In the craft beer world there are many stories of brewers leaving behind various careers to turn homebrewing hobbies into their new livelihood. Tomas Rehak, brewer and co-owner of Ebina Beer, has a rather interesting past. For 20 years he was an accomplished tuba player performing in the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Not only did he make a move to a completely different career, for an added degree of difficulty he simultaneously relocated from the Czech Republic to Japan to open his brewery.
Rehak says he developed a fondness for Japan when he first toured the country with the orchestra for 2 months in 2001. This became almost a yearly occurrence and he decided it would be in his best interest to learn the basics of the language. Little did he know that his new language exchange partner, Fumika Hirai, would end up becoming his wife and business partner.
Born in Sagamihara, Hirai’s family moved to Ebina when she was 10. She was pursuing the idea of becoming a Japanese teacher when she connected with Rehak online. After about a year of chatting online, the pair decided to meet face-to-face in 2004. A relationship developed and in 2005 the couple wed. Hirai made the move to the Czech Republic, but always had a tinge of homesickness for Ebina.
Rehak’s homebrews had been receiving good reviews from family and friends and thoughts of owning his own brewery started to swirl in his mind. Craft beer had been gaining in popularity in Japan, but Ebina remained virtually devoid of it. For Hirai, the chance to locate a brewpub in her old home was compelling. She could also get help from her mother with the couple’s two children (now 9 and 11) while they focussed on the business. The couple decided that moving to Ebina was the perfect thing for the entire family.
The area around Ebina Station, where 3 train lines intersect, was undergoing massive development at the time and they found a building across from the new LaLaport shopping center. To acquire his brewing license, Rehak worked at Nihonkai Club in Ishikawa and also Yokohama Beer to gain critical experience. Most of the brewery construction was DIY effort on his part. In February of 2017 the brewpub was opened for business.
Hirai does most of the work on the business end, in addition to running the restaurant, while Rehak does everything in the brewery himself, though he hopes to find some skilled help soon. The beers are grounded in Czech styles with his own personal twists. The Pilsner is true-to-form Bohemian-style, but the flagship Ebina Lager is Rehak’s own secret recipe using 4 kinds of hops. Overall, there are 8 taps, usually consisting of 6 standards and 2 seasonals (all beers 480ml ¥850, 260ml ¥500). The bar offers a pay-up-front Beer Coupon (¥8500, tax excluded), a stamp card good for eleven 480ml beers plus one 230ml–a bargain saving you about ¥1500.
The food is a mix. To pair with your Czech beer, try the Bramborák (¥500), a garlicky, potato patty, or the Czech-style Potato Salad (¥500), made with pickles. Other fine choices include the Sausage Set (2, ¥500 / 4, ¥900), Nachos (big ¥900 / small ¥600), or Fish & Chips (big ¥850 / small ¥650).
Ebina Beer is a couple minutes walk from the west exit of Ebina Station. It has seating for close to 25 people split between tables and counter. The establishment is entirely non-smoking.