Born from an initiative to “bring beer making back to Ebisu and serve up a future beer experience,” YEBISU BREWERY TOKYO is a hybrid space that bridges past, present, and future.
The Ebisu neighborhood developed alongside its brewery, becoming one of the rare places named after a beer brand. However, as the times changed and the city continued to grow, people began to forget the close connection between Ebisu and its brewery.

The venue has been designed with three areas that allow visitors to journey through the past, present, and future of Yebisu beer with a museum showcasing 130 years history, the recently revived brewery, and a taproom providing a new experience of beer. Antique furnaces once used in the old factory are now tables, while the factory’s pillars and staircases have been incorporated into the spatial design, connecting the past and the future. The Ebisu neighbors enjoys a symbiotic relationship with its namesake brewery. The brewery symbolizes the town’s identity, supporting local businesses and residents.

In the Master Brewer’s Room, visitors can join brewers as they develop new beers, and get their creative juices flowing in the Beer Streaming Room. In the Taproom, visitors can create their own beer stories, choosing from a selection of beers that reflect Ebisu’s history and the mood of the moment. The beer bottle light fixtures lined up along the wall express the brand’s vast archives spanning past, present, and future, bathing the space in impressive golden light.

The brewery was designed to encourage new interrelationships. The beer making process is openly showcased at the heart of the venue and visitors can deepen their understanding of brewing in the adjacent Master Brewer’s Space. Visitors can participate in hop cultivation on the upper floor garden. They can also contribute beer making ideas and take part in beer making. A Beer Storeroom, located next to the counter, can be used by all businesspeople as a meeting space for brainstorming sessions over beer. In this way, the brewery has been designed to be open to the community as a welcoming symbol of the neighborhood’s identity.

The design pays respect to the memory of the old factory days and also the brand’s history as a museum. Antique furnaces and spaces from throughout the eras have been repurposed in the interior design, as hybrid benches and high tables that create a contrast between old and new, evoking the brewing process and enhancing enjoyment of the beer-drinking experience. Columns, staircases, and equipment from the factory have been utilized near the counter, providing a timeworn complement to the new lighting and walls. This hybrid blend of old and new gives new life to precious historical resources, offering a sustainable reminder of the site’s history.

Reinforcing and reusing the vast gallery from the venue’s museum days, the tank in the middle of the space provides an impressive centerpiece as visitors savor beer making, a treat for all five senses.