Yesterday after I finished up my classes at lunchtime, I headed out to the train station, met up with my mystery guest, and headed out to Osaka. From Osaka it was an easy transfer from JR to Hankyu, and then we took the train towards Minoh city. Just before reaching Minoh we got off at Makiochi station (牧è½é§…) and then walked across town about 10-15 minutes to find Minoh brewery. It was located across from a small park, in what appeared to be a regular neighborhood.
Luckily I had written an email beforehand, and one of the three daughters that runs the place gave us a quick tour of the place. It was small and very suited to craft beers. We were able to taste some partially fermented double IPA, as well as some just finished peach infused wheat beer (not sweet, but a slight peach taste made it interesting). At the bar in front of the place you could buy beers buy the bottle, or from the tap, and so me and my guest sat around for an hour or so talking beer and enjoying the various kinds that they had.
We bought some beers to take back with us, and said farewell to the staff. They were exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable, making it a very pleasant visit. I know how I felt when working at the winery and visitors suddenly came walking through the workplace, so I appreciated that they took the time to show us the brewery.
Luckily I have a source for Minoh beers in Akashi city, so I can stop in there anytime on the way home from work. The price point is a little higher than Yona Yona ale, but the quality is certainly there, and it is one of the very few local beers from Japan. Hopefully this trend of more craft beers will continue in the future.
