“KOBO Brew Pub” where you can taste craft beer in a wealthy merchant's rice warehouse

Excellent craft beer at the rice warehouse

The Iwase area in the northern part of Toyama City, where Toyama Bay meets the Jinzu River and the Tomiwa Canal, has prospered since the early Edo period as a port town for Kitamaebune ships. Many houses built in the Meiji period still remain, and the area is known for its quiet, retro townscape that retains a strong atmosphere of those days. In March 2020, KOBO Brew Pub opened in a renovated rice warehouse of the Baba family, a wealthy merchant who ran a shipping business in Iwase. The imposing exterior of the spacious premises, which was once the rice warehouse of a wealthy merchant, is overwhelming, but a peek inside the restaurant will give you the strange sensation of visiting an exotic brewery, with an atmosphere that is like stepping back in time. The artwork on the walls and brewing equipment standing inside the store are large and impactful, yet the atmosphere of a rice cellar has been carefully preserved, and the interior is warm and inviting with the warmth of wood. The brewer is Kotinek Jiri, who has a career in breweries in the Czech Republic, the country with the world’s highest per capita beer consumption. He and his longtime friend, Briel Boris from Slovakia, founded the brewery together.

Kotinek was invited to the Ishikawa brewery in 2005 as a Brown Meister and was so good that he won a silver award at the 2014 “International Beer Cup”. Brielle was working as an interpreter at an event Kotinek attended in Toyama City, where they met. They are both beer lovers, and since their wives are both from Toyama, they hit it off. When Kotinek told Brielle that he wanted to make such valuable beer, she said, “I don’t want awards, I want to see people enjoying it and wanting more,” and they decided to set up their own brewery together.

With snacks that go well with craft beer.

We carry a total of nine types of craft beer. Three of them are particularly recommended: “Seiz Lager” made with grape pomace from a winery representing Toyama (Seiz Farm), “Baba Weizen” made with Toyama’s famous pears, and “Dragon Ale” made with sake lees from Manjusen (Masuda Sake Brewery), which handles Toyama’s locally brewed sake. All of the beers are local craft beers, and the lineup is definitely worth trying when you visit. If you are not sure which craft beer to order but want to try a variety of flavors, try the tasting set that allows you to compare four different kinds. There is also another rare beer that you should not forget to try. It is Jolokia Ale, an extremely spicy beer made with jolokia, one of the world’s top class chili peppers. The fact that it is extremely hot is intriguing enough, but this beer is said to be irresistible to those who love spicy food, and there are many repeat customers. It has a very rich aroma and goes very well with sausages and other food items.
Although the variety of food is limited, the restaurant offers a variety of specialties that can only be enjoyed here. The 20-cm-long “Big Sausage” was made using a recipe from the Slovakian-born manager’s family, and is a must-try with craft beer. Also, the special jerky made from Toyama Wagyu beef, smoked nuts actually smoked in the store, and homemade ham based on a Czech brewer’s family recipe are all offered in an arrangement that is unique to Kobo Brew Pub, even though they may seem common at first glance.

Kobo Brew Pub is definitely worth a visit as part of your sightseeing tour, but it also offers craft beer by mail order. The products available by mail order are those that are not available at the store, but why not enjoy craft beer at home? The three types of bottled beer available through mail order are “Premirent Pilsner,” “3A Lager,” and “Pale Ale. The stylish packaging design will make you feel good just by having it in your refrigerator, and it is sure to raise the quality of your “home drinking” experience.