Kumazawa Brewing is a small, but well known, sake producer in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, about 45 minutes south of Tokyo. Kumazawa Brewing first started making sake in 1872 although Kanagawa was a strange choice, the local Tanzawa mountain range is famous for fresh spring water. However, you probably know Kumazawa Brewing for their range of craft beer under the guise of Shonan Beer. Shonan Beer, first produced in 1996, was introduced just after the deregulation of the craft beer licensing laws and has flourished since.
Shonan Beer Main Lineup (Bottled)
- Shonan Beer Pilsner – A long term aged pilsner brewed using a Czech recipe.
- Shonan Beer Schwarz – An award-winning schwarzbier that took gold medal in 2008 at the International Beer Competition
- Shonan Beer Alt – An alt, or old/aged, beer.
Shonan Beer Seasonal Lineup (Bottled)
- Shonan Beer 27 Coffee Ale – a 5% spiced beer that uses freshly roasted coffee beans from 27 Coffee Roasters infused into an amber ale base.
- Shonan Beer Barley Wine – Shonan Beer doubled the amount of malt in the beer to make this barley wine.
- Shonan Beer Barrel Aged Belgian Stout – 10.5% Belgian stout aged in Ichiro’s Malt bourbon casks.
- Shonan Beer Barrel Aged Barley Wine (2017) – A 12% barrel aged barley wine aged in Ichiro’s malt casks.
- Shonan Beer Belgian Stout – A Belgian style stout that is one of the most highly recommended stouts in Japan.
- Shonan Beer Chocolate Porter – A porter that has been heavily infused with chocolate malt.
- Shonan Beer Enoshima Ale – A fruity seasonal beer brewed to be consumed on the beaches in the local area.
- Shonan Beer Golden Ale – Top fermented with hops to produce a hoppy golden ale.
- Shonan Beer Imperial Stout – Shonan Beer’s take on the Russian imperial stouts from the 18th century.
- Shonan Beer India Pale Ale – An IPA that is brewed using ideas from the 18th century.
- Shonan Beer Oiso Kotatsu Mikan Belgian White – An ale brewed using locally sourced mikans, or oranges, from the Shonan area.
- Shonan Beer Sansho IPA – a 6% spiced beer brewed, as the name suggests, using sansho, better known as Japanese pepper, or Korean pepper.
- Shonan Beer Weizen – A wheat beer that is brewed top fermented style.
- Shonan Beer Weizenbock – Brewed using a variety of malts to make an 8% weizenbock.
Shonan Beer Draft Lineup
There is also an extensive range of beers on draft at Kumazawa Brewing’s restaurants and bars that aren’t available in bottled form.
- Shonan Beer Black IPA – a black version of the Shonan Beer India Pale Ale
- Shonan Beer IPA Equinox by Kumazawa Shuzo – A 6% American IPA first released in 2017 and uses the hops more commonly known as Ekuanot hops.
- Shonan Beer IPA HBC 342 – a 7% IPA that uses the HBC 342 experimental strain of hops.
- Shonan Beer IPA Southern Cross – take the IPA base and use Southern Cross hops to impart bitterness and flavour.
- Shonan Beer Lemongrass Hopper – Take the Shonan Beer Golden Ale and add lemongrass to make this spiced beer.
- Shonan Beer Saison – A 5% saison first released in 2015.
- Shonan Beer Sakura Gose – a 4.5% gose that was part of their collaborative effort with Burnside Brewing Company, based in Oregon, USA, who hosted Takashi Tsutsui, who went over towards the middle of 2016 to brew this beer.
- Shonan Beer Session IPA French Saison – take an American IPA and use French saison yeast to get this beer.
Kumazawa Brewing Details
Address: 〒253-0082 Kanagawa-ken, Chigasaki-shi, Kagawa 7-10-7
Phone: 0467-52-6118
Homepage (in Japanese): Kumazawa Brewing
Brewery Store: https://kuma.shop-pro.jp/?mode=cate&cbid=2463146&csid=0
Social Media: Twitter
Kumazawa Brewing Restaurants and Bars
Kumazawa Brewing also have a range of bars and restaurants that exclusively sell their beer, and from time-to-time, have drink-as-much-as-you want options going.
- Mokichi Craft Beer Bar in Fujisawa, Kanagawa
- Mokichi Trattoria in Kagawa, Kanagawa
- Mokichi Foods Garden in Chigasaki, Kanagawa
Kumazawa Brewing Articles
Articles about Kumazawa Brewing and bars can be found here:
- Interview with Kumazawa Brewing
