Craft Beer in Japan (Tokyo)

My wife and I were fortunate enough to make it over to Japan for a week. Unfortunately though, I only had one day to hit craft beer places in Tokyo...

It really seems like from reading online and talking to people who have been there before that the craft beer scene is really starting to take off big time. And its not just bringing in a bunch of killer craft beers from San Diego County (although they do have a lot!), but there are some great Japanese craft breweries that are producing beers that could go head to head with anything from Southern California.

I have to start with a side note. I am a huge IPA fan, but I usually try a variety of beers. After 6 days in Japan surviving on yellow fizzy beer, combined with a lot of the Japanese craft beer selections being IPA's, most of the brews I tasted were IPA's. So here we go.

My first stop was Craft Beer Market (Toranomon, Tokyo). This was first on my list because it was one of the only ones that I could find that was open around lunch on a weekday. A side benefit was that this place is known as having the most economical prices in Tokyo (under $10 for a pint!). Their craft beer menu was all Japanese.

I tried the Ryujinshuzo Ozenoyukidoke IPA, Shigakogen AfPA (they told me the style was an African Pale Ale!), Baird Brewing Suruga Bay Imperial IPA, Baird Brewing West Coast Wheat Wine 2012, and the bartender's choice for my last beer before they kicked me out to close after lunch the Iwatekura Oyster Stout served by beer engine (they assured me that real oysters were not used in the brewing or fermenting process, just oyster shells...).




While tasting the brews I tried their set menu lunch with a small soup and a plate with a bunch of curry beef and rice. It really hit the spot when washing down those IPA's!

My next stop that evening was Good Beer Faucets (Shibuya, Tokyo). These guys are known for their good selection of beers from around the world with quite a few being from Japan.

Dede the owner was there when I came in. I tried Nide Beer Monster C IPA (Japan), North Island IPA (Japan), Nogne #500 Imperial IPA (Norway), and another taste of Baird Brewing Suruga Bay Imperial IPA. While there I met a really nice Japanese guy that was crazy about craft beer. He let me know that one of his favorite beers was on tap at a craft beer place not too far away. It was actually on my list to visit, so we walked over together.

After a short walk we made it to Craftheads (also in Shibuya not too far of a walk from Good Beer Faucets). It was down in a basement and was pretty busy. We immediately went for the 3 Floyds' Zombie Dust (Indiana).










After enjoying a few $13 pints of Zombie Dust we called it a night. Sorry about the blurry picture. It was pretty dark in there.












Overall, you could really tell that the craft beer scene is taking hold in Japan. I look forward not only to getting back over there again, but to finding some of the great Japanese beers here on tap somewhere.

One really cool thing about Japan... they sell beer in public vending machines and it is legal to drink in public!