In recent years, Japanese craft beer has been all about growth.
New bars, brewpubs and breweries open constantly, and long-standing breweries are busy expanding capacity or building entirely new facilities. Breweries from rural areas are opening taprooms in Tokyo, or exploring options to do so. Some companies are even looking into exporting their beer overseas. Down in southern Kanagawa Prefecture, however, Shonan Beer is taking a more localized track.
A short walk from Kagawa Station, the Shonan Beer brewery is located on the grounds of its parent company, Kumazawa Brewing, a sake company that's been in business since 1872. It's difficult to talk about one without the other, something that suits Mokichi Kumazawa, the sixth president of the family business, just fine.