Sapporo Kaitakushi beer brewery

The Sapporo Kaitakushi Beer Brewery features a distinctive red brick facade with a white star emblem pressed into the exterior wall. This building dates back to eighteen seventy-six, when the Hokkaido Development Commission established it to jumpstart local industry. Seibei Nakagawa returned from brewing studies in Germany to oversee the first batch. He insisted on using cold-resistant hops and water from the Toyohira River, creating a flavor profile that set the standard for Japanese lager throughout the twentieth century.