Yellow Monkey Brewing, or YMB, is an independent craft brewery based in Yokohama, Japan.

We were founded on a simple belief: beer should bring people together.

Our Head Brewer, Kengo Saito, began an important chapter of his brewing journey in Wellington, where he trained at Fork & Brewer under Kelly Ryan. Today, Kelly works as Technical Sales at Freestyle Hops and remains a trusted mentor and adviser to our brewery.

Inspired by the connection between New Zealand and Japan, YMB is exploring what we call Japanese Style Beer.

Rather than simply adding Japanese ingredients to familiar Western beer styles, we look to Japan’s centuries-old fermentation culture and washoku—traditional Japanese food culture—for inspiration.

Koji, sake yeast, rice, umami, balance, subtlety and harmony all influence the way we think about beer. Our aim is not to define Japanese Style Beer as a fixed category, but to discover what it can become.

Community is equally central to YMB. Before founding the brewery, Founder & CEO Hiroki Komada helped establish the Swiss running brand On in Japan and built running communities across the country. That experience now shapes YMB, where beer, running and hospitality come together through our taproom and Run for Beer events.

Our brand philosophy is “Be pirates. Be playful.” For us, it means questioning conventions, staying curious, and approaching beer with courage, freedom and a sense of play.

Beervana 2026 will be YMB’s first international festival appearance. We are honoured to return to Wellington, share our beers with New Zealand, and continue a story that began there more than a decade ago.