HOJO Brewing & Stays

HOJO Brewing & Stays bills itself as "the brewery closest to the sea in Japan."

It's the blue building right in front of the Monchhichi Coast in the former Hojo area of Matsuyama. From the windows of the taproom on the first floor, the Seto Inland Sea spreads out before you, and you can drink beer with the sound of the waves as your background music.

What's more, the second floor is a whole-house guesthouse that can accommodate up to 10 people. Because it's staffless, you and your friends can have the sea and the beer all to yourselves.

As for the beer, the flagship saison is 5.5% ABV, with bright citrus and spicy aromas from the saison yeast. The American IPA is 6.5% ABV and solidly hop-forward. The ingredients are British and German malt, American hops, and brewing water from Matsuyama.

The "New Zealand Saison" is interesting. It's a single-hop beer using Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand, and it gives off white-wine-like notes, almost like Sauvignon Blanc. The dryness of the saison and the brilliance of NZ hops overlap beautifully.

They also make playful recipes like sake-lees cardamom saison and lemon cream pie IPA, so it's a brewery with a nice balance of stable core beers and experimentation. A pint in front of the sea must be exceptional.