Marugame Miroku Brewery

Miroku Brewery in Marugame has a unique backstory. Its representative and brewer, Tomoaki Iwaki, originally worked at a shipyard in Marugame.

He grew up in Kurashiki in Okayama, and at 15 he moved alone to Kagawa to attend Takamatsu National College of Technology. After graduating, he joined a shipbuilding company in Marugame, but quit at 29, and through the Whisk(e)y bar in Marugame called Silence Bar, which he used to frequent constantly, he became deeply immersed in the world of alcohol.

At the bar where he trained, they had beers from all over the world, and that drew him deeper into brewing. He earned Beer Taster and Beer Judge certifications, and in 2017 he opened Marugame's first microbrewery.

Their flagship beer, "Ajikan," is an IPL style with rich aromas from German aroma hops, and it's a satisfying brew where the malt's depth is supported by a firm hop bitterness. "Hannya" is a red beer, and its spicy mouthfeel from rye malt is addictive.

"Lemon Letter" is a saison made with pesticide-free lemons from Kanonji in Kagawa Prefecture, and its freshness is on another level. And the ultimate standout is "Senpu," the world's first udon beer. It's a New England IPA made by adding the equivalent of 60 servings of udon from the local udon shop "Honkaku Teuchi Udon Mori" into the wort.

It has a tropical, smooth mouthfeel from the wheat-derived character of the udon, topped with citrusy hop aromas. Mr. Iwaki's underlying commitment is to the filtration process and "making the wort as pure and clear as possible," and that philosophy runs through every beer they make. Inside, it feels like a port-town pub in England, and you can see the brewing area through the large windows.