Shinobazu Brewery Sheep's Aisu" will be home-brewed beer using fresh hops harvested on the rooftop of Matsuzakaya Ueno Store The beer, brewed with fresh hops harvested on the rooftop of Matsuzakaya Ueno Store, will be available from Friday, November 8!

Rare lamb dishes from Atsuma-cho, Hokkaido will be available from late November!

2024.10.31 11:00

Nagaoka Shoji Co., Ltd.

Shinobazu Brewery Sheep Aisu (Ueno, Tokyo; Owned and operated by Nagaoka Shoji Co., Ltd.; Location: 2-10-7 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo), which offers home-brewed craft beer and lamb dishes, will start serving freshly harvested hops grown on the roof of Matsuzakaya Ueno Store, which is within walking distance, on October 1, 2024, by a nearby party. Home-brewed beer using hops ("Shinobazu Hop PJ" from 858 yen) will be available at the store from Friday, November 8.

In addition, from late November, the restaurant will begin serving a limited menu featuring lamb from Tadao Yamada, a sheep producer in Atsuma-machi, Hokkaido, which is very rare and extremely tasty and is only distributed within Hokkaido. We hope you will take this opportunity to enjoy this rare and special combination of beer and lamb dishes.

Left: Hops harvested on the rooftop of Matsuzakaya Ueno Store,

Right: Limited menu featuring lamb from Atsuma-cho, Hokkaido

URL: https://www.atpress.ne.jp/releases/415266/img_415266_1.jpg

"Shinobazu Hop Project" won the "Green City Award"!

We opened our restaurant in 2021 with a determination to "enliven our hometown with local beer! Since its opening three years ago, we have been working on the "Shinobazu Hop Project" led by the Graduate School of Urban Design, the University of Tokyo, in cooperation with companies in the Ueno area and Taito City, using vacant spaces in local buildings to grow hops, the raw material for beer. The project started by cultivating hops, the raw material for beer, and started brewing beer using fresh hops produced locally in Shinobazu.

In the first year, they were only able to harvest enough hops to fill the palm of their hand, but after trial and error in cultivation methods, last year they planted seedlings at seven locations, including the roof of a building, and harvested a total of about three tanks of hops . The largest harvest came from a local cooperating company, the discount store "Takiya," which was able to supply one tank of hops from their hops alone.

On October 1, employees of the company and local residents who have been involved in the cultivation of hops harvested hops and prepared a tank of beer. On October 16, the "Shinobazu Hop Project" received the "Green City Award" from the Urban Greenery Conservation and Afforestation Organization of Japan for its series of activities to promote the greening of cities and the spread of greening awareness.

Green City Award: https://urbangreen.or.jp/infogrant/3hyosho/3toshisho/2024_toshinomidori3shou

Hitsuji Aisu official website: https://www.uenobeer.com/

Cutting off lush hop branches with scissors on the rooftop of Matsuzakaya Ueno Store.

While most hops are round, we found some large hops that grew long and tall.

Employees in charge of hop cultivation at Matsuzakaya Ueno Store (left and center). On the right is Hiromi Maekawa, President and Representative Director of Matsuzakaya Ueno Store.

Harvesting many hops grown with care and surrounded by the aroma of hops.

The rooftop of the Matsuzakaya Ueno Store building was originally used as a place for employees to grow vegetables, for children from a nearby nursery school to play, and for people to relax. In May, 10 pots were set up in one corner of the building and hops seedlings were planted. The employees were delighted to experience for the first time the aroma of fresh hops as they picked the abundant hops.

Masayoshi Nagano, assistant professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Urban Design, who has been advising and growing the hops with the employees, smiled and said, "I think the hops have grown well despite the fact that the extreme heat has made it difficult for all crops to bear fruit.

The harvested hops were brought to "Shinobazu Brewery Sheep Aisu" on the same day. The hops were split in half so that the yellow powder could be seen from the inside, then put into a net and divided into smaller portions, which were put into the tank where the wheat was boiled. After the hops have been boiled for about an hour, they are moved to a tank where the temperature is controlled at 20°C (68°F) and fermented for about three weeks.

Brewer Takaaki Uematsu, also known as Beer's Dad at the store, prepared this one as well.

Harvested Cascade hops. After breaking them in half, they were put into a net and divided into small portions

The fresh hops are now added to the brown liquid in which the barley has been boiled!

This hop topping service is only available during this time of year when fresh hops are available. Just one piece on top of the beer and the refreshing aroma of the hops spreads many times over the normal aroma!

Lamb chops have reached a cumulative total of 20,000 units sold!

A limited menu featuring the fantastic lamb from Atsuma, Hokkaido, will be available from late November!

Roasted Atsuma Lamb with Cranberry Sauce, Foie Gras and Parsnip Risotto

A limited menu using lamb from Atsuma, Hokkaido2

Mr. Yamada's lamb, which he raises stress-free by adding pumpkin to its feed, is soft and tender with no peculiar flavor despite being mutton, and its meat has a stronger original flavor than that of foreign lamb. The lamb is roasted over an exquisite heat and served with a cranberry sauce rich in acidity and fruitiness. Enjoy it with rich foie gras and sweet parsnip risotto. This dish is included as part of the course (reservation required, 10,000 yen). The dish will be closed when all the meat is gone.

Shinobazu Hop PJ is available in regular size for ¥858 (250ml) and large size for ¥1,265 (470ml), and also includes a menu of lamb offal sashimi such as hatsu and tongue.

The company has been serving lamb for 16 years and achieved cumulative sales of 20,000 "lamb chops" on its signature menu in March 2024 (photo: Solt, sauce also available).

On the left is Mr. Tadao Yamada, a producer from Atsuma-machi, Hokkaido, and on the right is Hiromi Maekawa, President and Representative Director of the Company.

Shinobazu Brewery Hitsuji Aisu Store Data

Location ： 2-10-7 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo

Access ： 3 minutes walk from JR Ueno Station, Okachimachi Station or Tokyo Metro Yushima Station

Phone number ： 03-3836-1901

Business hours: [Sun-Thu, Sat & Holidays] 12:00 - 23:00 (L.O. 22:30)

　　　　　　　　［Friday] 17:00-23:00 (L.O. 22:30)

Closed: None

Size: 26 seats on the first floor, 46 seats on the second floor, 72 seats in total (semi-private and fully private rooms on the second floor)

Average spend per customer ： Approx. 1,000 yen to 5,000 yen

Official website ： https://www.uenobeer.com/

Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hitujiaisu

All prices include tax

Profile of Hiromi Maekawa, President of Nagaoka Shoji Co.,Ltd.

Born in Ueno. He organized Tokyo's first town revitalization food and beverage event "Eat or Drink Night" in his hometown and won the "Food Service Award 2011" in the food service business category.

Profile details: https://www.atpress.ne.jp/news/375255

Our employee training was featured on the Eat Log channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30mH_AYzex4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV7vyPX8dUI