Kyufuku Brewing

Do you know Honjima, the island floating in the Seto Inland Sea? It's a small island near the Seto Ohashi Bridge, and there's a brewery there run by just a husband and wife: "Kyufuku Brewing Honjima".

The owner, Kohei Kubota, originally worked at a travel agency on regional revitalization projects. But he said he couldn't picture himself doing that job until retirement. He and his wife, Maomi, discussed what they could do together, and while visiting craft breweries in neighboring prefectures, they ended up finding their way to craft beer.

The brewery is housed in a renovated former grocery store on the island. Honjima is known as a place that produced the legendary shipwrights called "Shiwaku daiku," so craftsmanship runs deep there. Brewing beer on that island is especially fitting.

What's amazing here is that they don't carry any standard products at all. Every batch is about 300 liters and all of them are numbered. If a batch doesn't meet their standards, they even leave the number out entirely. They finish the beer with bottle conditioning for a gentle mouthfeel and light carbonation.

"Honjima Summer Common" won gold at the International Beer Cup 2023, and "MomokaHoney Saison" won silver. Their ingredients are also distinctly Setouchi, with island herbs, Shimizu white peaches, muscats, and Setouchi sea salt used seasonally. Names like "Aoyuzu Gose" and "Joka Muscat Zipangu" alone are enough to get you excited, right?