Amami Beer Brewery

There’s a brewery on Amami Oshima that was born about 70 years after the last one in the Amami archipelago. AMAMI BREWERY, or Amami Beer Brewery.

A company called Tomoe Beer brewed Tomoe Beer in 1952, but it was gone by the following year. Since then, there had been no brewery in the Amami Islands.

The representative, Taizo Hira. He’s from Isen Town on Tokunoshima and used to run the local cuisine restaurant Kame on Yuiyagawa Street, Amami Oshima’s downtown area. When people disappeared from the street during the COVID-19 pandemic, he came up with the idea of a one-of-a-kind beer you can only drink in Amami, made with ingredients from Amami, and learned by touring breweries across Japan.

These beers really showcase Amami island ingredients. "Island Banana Weizen" is a Weizen made with small, refreshingly tart island bananas grown in Amami. "Chomeiso Pale Ale" is a pale ale made with plenty of chomeiso, a herb said to help you live one day longer for every plant you eat.

And then there’s "Pure Brown Sugar Bullfighting Brown Ale," a brown ale made with Amami brown sugar. For those who want something bolder, there’s also "Habu Double IPA." The name really packs a punch, doesn’t it?

They even use the beer lees as feed for free-range chickens, and use those eggs in the menu at their attached restaurant, AMAMI BEER HALL. In a space where the brewery, restaurant, and bottle shop are all together, you can enjoy the blessings of Amami all in one place.