O/A NAGASAKI CRAFT BEER

O/A NAGASAKI CRAFT BEER is Nagasaki City's only microbrewery. And the brewer in charge is a female brewer named Kyoko Miura.

Kyoko apparently became interested in craft beer after drinking beers from Baird Brewing in Shizuoka. From there, she studied under the legendary Tatsuo Aoki at the famous Tokyo Ryogoku bar Beer Club Popeye, where she was thoroughly trained in everything from keg management to serving.

Exactly. Then in 2018 they first opened the beer pub AWAKE in Mezamemachi, Nagasaki City, and in 2022 they finally began brewing on their own. They unveiled six original beers on opening day, so they must have prepared quite thoroughly.

"O" stands for Our, and "A" stands for AWA, meaning foam. In other words, it means "our foam." The name also plays on the shop name AWAKE and the "awaken" sound in Mezamemachi, so the whole thing forms one unified world. It's the second brewery in Nagasaki Prefecture after Island Brewery on Iki Island, and the first within Nagasaki City.

Their regular lineup includes AWAKE, an American Pale Ale; SLASH, a Double IPA with 7% alcohol; and AJISAI, a New England IPA. The highlight is the SHUN series, a local-production-for-local-consumption beer made with seasonal ingredients from Nagasaki Prefecture. That includes a White Ale made with amanatsu citrus and ReUNION made with Saikai's Amakubo mandarin oranges.

What's more, the first floor is a beer pub and the second floor is the guesthouse MEZAME HOSTEL, so it's a brewery where you can drink, eat, and sleep. Their MEZAME coffee porter is a collaboration with the local R and R Coffee Labo, and it's perfect for a Nagasaki night. They also vary the hops, using Cascade, Citra, and Mosaic, and have already brewed more than 50 kinds.