T.S.Brewery

You know, Tada Shogo, the brewer at Awa Mugishu, used to be a sushi chef.

Apparently he discovered craft beer while he was in Australia and was blown away by it. After returning to Japan, he learned brewing from scratch at Kibidoteshita Beer Brewery in Okayama, and started his own brewing in Tokushima in 2014.

I think his sense for the freshness of ingredients carries over. Tada's beers are unpasteurized, unfiltered, and naturally carbonated, made so the yeast stays alive. He uses groundwater from the Yoshino River for the brewing water.

You can't leave out "Shinmachi River Sudachi Honey." It's a specialty beer fermented with Tokushima sudachi juice and honey, and it won a silver award at the International Beer Cup 2015.

The regulars like "Shinmachi River Pale Ale" and "Yattosa IPA" are great too. "Yattosa" is named after a chant used in Awa Odori. They use malt from Germany, the UK, and Canada, and hops from the US and New Zealand depending on the style.

There is a brewpub called T.S.Brewery in the basement of JR Tokushima Station, where you can drink beer poured directly from the tanks inside the shop. The main Awa Shinmachi River Brewery is located along the Shinmachi River, and it's a style where you can enjoy beer with yakitori.