© Yellow Monkey Brewing k.k.
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN – July 10th, 2026
This August, Yellow Monkey Brewing (YMB) will make its international festival debut at Beervana 2026, New Zealand’s largest celebration of craft beer.
For us, this is much more than our first overseas beer festival. It is a story that began in Wellington more than a decade ago.
Around twelve years ago, our Head Brewer, Kengo Saito, travelled to Wellington to learn brewing at Fork & Brewer.
There he trained under Kelly Ryan, one of New Zealand’s most respected brewers.
Today, Kelly serves as Technical Sales at Freestyle Hops, where he works closely with breweries around the world, helping them unlock the full potential of New Zealand hops.
For YMB, Kelly has never simply been a former mentor.
He remains a trusted friend and advisor.
Even today, we continue to seek his advice when selecting hops and refining our beers.
Returning to Wellington means returning to one of the places where YMB’s story truly began.
Earlier this year, Kengo reached out to Ryan McArthur, Festival Director of Beervana.
Kengo’s message was simple. We hoped to introduce our vision of Japanese Style Beer to New Zealand.
Ryan’s response was generous and deeply encouraging. He invited us to join Beervana.
From that moment, everything began to move quickly.
Today, that conversation has become reality. This August, Yellow Monkey Brewing will officially make its Beervana debut.
One of the greatest honors we have received came when Beervana introduced Yellow Monkey Brewing in its official media announcement.
They described us with one simple sentence.
“Yellow Monkey Brewing was founded on a simple philosophy: beer should bring people together.”
We couldn’t have described ourselves better. Those words capture exactly why YMB exists.
The article also introduced the story of our Founder & CEO, Hiroki Komada, who previously helped build the Japanese business of Swiss running brand On, where community became the foundation of growth.
That same philosophy now shapes Yellow Monkey Brewing.
Our taproom in Yokohama has become a place where runners, neighbors, travelers and craft beer lovers naturally come together over a pint.
Ryan McArthur also shared these words.
“Their focus on community, connection and great beer is exactly what Beervana celebrates, so we’re thrilled to welcome them to Wellington.”
Receiving those words from Beervana meant more to us than we can express.
Because YMB has never been only about brewing beer. It has always been about bringing people together.
We are not trying to create beer that simply uses Japanese ingredients.
We are exploring what beer can become when inspired by Japan’s rich food culture, centuries of fermentation, and a philosophy of harmony.
Miso. Soy sauce. Koji. Sake.
These traditions have shaped Japanese food for generations.
We believe they can also inspire a new way of thinking about beer.
Japanese Style Beer is not a finished category.
It is a journey.
A question.
An exploration.
And we are committed to discovering its future. By combining the creativity of New Zealand brewing with the depth of Japanese culture, we hope to create beers that could only come from this friendship between our two countries.
At Beervana, we are not only bringing beer.
We are bringing conversations. Friendships. Stories. Curiosity.
We are excited to meet New Zealand brewers, beer lovers, runners, chefs, journalists, and everyone who believes that beer can connect people.
If you visit Beervana this August, please come and say hello (or Konnichiwa!).
Share a beer with us. Share your story with us.
And perhaps, together, we’ll begin writing the next chapter of this journey.
See you in Wellington!
Hiroki Komada
Founder & CEO of Yellow Monkey Brewing K.K.
