wine Competition 2024, and even took the top honor, TOP OF THE BEST. #2 also won silver, marking a first-of-its-kind achievement for Okayama Prefecture.

#48 HAYASHIMA IGUSA PILSNER is also worth noting. It’s a pilsner made with local Hayashima Town igusa tea. The brewery itself is inside "Hue HAYASHIMA," a mixed-use facility renovated from an igusa woven-mat processing factory near Hayashima Station, so the history of the town of igusa is directly connected to the beer.