Kuge Honten

Kuge Honten is a historic brewery in Usuki City, established in 1860 when the domain lord Inaba Kanmichi bestowed a brewing warehouse upon them.
Under the slogan 'Engine of Our Hometown — A Brewery Promoting a Regionally Circular Society,' the brewery has achieved its goal of sourcing all raw materials from safe and reliable Oita Prefecture agricultural products, particularly those from Usuki City.
Usuki City features mountains of limestone deposits formed from coral reefs uplifted approximately 300 million years ago. The groundwater filtered through limestone layers is rich in calcium ions and bicarbonate ions, meeting the conditions for 'delicious water.'
The brewery pursues sake brimming with the natural umami of its ingredients, crafted to complement the white-fleshed and blue-backed fish caught in the local Bungo Channel, including fugu, horse mackerel, mackerel, rockfish, stonefish, and barracuda.
As an active contributor to regional food culture development — including Usuki City's recognition in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Gastronomy — the brewery operates at a scale of 3,000 koku annually (1,500 koku shochu, 1,500 koku sake).