Thanks to you, DD4D BREWING will celebrate its 4th anniversary on May 30, 2023. Therefore, we have released a special page "DD4D Everyone's Challenge" with the theme of our vision "Creating a world where everyone can pursue their own path" !
We hope that through craft beer, we can create an opportunity for as many people as possible to take the first step by letting them know about the challenges and off-duty moments of the DD4D members.
KEITA
"DD4D Captain"
Please tell us the story of how DD4D BREWING came to be.
The craft beer I drank in Canada during my last summer as a student was a shocking encounter for me at the time. After graduating from university, I worked at a large company in Tokyo, but the spectacle and taste of beer making at that time has remained in my heart for a long time. At the beer bar I used to go to, I connected with the founding members of a new brewery, and I changed jobs to YYG Brewery in Yoyogi. Nowadays there are so many breweries in the Kanto and Tokyo metropolitan areas, but at that time there were less than 20 in Tokyo. Most of the brewers were in their 40s, and most of them were in their 20s, except for myself. With zero experience and knowledge, and almost no seniors, I started making beer by fumbling around. As an employee at YYG, I was given the freedom to think about delicious products and sellable products. when it's been At the same time, I had the option of following in my father's footsteps in DD4D, my family's apparel business. no matter what! It's not like I was asked to, but I started thinking about going back to Ehime. However, I decided to start a brewery in my hometown, Matsuyama, because I wanted to continue doing what I was good at and what I liked. I don't know much about clothes, but I like management and I've been studying it for a long time, so I was thinking if I could be of some help in the back office. For some reason, I wanted to build a brewery in the city, but I didn't intend to do it in the same building as the apparel store. That said, I tried looking for a lot of properties, but I couldn't quite imagine a rental property where I could do a lot of construction and put in a beer tank. At that time, the manager of DD4D, who often stopped by during breaks, suggested, "Why don't we do it here?" Once the base is decided, it's fast from there. It was decided that the back half of the apparel store, where products were lined up from the entrance to the back, would be renovated. After thinking about going back to Matsuyama, it took me about a year to create this place.
Tell us your challenge!
I believe that the challenge is to create a world where everyone can challenge themselves to do what they like. I may not be able to help you directly, but I want to create an atmosphere in which everyone can see what they are doing and think, "If that person is doing it, maybe I can do it, let's try it." .
After going through elementary, junior high and high school, university, getting a job, and as my life stage progressed, I started to feel that something was wrong. I wasn't being honest with myself because I was talking about a life that people around me thought was good instead of my own, and I felt like I was getting further and further away from my true self. In such a way, I remembered the people I met during my travels and study abroad so far, who live as they like while doing what they like. An old man who fishes for squid all day long, and a man who sleeps all day but sells bananas to make a living (laughs). I can live with this, or rather, just living is fun, so it's a waste if I don't do something interesting. I've come to think that having a good time for myself, and more importantly, working as if I'm having fun without worrying about the time or people around me, is a good thing for the world. It may be going against the current trend, but if you like what you like or want to do, you can forget about the time and work steadily and perform well. If there were even a few more lively people like that, I think this country would be a better place, and life would be a lot more fun. Through the encounters and partings I've had in my travels, I've realized that there is a limit to the amount of time in life. If you think that being alive itself is a miracle, you have nothing to lose by taking on challenges. I want to do what I like, as I like it, without comparing scale or sales with others, and keep a balance like pedaling a bicycle, and live honestly according to my heart. Once released into the jungle, they have no choice but to survive by catching their own food. I think it would be fun if there were more people with wild sensibilities like wild children. And I'm sure there will be excitement that only such people can share.
When you're not at DD4D, what do you do when you're off?
Actually, that is my current problem (laughs). I really didn't have a day off until my third year, and about half a year ago I was finally able to take weekends off, and I'm thinking about how to use my days off. Now, if I have time, I will go for a drive. I like to go alone or with my wife. We often visit places we've never been before and without any purpose.
When I was in my twenties, I was just reading and studying. I definitely read 100 books a year. I read books all the time at Starbucks, which is with the bookstore, and when I'm hungry, I go to a nearby ramen shop and come back... When I was at Starbucks all day, the staff changed shifts about three times ( smile). I wanted to remember not only beer, but also academic books, business books, things I had seen and heard. What I read in books at that time is very useful in the management of the company now.
Message to customers for the 5th year!
After 5 years, I finally have enough time to do various things. I want to talk to various people, and I want you to invite me to various places! I live in a wonderful place, so come and visit me! Feel free to visit all over the country with a lot of glue. Actually, I'm already preparing new things, but I also want to collaborate with more places in the future. I would like to go beyond the framework of the beer industry and create new projects for the outside world. thank you!
Born in Matsuyama City in 1989. When I was a student, I was shocked by the homebrew beer I encountered while traveling in Canada, and became interested in craft beer. After graduating, he got a job in Tokyo and heard that a new brewery was looking for a brewer at his favorite beer bar, so he moved to YYG Brewery in Yoyogi. Start brewing as a head brewer from the launch of the open. Three years later, in 2018, he made a U-turn in Matsuyama City and established JAPANDEMIC COMPANY Co., Ltd. People and people, ingredients and shops, companies and regions... We are good at connecting everything with beer. He usually runs around Matsuyama on his mamachari and flies around the country, so it is very rare to see him at a store. He sells his own beer at beer festivals and events inside and outside the prefecture, and is also involved in brewing.