Touring Japan’s craft beer scene: 100 beers later

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2 Beer Queers

9 min readOct 24, 2014

The craft beer or ji-biiru scene has exploded in Japan much like the US. It started in 1994 with tax law changes similar to the changes that made American home brewing and micro breweries possible. 20 years later, a thriving bar culture, contract brewing, and the free flow of information via the Internet has allowed small breweries and bars to catch on quickly.

The quality and variety of Japanese craft beer is outstanding. The styles have evolved to please the palates of both locals and the many travelers who visit Japan. Big thanks to Tokyo Beer Drinker’s blog for many of the recommendations. Here are a few of our favorite spots and brews we encountered during two weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto.

August Beer Club

Our first stop in Roppongi and one of the few open at Noon. Their recipes are unique and executed by an off-site contract brewer. Favorites included the IPA with a blend of Japanese Sorachi Ace and American Centennial hops. The Apple Ale and Wheat beers also stood out for being well balanced and well executed. Food included traditional curries as well as wood burning oven thin crust pizza that made this New Yorker happy.

Craft Beer Bar iBrew

With a focus on Japanese beers from new and established breweries, Craft Beer Bar iBrew is a great place to find unique beers. We went twice, once at the beginning and again at the end of our trip and found new beers each time. The beer menu is exclusively in Japanese, but the servers are very helpful in deciphering the style and brewery so you can get your Untappd checkin registered.

Swan Lake Pub Edo

Tokyo tap room for Swan Lake brewery. Their meticulous tap system allowed for individual temperature controls. Also the only place we found a locally produced barrel aged beer. At 12% the whiskey barrel aged Imperial Stout was well balanced and a well executed representation of the style.

Baird Tap Room Harajuku

Jackpot for those seeking Baird beers in Harajuku. The dozen or so beers were backed by equally excellent yakitori, small skewers of chicken, beef, pork, and veggies. Caters to more of an expat / foreign crowd, but same lively atmosphere of a local neighborhood bar, complete with precocious child running around. Lots of good IPAs and Pale Ales for the hop heads.

Popeye’s

A landmark in the Ryogoku area of Tokyo, it originated well before craft beer was legalized and transitioned to the new wave with over 70 taps of mostly excellent Japanese craft beer, with some imports. Bottle selections included Cantillon and other Belgian staples. We got there early for happy hour (5–8) and took advantage of the beers marked with a black crown, signifying one free small dish to accompany the beer. This allowed us to eat and drink for relatively cheaply for several hours. A must visit spot if you are in the area, but it fills up fast. Get there before the afterwork crew.

Watering Hole

We began our craft beer crawl of Shinjuku at Watering Hole. With around 20 beers on tap, available in taster paddles, and excellent food (gyozas and Waygu burger stand out), we made ourselves comfortable for a nice long session. There was a tap takeover by brewery Fujizakura Heights featuring all manner of wheat, smoked beers, and bocks. They plan to begin brewing their own beer on site once their license is approved. We took a few snapshots of the equipment plastic wrapped and ready to go. Looking forward to visiting again when their own beer is flowing.

Beer Pub Bamboo

Nice place in Shinjuku that is easy to miss, but well worth visiting. Has four tap lines with a mix of Japanese and American craft beer. Once you have had everything on tap, check out the fridge to see what bottles are available. Definitely a locals bar, the proprietor Sasaki-San engaged us in conversation and even helped us find the next spot nearby to continue our bar crawl for the night. We got a hearty “Good Evening!” from the folks who piled in as we had been focused on our beers and the Japanese soccer game on the TV.

Vector

We continued our Shinjuku crawl based on Sasaki-San’s suggestion and were very happy indeed. Vector is a late-night bar, specializing in charcoal-grilled beef tongue dishes! A plate of mussels were also brought out when we sat down, indicating there was a cover charge, which we were happy to pay. With only 10 taps the selection of beer was not huge, but we managed to find some uniques and complete our epic beer crawl for the night.

Ant n’ Bee

One of the older craft beer bars in Roppongi, this cozy pub has about 10 seats at the bar and the rest is standing room. Great selection of beers, though they are not cheap. Also a nice selection of bar food like these deep fried baby octopus.

Hyatt Regency Kyoto

We took a break from the hustle and bustle of of Tokyo to explore the Kyoto country side. Our first night was at an Onsen Ryokan, traditional Japanese bed and breakfast. Afterwards we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto, which we used as a launch of point to visit the many temples and museums. Unfortunately, Typhoon Vongfong hit the area and kept us inside. We used the opportunity to relax and bar hop within the hotel. Luckily, the restaurants carried some unique locally produced Kyoto beers. You may need to ask for them specifically, I think the staff assumes customers want more recognizable brands.

Omen

While out viewing shrines and temples, we stopped in for some noodles and tempura at Omen. The selection was limited, but we found some good ji-biiru served in authentic stone glassware to go with the excellent food. Where there is good beer, the is usually good food.

CraftHeads

This is the one bar we heard was a must visit before arriving and Tokyo and doing our own research. We saved it for last knowing it would be good, and possibly expensive. Finding it turned out to be the hardest part, even with Google Maps. Pro Tip: when lost, look for a sign either pointing down to a basement or up stairs.

The expensive part comes in the vast array of imported beers, both on tap and in bottle. We instantly recognized many breweries that are highly covered in the US. CraftHeads was designed for whale hunters. We scored a Hair of the Dog Brandy Cherry Fred, which according to Untappd is only on tap at CraftHeads and Hair of the Dog’s brew pub.They also had an impressive selecting of craft whiskey and bourbon, which we avoided since we had one more bar to hit for the night.

Good Beer Faucets

Capped off the night at Good Beer Faucets. An equal mix of expats and locals, the beer menu likewise was equal parts Japanese, American, and European craft beers. This time we couldn’t resist, one of the Cantillon bottles was unique, so after sampling a few of the local beers, we snagged it. Quite reasonably priced consider what folks will pay/trade for them in the US.

Brimmer Beer Box

Founded by former Sierra Nevada Brewer Scott Brimmer in 2011, Brimmer Brewing brings solid and affordable West Coast ale and lager to Tokyo in the form of the Beer Box. Literally a shipping container with doors, the low overhead allows them to pour locally produced craft beer priced for the masses. We ran the board, from their Northern California Common brewed with NoCal hops to the bottled Citrus IPA.