Yame Brewery

Yame Brewery is a brewery inside a mixed-use complex called Bengara Mura in Yame City, Fukuoka, and the location itself is already impressive. The brewery is attached to a facility with a hot spring, sauna, restaurant, and cafe.

Originally, beer was brewed at this place starting in 1998 under the name "Yame Beer The Beer Yabegawa." In 2016, it relaunched under a new structure as "Yame Brewery." The brewer in charge is Fumika Sano, a female brewer.

Its biggest hallmark is beer made with Yame tea. It blends Yame tea into a pilsner, creating a taste that combines the tea's crisp, refreshing character with the beer's depth. "Fukamushi IPA" is an IPA made with Yame's deep-steamed tea, and it's interesting because citrusy aromas and the tea's depth coexist in the same glass.

It also has solid award credentials: its dry stout "Yuttari Black" won gold at the Japan Great Beer Awards 2022 and bronze at the International Beer Cup 2022. It's a brewery that can compete with black beer, not just tea-based styles.

Its fruit beers are impressive too. It has seasonal releases like "Grape IPA" made with grapes from Fukuoka Prefecture, "Plum Ale" made with local plums, and "Blueberry Ale" made with blueberries from Hoshinomura. The brewing water comes from the underground flow of the Yabe River, so the beers are packed with Yame's local character.

They also offer brewing experiences for only four groups per month. You can create your own recipe and take part from crushing the malt onward while receiving explanations from the brewer. About two months later, your own original beer arrives bottled and ready to drink.