Fujii Brewery

Have you heard of Fujii Brewing? It's a long-established shochu distillery founded in 1929 in Bungo-ono City, Oita Prefecture, and they also make craft beer.

That's a good point. But there's actually a connection: Fujii Brewing makes fully handmade barley shochu. Both barley shochu and beer have "barley" as the keyword. President Junichiro Fujii thought that if they could make barley shochu, they might be able to make beer too.

Mr. Fujii and the brewers trained at a brewpub in Fukuoka to learn the techniques. The driving force was apparently a desire to energize the local community during the COVID-19 pandemic. By the way, this brewery has kept making fully handmade barley shochu, and even within Oita Prefecture there are only two or three places that can do that.

The brand name is "IDA," and it comes from the old name of Chitose Town, "Ida Village." It's a sign of local pride, wanting to preserve the name of this place in the beer.

"IDA Pale Ale" has a deep golden color, a refreshing citrus aroma, and a rich finish. The bitterness is restrained, and it's recommended to sip it slowly from a pint glass at a slightly warm temperature. There are also IPA and Lager versions, making three varieties in total.

The brewery is glass-fronted, so you can watch the beer being made from the beer hall right in front of you. Drinking freshly brewed beer while feeling the history of a shochu distillery is an experience that is uniquely Fujii Brewing.