Batsuji Brewing

Batsuji Brewing is the only craft beer brewery in central Sendai. The name "Batsuji" comes from the intersection of "Basho-no-Tsuji," which was the heart of Sendai castle town.

There’s a mixed-use complex called CROSS B PLUS on the site where Omachi Street and the Oshu Kaido once crossed as the center of culture and commerce in the Edo period, and a roughly 50-square-meter brewery is located on the first floor. It’s a small setup with a 300-liter brewhouse and six fermentation tanks.

Exactly. The brewer, Takahiro Hatakeyama, is pushing things in all kinds of directions with hazy IPAs as the core. The key point is that all their beers use IBUKI hops from Tono, Iwate Prefecture. These are Tohoku-grown hops supervised by Kirin Brewery.

The Session Hazy IPA is easy to drink at 4% ABV and a great entry point. If you want something stronger, the Double Dry-Hopped Hazy IPA is 8% and packed with hop bitterness and sweetness. And the interesting one is the Zunda Hazy IPA.

They add a paste made from "Yugari Musume," a variety of edamame grown in Miyagi Prefecture. At 6% ABV, it’s a beer that embodies the fusion of Tohoku ingredients and craft beer. They also make things like Milkshake Hazy Pale Ale and Weizen, so the lineup is pretty adventurous.

It’s in Omachi, Aoba Ward, so it’s within walking distance from Sendai Station. Since it’s also part of a town-building project, it’s easy to drop by during sightseeing in Sendai. They keep releasing experimental beers that use ingredients from Tohoku and Niigata as adjuncts, so there’s something new to discover every time you go.