Japanese Craft Beer in NYC
Japan's beer market was effectively closed to small brewers until 1994, when the minimum annual output for a licence dropped from two million litres to sixty thousand. Everything people mean by Japanese craft beer started in the years after that. Alongside the big four, these are the smaller breweries we get in, and what makes each one worth the space on the list.
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- Jun 8, 2026Agara Craft: Lychee, Mikan and Sansho Ales From WakayamaThree fruit and pepper ales from Wakayama Brewery, each built on something the prefecture actually grows. Agara means 'ours' in the local dialect.
- May 4, 2026Baladin Xyauyù Fumé: A Beer for Peated Whisky DrinkersAn Italian beer with no carbonation, aged in peated whisky barrels. If you like Laphroaig, this is the closest thing to it that arrives in a beer glass.
- Apr 27, 2026Japas Matsurika: A Jasmine Pilsner From Brazil's First Women-Owned BreweryMatsurika means jasmine. It's brewed in Brazil by three Japanese-Brazilian women, and it's the one beer on our list that isn't from Japan or Italy.
- Apr 13, 2026Baladin Xyauyù Kioke: Italian Beer Aged in Soy Sauce BarrelsBaladin aged this in kioke, the cedar vats Japan has fermented soy sauce in for centuries. It pours flat, tastes like tawny port, and there is a reason for both.
- Mar 31, 2026Kiuchi No Shizuku: Hitachino White Ale, Distilled TwiceThe name means first drip from the still. Kiuchi distils their own White Ale, rests it in oak with coriander, hops and orange peel, then distils it again.
- Feb 27, 2026Coedo Beniaka, Shiro, Kyara and Marihana: Kawagoe's Sweet Potato BreweryCoedo started in 1996 by brewing beer from Kawagoe sweet potatoes. Four more from their range are on our list: an amber ale, a hefeweizen, an India Pale Lager and a session IPA.
- Feb 13, 2026Rydeen Beer: Craft Beer From the Hakkaisan Sake Brewery in NiigataHakkaisan has made sake at the foot of Mount Hakkai since 1922. Rydeen is their beer brand, built on the same famously soft snowmelt water.
- Jan 16, 2026Iwate Kura Oyster Stout: A Japanese Stout Brewed With Real Oyster ShellsA stout from Sekinoichi Shuzo in Iwate, brewed with oyster shells from Sanriku's Hirota Bay, reviving an old British style in northern Japan.
- Dec 26, 2025Kizakura Kyoto Beer: Uji Matcha IPA and Lucky Dog Session IPAA Fushimi sake brewery founded in 1925 that started making beer in 1995, including an Imperial IPA brewed with matcha from Uji.
- Dec 5, 2025Isekado: Craft Beer From a Mochi Shop Founded in 1575Ise Kadoya has been on the road to Ise Jingu since 1575: first as a tea house for pilgrims, then miso and soy sauce, and since 1997 award-winning beer.
- Oct 12, 2025Kagua Blanc and Rouge: Belgian-Style Beer Brewed With Yuzu and SanshoTwo Japanese ales built on Belgian yeast and Japanese aromatics: yuzu from Kochi and budo sansho from Wakayama. Strong, fragrant, and made for a wine glass.
- Sep 5, 2025Far Yeast Brewing: Hinoki Lager and Mori to Mori Rice AleTwo Japanese craft beers from a brewery in the mountains of Yamanashi: one brewed with Japanese cypress, one with sake rice and sake yeast.
- May 13, 2025Coedo Sayama Tea Saison: Why Saison Is the Right Beer for TeaGreen tea ruins most beer styles. It works in a saison because saison yeast is already peppery and dry, and tea brings tannin rather than sweetness.
- Mar 14, 2025Echigo Beer: Japan's First Craft Brewery, Brewing Since 1994Echigo Beer has been setting the standard for Japanese craft beer since 1994. We pour four of their brews at Juraku, from the Koshihikari Lager to the Weizen.
- Mar 9, 2025Hitachino Nest: Craft Beer From an 1823 Sake BreweryBrewed by Kiuchi Brewery, a sake house with roots dating to 1823, Hitachino Nest is one of Japan's most recognized craft beer names. We pour ten of their brews.