2025 is poised to be a big year for Kitsune Brewing Co. The Japanese-inspired brewery in North Phoenix is starting by growing its drinks menu and aims to end the year with the debut of an adjoining ramen restaurant.
Adding a ramen joint has always been part of owner Tyler Smith’s plans. His experiences sipping heady IPAs alongside steaming bowls of soup at small ramen bars in Japan inspired the brewery. Now, two years after the tap lines opened at Kitsune, Smith has secured the space next door for Kitsune Ramen House.
“There’s so many great ramen spots in Arizona,” Smith says. “To be able to open one that feels authentic and is going to offer what I feel is a great product to the north side is going to be really special.”
In the meantime, Smith has expanded the craft brewery’s drink selections beyond those made from malt and hops. Earlier this month, Kitsune began pouring sake, wine and hard cider.
“We're trying to create unique experiences in our tap room,” Smith says, explaining that adding more options beyond beer is critical to becoming the neighborhood’s regular watering hole.
“Arizona has some of the best beer in the country. I believe that wholeheartedly,” Smith says. “The drinking habits of people are changing and it’s how we’re adjusting to those changes.”
Kitsune carries three sakes from the company: its standard Junmai Ginjo sake, a version with prickly pear and Desert Snow, a sparkling, unfiltered sake with a milky white hue.
Although Kitsune is not the first brewery in Arizona to carry the sake, the partnership is one of the most expansive, according to Arizona Sake owner Atsuo Sakurai.
While serving sake was a “no-brainer,” Smith says, he and Sakurai discovered a unique connection.
Smith’s brother Calvin Chitwood played basketball for Niigata Albirex, a professional basketball team located in a Japanese prefecture renowned for its rice and sake. Sakurai lived in Niigata, too. He worked in Japan’s sake industry for a decade, becoming a master sake maker. After moving to his wife's home state of Arizona, Sakurai began making sake in northeastern Arizona in 2017.
While chatting with Smith about sake and Japan, the two discovered Chitwood’s translator is one of Sakurai’s friends.
“My friends were his friends,” Sakurai shared via email while traveling in Japan. “We didn’t know that when we were there ... and we met in Arizona 10 years after. I hope we enjoy business together as friends.”
Visiting Kitsune, which features art inspired by Japan and its folklore, makes Sakurai feel nostalgic, he says.
“It was such a cool moment,” Smith says of figuring out this small-world connection. “From a small prefecture of Japan to Holbrook to Kitsune.”
The bar team at Kitsune will offer the sakes in flights, warmed in a carafe or alongside a 22-ounce pour of the brewery’s rice lager, K’Sune Lite, for sake bombs.
Starting in early February, the brewery will debut a taut list of cocktails made with sake, too. Those include sake-based riffs on classic cocktails, including an espresso martini, paloma and Moscow mule.
Sakurai says he likes to drink sake chilled in hotter months and have it warmed during cooler times. Other than that, he likes to see how others use his products.
“I hope people enjoy making new cocktails with my sake and pairing with (a) variety of food. Be creative,” he says.
“Everything we want to do in that building is as scratch as we can do it,” Smith says. “The noodles were a very big part of that.”
Smith envisions the ramen house as “the In-N-Out of ramen.” That means keeping the menu short and simple. In addition to tonkatsu ramen, the restaurant will serve a vegetarian option. There will be a selection of classic starters such as gyoza, miso soup and katsu-style chicken with dipping sauces.
For dessert, Kitsune will serve “some fun, decadent stuff,” Smith says. That will include mochi, kakigori and milk bun cream puffs.
Brewery guests will also be able to order food from the restaurant, but the focus on that side will continue to be the casual, communal nature of the brewery and its craft beer.
“That's what we were built on, that's what our community was founded on,” Smith says.
“We want (customers) to know that we thought about you when we made these decisions,” he says.
Other additions are prosecco for Sunday mimosas, Soke, a lower-alcohol canned sake soda and bottles of the mocktail line Curious Elixirs.
“The (nonalcoholic) market is growing ferociously,” Smith says. “This Dry January really opened my eyes a bit more to the possibilities of what N/A stuff is out there. We're really just trying to capitalize and include every walk of life you can think of authentically.”
The brewery is also gearing up for several events, including the second year of the North Phoenix-centric Tomodachi Beer Fest on March 8, and a month prior, the debut of Forager Day – a celebration of the brewery’s flagship New England-style IPA on Feb. 8. During that event, the brewery will debut four variants of the beer as well as a collaboration brew with Scottsdale's Goldwater Brewing Co.
These types of events are needed now more than ever, Smith says.
“In this digital age, there is a yearning for community,” Smith says.
With new drink options, an upcoming restaurant and partnerships with other local makers, Smith is evolving his brand and solidifying Kitsune's identity as a food and drink hub for the neighborhood and beyond.
Adding a ramen joint has always been part of owner Tyler Smith’s plans. His experiences sipping heady IPAs alongside steaming bowls of soup at small ramen bars in Japan inspired the brewery. Now, two years after the tap lines opened at Kitsune, Smith has secured the space next door for Kitsune Ramen House.
“There’s so many great ramen spots in Arizona,” Smith says. “To be able to open one that feels authentic and is going to offer what I feel is a great product to the north side is going to be really special.”
In the meantime, Smith has expanded the craft brewery’s drink selections beyond those made from malt and hops. Earlier this month, Kitsune began pouring sake, wine and hard cider.
