During our short visit to Japan, we made sure to spend some time with my gourmet sister, so she can show us all the great spots for food and drinks! One of the places she took us was a local bar, specializing in craft beers from all over Japan. It had a small storefront, where you could also get a beer or two from outside through the front window?
Once we stepped in, they had a bar right at front, with many beer tap faucet lined up on the wall in the back. It was still early, and it was Monday night, so it was not too busy. I hear this place gets packed though, with the locals and alike.
There is a narrow walkway to the left of the bar counter, where they have table seating in the back. We were able to get a table easily, before it got busy.
They had a bit more seating around the corner, but it still is not a large space. But then again, this is a bar, not a restaurant. So, I think it is a pretty good size. With the faux red brick wall, large windows, and a ceiling fans, it had certain warmth to this place. It was cozy, relaxing, and welcoming.
I mentioned their wall full of beer tap faucet. They have somewhere around 47 beer tap faucet, and each one has a different beer attached to it. That means, you can taste 47 different beers in one day if you wanted to!!! Well, if your stomach (or your spouse, doctor, etc.) allows you to do that… I won’t recommend it… But, if you just MUST have them all, your wallet might be ok with it, since they have all-you-can-drink for 3,000 yen (about $30). What a deal! Of course, there are some rules that comes with the course, but still!
This is one of the big reasons why this bar is so popular. You can enjoy all the beer you want, at affordable price. And, they are all craft beers, of great quality. So, you are not getting some tasteless beer either. And, they do have some food to accompany those tasty beers as well. I know, great spot, right?
We each decided to have a flight of beers. They had options for three, five, or ten beers. We all went with five beers (1,090 yen). Each glasses are 90ml, so it is still a good amount of beer. My gourmet sister suggested that we all get something different, so that we can taste total of 20 different kinds of beer. Yes, she is pretty smart. We got maybe one or two duplicates, but we did get close to 20 kinds of beer at the end. WOW! Once we put in our order, a staff got busy filling 20 glasses from different faucets. He was really and funny, and yes, efficient!
And here are the four sets of five-beer flights. What a beauty, and how fun! Their menu is separated into Lager, White, Fruits/Flavored, Ale, IPA, and Black/Stout/Dark. It makes it easy to navigate through the large beer menu. Each one had a number, so you just put down the number associated with the beer, easy ordering system.
We went to town with these great looking beers! We tried so many different ones, each unique and flavorful. Their IBrew original, Mix Juice IPA, from IBrew x Fukushimaji Beer, Fukushima, was quite tasty.
Lager: Rice Lager had had a sweetness from Koshihikari rice, with sort of a sweet sake flavor in the beer, which was awesome. Pilsner from Tazawako, Akita, had a nice aroma and flavor of honey. Minazuki Suruguys Lager from AOI Brewing x Hansharo Beer Brewing, Shizuoka, was flavorful and tasty.
White: Belgian White from Outsider Brewing, Yamanashi, was refreshing. Weizen from Fujizakura, Yamanashi, was light and easy to go down, with a bit of nutty flavor, earthy and flavorful.
Fruits/Flavored: Hand-squeezed Blood Orange from Ushitora Brewery, Tochigi, had a nice blood orange flavor that was really present, without being overwhelming. Boysenberry from Two Rabbits Brewing, Yamanashi, was fruity and much than I thought it would be. Shekwasha Ale from Rokko Beer, Hyogo, had a real lemon flavor, kind of sour. Citrus Ale from Awaji Beer, Hyogo, was more refreshing than the Shekwasaha, easy to drink. El Gaitero from Ballina y Fernández, Spain, was a fruity bur sour, had a bit of wine flavor, nice cider.
Ale: Issuishinken from Hop Kotan Brewing, Hokkaido, had a strong flavor. Ibuki Saison from Sennan Craft Beer, Miyagi, was a bitter but had deep flavor that was pleasant.
Black/Stout/Dark: Moon Rabbits from Two Rabbits Brewing, Shiga, had a nots of coffee, but had a hint of sweetness so it was not too heavy. Sweet Stout from Hino Brewing, Shigam had a notes of black sugar, cacao and chocolate. In Deep from Hop Kotan Brewing, Hokkaido, was mostly bitter with notes of cigar, manly beer. Porter from Swan Lake, Niigata, was flavorful with notes of coffee, sharp.
I might not have captured them all, but I think I covered most of them… And even after so many of them, we didn’t even get to half of their offerings, which is amazing! And, on top of that, they menu changes frequently so that you get to try something different every time you go. Great, right? If you want to enjoy these craft beers with some munchies, not to worry, they have food menu as well. Since we were planning to go have dinner after this spot, we order just a plain fries (around $5). It was lightly fried, not greasy, and went great with all the beers!
And when you drink crazy amount of beer in a short time, you are gonna need to use the restroom… Just go around the corner, all the way back, and you will find one uni-sex bathroom. If there is a line, just look at their posters, they are quite interesting… The bathroom is small, almost the size of NYC restaurant bathroom. But it is clean, and yes, it has TOTO toilet, that does everything for you, from lifting the lid, flushing, and closing the lid…
The service was really awesome, friendly and helpful. We had such a fun time here, what a great neighborhood bar! I wish if we had this bar in our neighborhood in NYC… I would like to go back the next time I am in Japan for more interesting and tasty craft beers!
Craft Beer Bar IBrew – Yaesu 2chome-11-7, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Craft Beer Bar IBrew – 東京都中央区八重洲2-11-7