Kamiyama Beer Brewery

In the mountains of Tokushima, there's a brewery in Kamiyama Town opened by an Irishman and a Japanese artist couple. It's called KAMIYAMA BEER.

The husband, Manus Sweeney, was originally a filmmaker who made documentaries for the UN and others. His wife, Sayaka Abe, is an artist who graduated from Tama Art University. They had both been living in Amsterdam, but in 2013 they joined an artist-in-residence program in Kamiyama Town and fell in love with the town's generous spirit, the kind that says, "Why not just give it a try?"

Manus grew up with Ireland's dark beer culture, and he'd been homebrewing since his Amsterdam days. Then in 2018, he launched the brewery in Kamiyama. It all came from a simple desire: "I want to drink delicious beer made with Kamiyama ingredients."

Their flagship, "Shiwashiwa Ale," is a wheat beer made with Kamiyama's native wheat. "Woodlander" is an extra stout made with old plum trees that were cut down when the brewery was built. "Yamayama Kurukuru" is a beer made with fully ripened plums and red shiso. Their use of local ingredients is incredibly inventive.

Even more impressive is "KAMIYAMA GRUIT." Instead of hops, it uses wild mugwort, ground ivy, and cherry leaves gathered in Kamiyama, taking on the medieval European "gruit" method. It has a bright acidity and a crisp finish, with a refreshing cherry-leaf aftertaste.

It's a two-story wooden building, and the walls feature a huge artwork more than 6 meters long painted by Sayaka. The building's concept was created by a Dutch artist, and local carpenters actually built it. It's a place where art, beer, and the community come together as one, truly unique to this town.