Novoru Brewing

Do you know Novoru Brewing in the Aoi district of Miyazaki City? The founder, Ryo Osada, has an incredibly interesting background.

He's from Miyazaki, and while in university he studied abroad in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was shocked to see craft beer culture take root in a coastal city of about 100,000 people. In particular, he fell instantly for the aroma and bitterness of Hoyne Brewing Co.'s local beer, "Devil's Dream IPA."

After coming back to Japan, he decided, "I'm going to build a brewery in Miyazaki," and dropped out of the Faculty of Education. From there, he trained for about five years at three breweries in Kanagawa and Tottori, with more than 700 brew days and about 1 million liters of beer.

Then he returned home and renovated a 46-year-old former office building just five minutes on foot from his parents' house into a brewery. The company name is a coined word combining "novo" (innovative) and the idea of the sun rising, and the logo is based on the sea, the sun, and hops. The flagship beer, "Novoru," is a session IPA with 4.5% alcohol and IBU 30. With its citrusy aroma and crisp bitterness, it's designed to be easy for beginners to drink.

They have three series. In addition to the flagship, the "Bouquet Series" includes IPAs and pale ales that pursue hop aroma, while the "Artwork Series" is an experimental free-form lineup. They keep releasing new beers, like the DDH Hazy IPA called "Haziku," the Belgian blonde "Musubu," and the collaboration beer "Noviru II," which puts New Zealand hops front and center.

Their directly operated taproom, "Yado," is in Miyazaki City, and its concept is "a place that feels like an inn: out of the ordinary, but relaxing." It has counter seats and sofa seats, and they also serve pizza baked in a pizza oven using dough fermented with beer yeast. The limited beer "Yadoru" can only be drunk there.