Honey Forest Brewing

Address: Kagoshima, 3788 Nejimekawanami, Kimotsuki District, Minamiosumi Town
Area: Kagoshima Minamiosumi Town

What kind of brewery is Honey Forest Brewing?

Hop Bro

Wouldn't you get excited hearing there's a craft beer brewery at the southernmost tip of mainland Japan? I'm talking about Honey Forest Brewing in Minamiosumi Town, Kagoshima.

Mugi

The southernmost tip of mainland Japan! That alone makes it one of a kind. Who's brewing there?

Hop Bro

The brewer is Yuka Aiba, who originally worked as a registered dietitian. She started with no brewing experience, learned brewing from scratch at Hideji Beer in Miyazaki, and launched this workshop in 2021.

Mugi

A brewer who switched from registered dietitian to brewer? And started from zero? That's amazing drive!

Hop Bro

And that's not all. They keep a Japanese honeybee hive in the workshop's garden and harvest their own multifloral honey. Their signature beer, Sun Sun ALE, combines that home-harvested honey with citrus from Minamiosumi.

Mugi

They actually collect the honey themselves and put it into beer? That's way too cool!

Hop Bro

They offer variations with seasonal Minamiosumi fruits like tankan, Hetsuka daidai, komikan, and pineapple. The defining feature of this beer is how the bright fruit freshness overlaps with the deep sweetness of multifloral honey.

Mugi

Even choosing which fruit to use sounds fun! And there was a collaboration with JAL, right?

Hop Bro

Yes, a collaboration beer called Honesty, with three versions featuring Hetsuka daidai, Daishoki, and tankan. Just thinking about a small workshop in Minamiosumi sending its beer all the way up into the sky is incredible.

Mugi

Your son helps run it too, right? It feels so wonderful, with the family and the local community building it together.

Hop Bro

Yes, together with my son, Masatoshi Aiba. And nearby there is the emerald-green Ogawa Falls, while the local tourism association is also helping to promote it. It's truly a community brewery.