Kirin Brewery Co. resumed beer production Monday in Sendai after repairing a plant there that was damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami.

Kirin said it began brewing under the Ichibanshibori label, using hops grown in Tono in neighboring Iwate, another prefecture badly hit by the March 11 disasters. The company aims to start shipping the product in early November.

“Despite the huge quake, we could produce hops that have good quality. We hope resumption of the Kirin factory will become a symbol of recovery in the area,” Tono Mayor Toshiaki Honda said at a ceremony held to celebrate the restart of the plant.

Restoration work at the plant began in early April, with workers cleaning the equipment almost entirely by hand.