Kokumachi Beer

Sendai's Kokumachi Beer, this might be the microbrewery I support the most in Miyagi.

Right, Ishinasaka in Wakabayashi Ward. Brewer Takahiro Konno originally worked as an engineer in Tokyo, but while studying in the UK, he was deeply moved by British beer culture. He learned that medieval European villages each had beers unique to their own land, and he apparently wanted to bring that idea to Sendai too.

What's more, the brewery is located on land that used to be Konno's grandparents' home. The house was completely destroyed in the earthquake, and when they rebuilt it, they made the first floor a garage, which somehow turned into a beer brewery.

And before he started brewing, he spent four years learning sake brewing at Morimichi Sake Brewery, a long-established brewery in nearby Aramachi Shopping Street. So his foundation in fermentation knowledge is very deep. He also uses a unique method called the Ishiwaki-style brewing process, where fermentation happens in plastic bags.

It's the kind of ingenuity that only a small brewery can pull off. And the ingredients are incredible too. 'No Beer,' made with 100% 'Hope Barley' from Higashimatsushima, and 'Kokumachi Ale Green Label,' brewed with wild yeast found in a pear orchard in Rifu. Kokumachi Ale 10 is a barley wine style that won gold at the International Beer Cup 2021. Kokumachi Ale 12 is a Belgian tripel that won gold at the Japan Great Beer Awards 2020.

It also won bronze at the Brussels Beer Challenge 2024, so it's been recognized at the heart of Belgian-style brewing too. You can drink it at the attached pub, Beer Ani, so if you come to Sendai, you absolutely have to stop by.