Bay Brewing Yokohama’s owner and brewer, Suzuki Shinya, was the head brewer at Yokohama Beer, also located in Yokohama City, before retiring in 2010 to go independent. The brewery was established by Shinya Suzuki, who opened a small brewpub near Kannai Station on 10th August 2011. At first, the business operated solely as a beer pub because it did not yet have brewing equipment. While serving imported and guest beers, Suzuki worked through Japan’s lengthy licensing process and gradually installed brewing equipment. In January 2012, Yokohama Bay Brewing received its brewing licence and produced its first original beers.
Early beers included Bay Weizen, Iwasaki IPA, Dirty Bitter, and Black Mild, but Suzuki’s real ambition was to brew a world-class pilsner. The brewery’s original premises were too small to produce the style to the desired standard, so from 2014 Yokohama Bay Brewing collaborated with several contract breweries around Japan to perfect what became its flagship Bay Pilsner. Inspired by Czech brewing traditions but incorporating modern American techniques, the beer uses premium Saaz hops and has become one of the brewery’s signature products.
In 2015, the name changed from Bay Brewing Yokohama to Yokohama Bay Brewing to make it more clear that the aim was to make Yokohama the craft beer capital of Japan. Demand quickly outgrew the original brewpub, leading to the opening of a larger production brewery in Totsuka in November 2016. The new facility allowed the company to increase production, expand distribution throughout Japan, and experiment with a wider range of lagers, IPAs, stouts, and seasonal beers. Continued investment in modern brewing technology has further improved consistency and quality while maintaining traditional brewing methods.
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Yokohama Bay Brewing : Beer Reviews
The following are some of the beers we’ve had from Yokohama Bay Brewing :
- Bay Brewing Bay Weiss – a 5% German hefeweizen that was originally sold on tap form but can be found in bottles too.
- Bay Brewing Baystars Ale – 4.5% English pale ale only available during the baseball season and can only be found on tap at the Baystars Stadium.
- Bay Brewing Iwasaki IPA – a 6.8% American IPA triple-hopped with Falconer’s Flight, Motueka, and Chinook hops.
- Bay Brewing Pilsner – a 5% Czech style pilsner brewed using imported Czech hops and a triple decoction method.
- Bay Brewing Shukkou IPA – a 6.8% American IPA brewed using imported Cascade, Cristal, Mosaic, and Nelson Sauvin hops.
- Bay Brewing Weekend Journey – a 5% witbier inspired by the ability to spend a weekend in Yokohama and Kamakura.
- Bay Brewing White IPA – a 6.5% American IPA brewed with Cascade and Simcoe hops.
- Bay Brewing White Cat IPA – a 7.5% American IPA brewed with imported American hops though which ones are unknown at the time of writing.
Yokohama Bay Brewing : Limited & Seasonal Beers
- Bay Brewing Pedaling For IPA – a 7% New Zealand IPA that uses El Dorado, Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, and Superdelic hops.
- Bay Brewing Sara – A 6.5% DDH Hazy IPA that uses Citra, Krush, and Riwaka hops.
Yokohama Bay Brewing : Articles
The following are some of the artcles we’ve done on Yokohama Bay Brewing:
- Bay Brewing Brewery : Taproom Event
- Bay Brewing Totsuka in Totsuka, Kanagawa – the second taproom that opened down the road from the main brewing facility in Totsuka.
- Bay Brewing Kannai in Kannai, Yokohama – the original taprom that was the first to open in the city of Yokohama.
- Bay Brewing The Front (Yokohama / Kanagawa) – the third taproom that is located near the main station of Yokohama.
- Bay Brewing Yokohama Interview
Yokohama Bay Brewing : Details
- Address : 2006 Kamiyabecho, Totsuka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 245-0053
- Phone : 045-443-9972
- Homepage : http://www.yokohamabaybrewing.jp/
- Online store : https://baypilsner.thebase.in/
- Social Media : Facebook / Instagram
