Japan Microbrewery Taps Into Beer-Themed Hotel Market

A craft beer brewery in Shizuoka City, Japan has erected a hotel across the street that features a taproom and allows guests to consume suds around the clock from a server in their room, Koichi Fukuzawa reported for Mainichi Japan.

Photo Insert: The Villa & Barrel Lounge

In July 2019, West Coast Brewing began producing and selling beer near the Mochimune fishing port in the Suruga Ward in Shizuoka. On July 1, the Villa & Barrel Lounge was opened in front of the brewery. On the first level of the lodging is a tavern, and each of the five guest rooms has a draft beer server.

More than 20 microbreweries are located primarily in the eastern and central regions of Shizuoka Prefecture, however a microbrewery with a hotel is a rarity even within Japan.

The American architect and president of West Coast Brewing, Derrek Buston, restored an old French restaurant in order to build The Villa & Barrel Lounge. The taproom serves approximately ten types of the brewery's more than 170 available variants.

The unusually high prices of approximately 900 yen (approximately $6.60) per glass are supposedly because the company utilizes "a lot of hops."

With the Mochimune Port Spa hot spring facility managed by another company in front of the hotel, it is anticipated that the region surrounding the fishing port would attract visitors and garner attention.

On June 29, during the hotel's opening reception, Buston stated: "I've always wanted to develop a community through architecture and beer. We've finally made a hotel, and things are still to come, but I hope this will contribute to the area."

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