“We're trying to create unique experiences in our tap room,” Smith says, explaining that adding more options beyond beer is critical to becoming the neighborhood’s regular watering hole.
“Arizona has some of the best beer in the country. I believe that wholeheartedly,” Smith says. “The drinking habits of people are changing and it’s how we’re adjusting to those changes.”
Kitsune carries three of Arizona Sake's rice wines. From left, Arizona Sake's standard Junmai Ginjo sake, Desert Snow, a sparkling, unfiltered sake with a milky white hue, and a version with prickly pear.
Kitsune Brewing Co.
Adding sake a ‘no-brainer’
The brewery owner has tapped local makers to build out the growing bar menu, including rice wine from the Holbrook-based Arizona Sake.Kitsune carries three sakes from the company: its standard Junmai Ginjo sake, a version with prickly pear and Desert Snow, a sparkling, unfiltered sake with a milky white hue.
Although Kitsune is not the first brewery in Arizona to carry the sake, the partnership is one of the most expansive, according to Arizona Sake owner Atsuo Sakurai.
While serving sake was a “no-brainer,” Smith says, he and Sakurai discovered a unique connection.
Smith’s brother Calvin Chitwood played basketball for Niigata Albirex, a professional basketball team located in a Japanese prefecture renowned for its rice and sake. Sakurai lived in Niigata, too. He worked in Japan’s sake industry for a decade, becoming a master sake maker. After moving to his wife's home state of Arizona, Sakurai began making sake in northeastern Arizona in 2017.
While chatting with Smith about sake and Japan, the two discovered Chitwood’s translator is one of Sakurai’s friends.
“My friends were his friends,” Sakurai shared via email while traveling in Japan. “We didn’t know that when we were there ... and we met in Arizona 10 years after. I hope we enjoy business together as friends.”
Visiting Kitsune, which features art inspired by Japan and its folklore, makes Sakurai feel nostalgic, he says.
“It was such a cool moment,” Smith says of figuring out this small-world connection. “From a small prefecture of Japan to Holbrook to Kitsune.”
The bar team at Kitsune will offer the sakes in flights, warmed in a carafe or alongside a 22-ounce pour of the brewery’s rice lager, K’Sune Lite, for sake bombs.
Starting in early February, the brewery will debut a taut list of cocktails made with sake, too. Those include sake-based riffs on classic cocktails, including an espresso martini, paloma and Moscow mule.
Sakurai says he likes to drink sake chilled in hotter months and have it warmed during cooler times. Other than that, he likes to see how others use his products.
“I hope people enjoy making new cocktails with my sake and pairing with (a) variety of food. Be creative,” he says.
Kitsune Brewing Co. will launch Kitsune Ramen House next door to the brewery late this year. The restaurant will focus on pork-based tonkatsu-style ramen.
Sara Crocker
Kitsune will add ramen house
New drink options aren't all that's coming soon to Kitsune. When it arrives later this year, Kitsune Ramen House will be connected to the brewery but will feature its own dining space and a patio. The restaurant will serve tonkatsu-style ramen, which is pork-based, with housemade noodles.“Everything we want to do in that building is as scratch as we can do it,” Smith says. “The noodles were a very big part of that.”
Smith envisions the ramen house as “the In-N-Out of ramen.” That means keeping the menu short and simple. In addition to tonkatsu ramen, the restaurant will serve a vegetarian option. There will be a selection of classic starters such as gyoza, miso soup and katsu-style chicken with dipping sauces.
For dessert, Kitsune will serve “some fun, decadent stuff,” Smith says. That will include mochi, kakigori and milk bun cream puffs.
Brewery guests will also be able to order food from the restaurant, but the focus on that side will continue to be the casual, communal nature of the brewery and its craft beer.
“That's what we were built on, that's what our community was founded on,” Smith says.
Local sips, events on tap this year
In addition to sake, Kitsune has added wine, cider and additional nonalcoholic drinks to its menu in efforts to be more inclusive of everyone's drinking habits. Part of that focus is on adding gluten-free ciders from Cider Corps. Those drafts are poured on dedicated tap lines to avoid any contamination from a regular gluten-filled beer, which could lead to an allergic reaction. Smith says he chose to take this extra step based on his wife’s experience with a wheat allergy.“We want (customers) to know that we thought about you when we made these decisions,” he says.
Other additions are prosecco for Sunday mimosas, Soke, a lower-alcohol canned sake soda and bottles of the mocktail line Curious Elixirs.
“The (nonalcoholic) market is growing ferociously,” Smith says. “This Dry January really opened my eyes a bit more to the possibilities of what N/A stuff is out there. We're really just trying to capitalize and include every walk of life you can think of authentically.”
The brewery is also gearing up for several events, including the second year of the North Phoenix-centric Tomodachi Beer Fest on March 8, and a month prior, the debut of Forager Day – a celebration of the brewery’s flagship New England-style IPA on Feb. 8. During that event, the brewery will debut four variants of the beer as well as a collaboration brew with Scottsdale's Goldwater Brewing Co.
These types of events are needed now more than ever, Smith says.
“In this digital age, there is a yearning for community,” Smith says.
With new drink options, an upcoming restaurant and partnerships with other local makers, Smith is evolving his brand and solidifying Kitsune's identity as a food and drink hub for the neighborhood and beyond.
