Tag: beer

Beer bars to check out in Tokyo

Tokyo has a lot of places to grab a beer. Considering that even in medieval Europe even a bigger village would have its pub, it’s no surprise that the largest city in the world is in no short supply for establishments serving booze. If you ask for “a beer” in most of them however, you’re gonna get a draft Kirin, Asahi Super Dry or Premium Malt’s—mass-produced lager/pilsner suitable for chugging down by the pint, but won’t get you much excitement as a beer. Craft beer is alive and well in Japan, and if you know where to look, you can find real gems both domestic and global.

Now that the covid state of emergency is nearing its end, here are some places I visit to get hydrated. Or beer-drated? How does that work?


中央線ビールフェス

武蔵境で4日間開催された中央線ビールフェス行ってきた。中央線沿いのビール醸造が7軒も出店してて充実してた。

いうまでもないが、そんだけ出ると、そして一箇所でも3-4種類のビールがあると、全部は飲んで回れない。個人的に印象に残ったのは10antsのラインアップ。

あと阿佐ヶ谷の20tapsがFish Storyってビール出してたので、その小説読んでた時が懐かしくなったつい飲んだ。ウィートラガーはあまり趣味じゃないけどね。


Grand Kirin IPA

It’s been ages since I last had any alcohol at home (though I still have a bottle of Jura in progress). Tonight I went to the supermarket to pick up some snacks and on the way I spotted Kirin’s IPA. I’ve tried Kirin craft attempts before, so I wondered what this one is like.


Brewdog Alice porter

Another from Brewdog’s lineup, and the first I post from my wonderful backlog of beer reviews. I’ve had notes for this beer taken almost two months ago, and now I revisited them as I grabbed another bottle of the brew. I have notes taken for a bunch more…

Brewdog Alice porter


Nagahama Roman Ibuki Weizen

Another one of the Nagahama Roman lineup, this time a weizen named after a characteristic mountain near Nagahama, Mt Ibuki (pictured on the label). It’s pretty much always the first to get snow in the area and the last to lose it. Also, it’s at a chokepoint of the east-west trade route across the central-Japan mountain ranges, so there were a bunch of battles around there I believe.

Nagahama Roman Ibuki Weizen


Oumi Pilsner

Earlier this month I went back to Hikone for the alumni meetup of my university club, and there in a convenience store I found this lineup of (probably very) local craft beer. There was an ale, a stout, a weizen and a pilsner. This pilsner.

Nagahama Roman Oumi Pilsner


Nitro Milk Stout

Never had a milk stout before, and honestly, if this is the “great” “standard” for it, then I won’t have any again.

Nitro Milk Stout


Tokyo Blues

I noticed this beer on the shelf of my usual liquor store, and as I’m in general very curious about Japanese craft beer, I couldn’t resist picking up a bottle. There’s a lengthy description on the label about how it’s Tokyo’s “blues soul” in a bottle – I don’t know about any soul, but it’s definitely very Japanese.

Tokyo Blues


Tiny Rebel Full Nelson

It caught my attention how this beer is labelled Maori… I was going to say I was wondering what the reason was, but it’s written right there on the label: they use a New Zealand hop.

Tiny Rebel Full Nelson


Mikkel’s Dream

I don’t know if this is the American Dream’s or the Danish Dream’s Japanese version or what. Photos and tags online contradict each other, so I’ve got no idea which this “Mikkel’s Dream” actually is.

Mikkel's Dream