One of our most asked questions is why we decided to start a brewery in Kyoto. This only gets repeated when people learn that the 3 founders met at the far end of Honshu in Aomori. The truth is that it wasn’t quite a story of 3 guys and a business plan, thinking of the most lucrative place to launch.

In reality, one of the founders had already been living in Kyoto for quite a number of years, and another’s first visit to Japan as a student was to this city. The decision to start in this town is a lot more personal than it is business.

But what is it that attracted us?

Surrounded on three sides by mountains, Kyoto offers immediate access to picturesque natural landscapes beyond the city's bustle. Its long history and culture remain vibrant, drawing countless visitors from home and abroad throughout the ages, drawn to its charm.

And this culture extends to its aesthetic, with it having far more of the authentic look and feel of Japan’s rich architectural heritage to enjoy than pretty much anywhere in the country.

We, too, are among those captivated by this city.

Yet, our choice of Kyoto for brewing needed to have an element of pragmatism before deciding to launch a company here.

And this element lies in the spirit of pursuing true value.

Despite the stereotype that many hold of Kyoto being old or traditional in its taste, it is not only Japanese food enjoyed with sake or tea. Kyoto gathers inspiration from the finest of everything from all over the country and indeed the world, not just its more traditional food culture, but also its imported elements from Western cuisine to a fantastic coffee scene. Moreover, these are never ostentatious or grandiose; they are all born from the thorough pursuit of essential beauty and flavour. They eliminate waste, reject falsehood and deception, and are selected with discerning taste. This ethos can be thought to be encapsulated in the phrase often heard around town: ‘Ee mon wa ee’ (Good things are good), implying that there is little value in making something of limited true substance look expensive or high end.

While there was little craft beer in the city when we started, we believed that this culture, once it became more familiar with high quality beer, would soon gain an appreciation for it.

Inspired by this environment, we decided to build our brewery in Kyoto – a place where we could maintain the lofty goal of crafting beer recognised one day by this city as “honmamon”, or “the authentic real deal”. And believing that one day we can be recognised as a craft beer representing Kyoto, we made the step to use the city’s name, using that as a motivation to continue to challenge ourselves today.