Vatten Brewing

Vatten Brewing is a brewery in Oguni Town, Aso, Kumamoto, and the interesting part is that its operating company is Tashiro Komuten, a construction company.

Representative Yukiyuki Tashiro began the concept in 2020, and after building up brewing skills and knowledge all over Japan, they opened in 2023. It is run by two people, with brewing manager Koji Matsuzaki. What's more, the brewery is housed in a renovated former woodworking shop surrounded by mixed woodland.

Exactly. And Oguni Town is the hometown of Shibasaburo Kitasato, and the brewery is very close to the Kitasato Shibasaburo Memorial Museum. In reference to that, they make a beer called "Kitasato Shibasaburo Dunkelweizen." It has a strong malt aroma and a fruity, light finish.

There's MAYFLOWER, an American pale ale with a bright citrus aroma, and HOP CHOPPER, a West Coast IPA made in collaboration with Riip Beer Co. in the United States. It's impressive that they're connecting from Oguni Town to breweries overseas.

They also make beers using local Oguni ingredients like green shiso, plum, and peach, plus a sour ale called Ice Cream Sour that's packed with raspberry, passion fruit, mango, vanilla, and hibiscus. The sense of playfulness is off the charts.

On top of that, the taproom has a private sauna limited to one group per day. You can enjoy the sauna while looking out at the greenery of the surrounding woodland, then unwind with freshly brewed craft beer right after.