Hops grown on a university campus: students release two beers

At Kanagawa University in Yokohama, students grow hops on a rooftop terrace and in planters on campus, then use them to brew craft beer. The project has now reached its sixth year. This year’s beers, two in all, went on sale in limited quantities at restaurants and shops in Yokohama on 1 October. Students are involved at every stage, from deciding the direction of the beer to attending the brewing and sticking labels on the bottles.

From shade plants to beer

The project began in the 2021 academic year as rooftop greening, aimed at countering the urban heat island effect. It started with a suggestion from a company that specialises in rooftop greening: hop bines can grow to 7–8 metres, which makes them well suited to shading a building. Brewing beer became the way to use the harvested hops. Today the university grows Cascade, an aromatic American variety, on the sixth-floor terrace of its Minatomirai campus, in Yokohama’s central waterfront district, and in planters at the Yokohama campus. The terrace is a harsh environment, exposed to wind between buildings, salt-laden air during typhoons and reflected heat, yet the hops reportedly produce cones (the pine-cone-shaped flowers that give beer its aroma and bitterness) every year.

Two characters: pale ale and saison

“#AleNow 2026”, from the Yokohama campus, is a pale ale at 5.0% ABV. To make it approachable even for people who do not usually drink beer, it has a pronounced fruity aroma and a clean finish. “PROUD BREW 2026 -Blazing Cool Saison-”, from the Minatomirai campus, is a saison at 5.5% ABV. The saison is a style rooted in Belgian farmhouse beer, and this one is characterised by a spicy aroma, moderate bitterness and a dry finish. The brewing was done by REVO BREWING, a brewery restaurant in Minatomirai that has long made the project’s beers.

Local companies and students working together

When the discussions on what the beer should taste like took place, nearby companies, local government and residents sat at the same table as the students. There were also opportunities to learn from a brewer about the differences between beer styles and the key points of flavour design. The labels were finished by a designer at Cellworlding, a Yokohama design company, based on the students’ ideas. This year the students also made business cards from paper blended with spent malt (the leftover grain from brewing). It shows an effort to use up even the by-products rather than stopping once the beer is made.

These beers are not due to reach Europe. Even so, they are an interesting example of what Japanese craft beer looks like today. Cities in Europe also have projects growing hops on urban rooftops, so it may be worth comparing them with a beer made from familiar local hops. When you come across Japanese craft beer in a specialist shop, check the label for the hop variety and the style. A pale ale made with Cascade and a spicy saison are intriguing because the same hop can give a different impression depending on the style.