Shimonoseki Craft Beer

You know, there’s a brewery in Shimonoseki run by an owner from Panama. It’s Shimonoseki’s first craft beer brewery.

And the name of the place is great too. It’s written “COME ON INN,” but pronounced “Kanmon In” in Japanese. It’s a play on the Kanmon Strait’s “Kanmon.”

What’s amazing is that it has a two-base setup. There’s the beer pub “COME ON INN” in the city’s Choshu Yatai Village, and a farm brewery in the suburban Utsui area.

Exactly! At Utsui Brewery, they grow their own hops and Koshihikari rice in their fields, brew beer from those ingredients, and sell it on-site. It’s true “Farm to Glass.” The Rice Ale made with that Koshihikari has a gentle flavor that goes well with any meal, and that line is branded as “Bakan Craft.”

“Bakan” is an old name for Shimonoseki. They’ve put the land’s history into the brand name. They also make a red ale called Akama Red Ale, named after a local area, and a Hazy IPA with the bold name Pain in the Ass Hazy IPA.

Right? At the city pub, they also brew beers made with hops from the UK and Australia plus British malt, and it’s interesting how their international background comes through directly. A farmer-brewer who grows both rice and hops himself is pretty rare in Japan.