Sapporo Breweries Ltd. has announced that the firm will reopen a brewery at Yebisu Garden Place in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, which is the birthplace of the company's flagship Yebisu Beer brand, around the end of 2023.
The company's headquarters is located at the complex in the Ebisu district, and it will be the first time in 35 years for beer to be produced there.
The brewer aims to contribute to the revitalization of the community and also increase sales of its beer products.
The firm plans to refurbish the Museum of Yebisu Beer, which is located in the basement of the Yebisu Garden Place building. The new facility will be renamed Yebisu Brewery Tokyo.
New brewing equipment will be installed that can produce 130 kiloliters of local, limited Yebisu beer every year.
The new brewery will have glass walls so visitors can see the beer-making process. It will also have a bar for tasting freshly brewed beer, and a new museum that will introduce the history of Yebisu.
"Yebisu is the one and only brand synonymous with the district," Sapporo Breweries President Hiroyuki Nose said at a press conference on Monday. "I'm enthusiastic about brewing here again, for the first time in 35 years."
Nose added that he hopes the facility "will be a base where a new culture of beer is created."
The Museum of Yebisu Beer is scheduled to temporarily close at the end of October.
Nippon Beer Jozo Co., a predecessor of Sapporo Breweries, began brewing in the district in 1890. The district's name is believed to originate from the Yebisu brand name.
The company brewed beer in the district until production was discontinued in 1988, when Sapporo Breweries relocated the plant.
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