Ise Kadoya Brewery, a back-to-back winner of international beer competitions, has fans all over the world. If you like craft beer, it’s likely you’ve at least heard of their name.
Ise Kadoya Brewery runs an old-school restaurant situated near the inner shrine of Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, Mie. Here you can enjoy original dishes featuring oysters sourced from Toba and domestic eel along with the brewery’s esteemed beer that has won gold medals two competitions in a row at the International Brewing Awards, which have been dubbed the Oscars of the brewing industry. The restaurant sits on a corner of Oharaimachi, the approach to Ise Jingu’s inner shrine that recreates its former Edo period (1603 to 1868) townscape. The restaurant is a remarkable place where you can savor the finest beer amid the rich ambience of a traditional Japanese-style building.
For this article, we talked with Tanimizu Kazuki, an experienced brewer, about what makes Ise Kadoya Brewery appealing and the company’s projects.
Stop in to experience a singular time on a corner of Oharaimachi on the way to Ise Jingu
The restaurant is immediately recognizable for its sign, with the shop and brand name in large gold characters, affixed to a wooden restaurant that evokes memories of an earlier time. Directly under the sign is a take-out counter, behind which is a row of beer taps. Nearby, you will catch sight of people walking about with smiles on their faces as they enjoy the shop’s famous deep-fried oyster skewers and beer purchased at the counter.
“Oharaimachi, with its recreation of the old Ise townscape, is a place for out-of-the-ordinary experiences. We’ve worked on our own restaurant so that customers can enjoy a uncommon break from their everyday routines.”
The building was specifically designed and constructed for the restaurant from the ground up, using traditional wooden frame construction that eschews nails. When the then-president of Akafuku, who spearheaded the reconstruction of the Oharaimachi area and launched the Okage Yokocho district project, approached Ise Kadoya Brewery about opening a restaurant in the area, the brewery had the building constructed to fit in with the traditional Ise townscape.
Inside the restaurant is a raised tatami-seating area with an irori hearth built into the floor as well as table-seating area on an earthen floor. Both areas face out on the Isuzu River that flows behind the building. Customers can spend a relaxing time at the restaurant while taking in the rich natural surroundings.
The terrace-seating area is also popular. Even high-schoolers, who don’t come for the beer, drop in on the way home from school for lively chats and to fill up on deep-fried oyster skewers. It truly is a restaurant loved by locals of all ages.
Ise Kadoya Brewery’s Tanimizu Kazuki
State-of-the-art equipment and veteran brewers ensure consistently high-quality beer
Let’s dive deeper into Ise Kadoya Brewery’s beer-making history.
Ise Kadoya Brewery started out as a mochi rice cake shop, founded in 1575, that had been a tea house serving pilgrims on their way to Ise Jingu. In 1923, the shop was incorporated as Nikenjaya Mochi Kadoya Honten Co., Ltd. and began brewing miso and soy sauce. In 1997, the 21st president, Suzuki Narihiro, established a new business, Ise Kadoya Brewery, as a craft beer producer and seller. The brewery has grown to become the largest craft beer maker in the Tokai region and a major player in the industry.
With the motto of “From Ise to the world” and the ambition to wow beer enthusiasts everywhere, the brewery earned its first gold medal in 2000 at the Japan Beer Cup. It has gone on to receive numerous accolades, including being the first Japanese brewery to win a gold medal at the Australian International Beer Awards and multiple awards at the International Brewing Awards, known as the beer industry’s Oscars.
Behind the taste of Ise Kadoya Brewery is cutting-edge equipment that enables the company to perform everything from analysis to testing and yeast cultivation in-house, and brewers with a wealth of experience and expertise. The brewery maintains its superb quality first by insisting on water with its hardness tailored specifically to make clear-tasting beer. From there, it relies on scientific analytics that incorporate the experience and sensibilities of its brewers in concert with rigorous taste checks done by experienced brewers.
A wide range of offerings to suit all tastes
Ise Kadoya Brewery is unusual as a brewery in that it continually takes on new challenges, such as being receptive to collaborating with companies and organizations from other industries to co-create a distinctive Japanese beer culture. This is one of the reasons why it has attracted the enthusiastic attention of fervent beer lovers at home and abroad. Tanimizu and the other brewers say they have learned a lot by interacting with devotees with in-depth knowledge and discerning palates second to none.
“We are always bettering our knowledge and skills, even as we strive to explain our products in simple terms, in order to satisfy our customers,” says Tanimizu. He went on to tell us about Ise Kadoya Brewery’s top craft beers.
・Sinto Beer
This is the signature beer at the brewery’s restaurant in Oharaimachi. It is a recreation of a rare beer once brewed in Ise’s Kawasaki section in the Meiji period (1868 to 1912). Made with an ancient rice variety, Sinto is a refreshing pale ale with a subtle rice aroma and flavor and comes recommended for craft beer beginners.
・Ise Pilsner
A German-style pilsner, Ise Pilsner is distinguished by a sophisticated bitterness and a genuine pilsner taste that makes you immediately think “This is what a real lager tastes like”. Its clear taste is the result of a labor-intensive maturation process at low temperatures between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius. It’s a beer you want to savor slowly, taking in its ever-so-slight citrus aroma.
・Pale Ale
This flagship beer is now symbolic of Ise Kadoya Brewery after winning gold at two consecutive International Brewing Awards competitions. This is a classic pale ale that always satisfies and never bores.
・IPA
This impressive IPA has a fruity aroma and a crisp bitterness. Its well-balanced taste is the result of the pursuit of a craft beer that anyone would say is delicious no matter when they drink it.
・Hazy IPA
This juicy or hazy India pale ale, featuring a golden hue with a white haze, has garnered attention since its definition in 2018 as a new beer category. Its appeal point is its refreshing, easy-to-drink nature that has a lingering juicy taste.
・Hime White
A Belgium-style white ale, Hime White has a soft mouthfeel and a gentle light-yellow coloring. This beer is popular with women because of its intriguing Japanese taste, courtesy of yuzu citrus fruit peels in place of the typical orange peels.
“If you can’t decide which beer to pick, or if you are new to craft beer, we recommend trying our beer flight, where you can sample four craft beers and find your favorite.
“For non-drinkers and for people driving, you can try pairing our Hop Sparkling, a hops-flavored sparkling water, with dishes featuring local Toba oysters: for instance, our three-piece assortment of grilled oysters — salted and grilled oysters with green onions, grilled oysters with lemon pepper, and grilled oysters with Kyoto-style miso — or a hot-pot meal of oysters in our home-brand miso broth.”
The reason so many people spend time at Ise Kadoya Brewery’s Oharaimachi restaurant with a smile is the attentive hospitality intrinsic to Ise, which is called the spiritual home of the Japanese people.
Tanimizu continues. “At Ise Kadoya Brewery, we are always taking on new challenges. One example is attempting to create a rare frozen beer with the extremely difficult eisbock method, followed by a long maturing period in oak barrels.
“Personally, I will be transferring back to the production side again shortly, where I hope to help further expand the world of craft beer. And in the near future, as a brewer, I’d like to produce a new beer that wins gold at an international competition.”
