Farmentry Information

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Farmentry : At a Glance

• Opened : October 2024
• Japanese name : ファーメンタリー
• Location : Kashihara, Nara
• First beer : 2024
• Head brewer : Sho Nishizaki (西崎翔)
• Homepage : https://www.farmentry.net/

Farmentry : Background

Farmentry is one of the newer breweries to emerge from Nara, but its roots go back considerably further than its 2024 opening. Based in Kashihara, a city closely associated with the early history of Japan, the brewery is built around a simple idea: beer should have a much closer relationship with agriculture.

The person behind that idea is founder and head brewer Sho Nishizaki. Originally from Gojo in Nara, Nishizaki took a rather unusual route into brewing. After studying at a medical vocational school and later transferring to Niigata University, he worked as a radiological technologist at Nara Medical University in Kashihara. However, a growing fascination with craft beer eventually proved stronger than his medical career.

Nishizaki had become interested in beer after being introduced to English ale by a Scottish neighbour during his student years. What started as an interest developed into a determination to become a brewer, eventually leading him to Voyager Brewing in Tanabe, Wakayama. He spent around six years there learning the practical side of brewing before returning to Nara with plans to establish his own brewery.

Farmentry was established in October 2023, with brewing beginning in August 2024. The name is a deliberate mash-up of “FARM” and “ENTRY”, with “ferment” also lurking inside it. The idea is to create an entry point between agriculture and fermentation, bringing more locally grown ingredients and farming into the world of beer.

That philosophy goes beyond putting a few local fruits into the occasional seasonal beer. Farmentry grows its own hops and has been working towards using more locally sourced ingredients, including grains, fruit and other agricultural products from Nara. Nishizaki’s longer-term ambition is to connect all four basic brewing ingredients, malt, hops, water and yeast, more closely with the local area.

The brewery has also taken an unusually hands-on approach to its equipment. Rather than simply buying an off-the-shelf brewing system, Nishizaki designed the equipment himself, including the layout and working processes, before arranging its construction and installation. The brewery’s main tanks are around 1,000 litres, giving Farmentry considerably more capacity than many Japanese microbreweries.

One of its more intriguing projects is the use of wild yeast, with a dedicated fermentation room for experimenting with microorganisms from the local environment. That fits neatly with the brewery’s broader interest in terroir and making beers that could not simply be reproduced anywhere else.

Farmentry also made an early impression on the Japanese beer scene, with its Special House Lager taking first place in the Pale Lager category at the 2025 Japan Brewers Cup. Not a bad way for a new brewery to introduce itself. For Farmentry; however, the ambition seems to go beyond winning medals. The goal is to build a brewery rooted in Kashihara, where farming, fermentation and beer become part of the same story. In a country increasingly full of small breweries, that local connection gives Farmentry a particularly interesting direction.

Farmentry : Beer Reviews

The following are some of the beers we’ve had:

• Farmentry Kannazuki IPA – a 6% American IPA that in this version uses Amarillo, Citra, Cryo Citra, and Simcoe.
• Farmentry Mutsuki IPA – a 6% hazy IPA which has Cascade, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe used in this version.
• Farmentry Mexem Obverse – a 5% American wheat beer that uses US Cascade hops.
• Farmentry Mexem Reverse – a 5% Belgian wit that uses coriander and orange peel alongside Spelt hops.
• Farmentry Minoru – a 7.5% American IPA made with Brewer’s Gold (Leaf), Citra (Cryo), Citra (DynaBoost), Mosaic (CO2 Hop Extract) on the hot side, and Citra (Cryo), Krush, Krush (HyperBoost) on the cold side.
• Farmentry Muxum Obverse – a 5% Irish red ale brewed with East Kent Golding hops.
• Farmentry Muxum Reverse – a 5% European amber ale brewed with German Strisselspalt and French Aramis hops.
• Farmentry Nagatsuki IPA – a 6.5% New England IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Vista hops.
• Farmentry Shimotsuki IPA – an 8% double IPA that in this version uses Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Cryo Citra, and Cryo Simcoe.
• Farmentry Sonar – a 6% hazy IPA brewed using Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops which was brewed in collaboration for the Sabae Jazz Festival 2025.

Farmentry : Articles

The following are some of the articles we’ve done:

• Farmentry Taproom (Kashihara / Nara) – a write up of our visit to the taproom attached to the brewery.

Farmentry : Details

• Address : 197-5 Goicho, Kashihara, Nara 634-0832
• Phone : –
• Homepage : https://www.farmentry.net/
• Online store : https://farmentry.square.site/
• Social Media : Facebook / Instagram

Farmentry : Location

Background

In recent years, breweries have been established all over Nara Prefecture and have become popular, and in October 2024, Kashihara City’s first brewery, “FARMENTRY,” opened; however, the brewery has been in operation since August of the same year.

The name “FARMENTRY” is a combination of FARM + Entry and “fermenter,” which is a place of fermentation. Malt and hops are used in beer brewing, so it has a close relationship with agriculture. In fact, the company has been growing hops in a field in Uda City for eight years now. The head brewer Nishizaki-san, who gained experience at Voyager Brewing in Wakayama, is a local in the area and wanted to help bring new people to the local town.