Guide and text: Fumiko Yamauchi Photograph: Mutsuko Kudo
I believe beer lovers have already realized through their throats, but currently, craft beers have been booming around the world. I stated so confidently, but some people may say, “What? What are craft beers?” If I briefly explain them, although the standards vary according to countries, craft beers refer to beers brewed in an independent and small-scale brewery under traditional artisanship.
Originally, in Europe, breweries in each place have brewed a wide variety of beers even before the term craft beer was born. For example, I heard that there are about 400 different kinds in Belgium and substantially more than 5,000 different brands in Germany. In the UK, pubs, particularly in rural areas, usually serve local beers only. I, who was highly evaluated by an English, “I’ve never seen any Japanese drink as much as you!” am always motivated by greed wherever I go, like I want this and I want that.
Let me return to the main topic of the circumstances concerning the current craft beers; the United States is the country where such beers creating a stir. Lifting the ban on homebrewing in 1979 was the major turning point, and breweries boasting unique flavors were born one after another. Now, the number of such breweries was said to be more than 5,000. There are many breweries that also have a restaurant, and based on my experience so far, a probability of daintiness, including the dishes, will be waiting is quite high. And this trend has been expanding into the neighborhood country of Canada.
In Japan, craft beers have been becoming increasingly popular at a quite high speed. “Domestic breweries and specialty shops handling craft beers have increased over the past few years.” The person who happily said so was Mr. Makoto Koshiro who is a floor manager of SWANLAKE Pub Edo Yaesu Branch in Yaesu. SWANLAKE, which is a brewery in Niigata and was founded in 1997, is one of the pioneers in the world of craft beers in Japan. The brewery’s ability is quite high since they won the gold medal as the first Japanese brewery in the World Beer Awards 2000 in the United States and won the gold medal again in the Awards in 2006, as well as many other awards at home and abroad. Their name Edo was derived not only from Edo as in the Edo period but also from Mr. Ed Tringali who is a brewmaster and who taught brewing to the brewery at the time of founding the brewery. The pub, which is directly run by the brewery, is located about a five-minute walk from the Shinkansen exit of Tokyo Station. Because the pub opens at 1:00 p.m., many businesspersons who finished their work on business trips early and tourists are said to visit the pub.
Left photo: White Swan Weizen, 250 ml, JPY 650 (500 ml, JPY 980) and Original French Fries, JPY 780 (Half-size is JPY 480).
Middle photo: Koshinomai Koshihikari-jikomi, 500 ml, JPY 980 (250 ml is JPY 650), Turnip Dressed in Salted Kelp, JPY 580, and Smoked Tofu, JPY 880.
Right photo: Amber Swan Ale, 500 ml, JPY 980 (250 ml is JPY 650) and Aganohime Beef Simmered Slowly with Dark Beer, JPY 1,580.
No matter what people say, the characteristic of SWANLAKE’s beers is the sharply defined crispness where the quality of the mother water used stood out. I like the moment when I gulped their beer and go like “Aaahh,” which feels really good. Like Koshinomai Koshihikari-jikomi with the hidden sweetness of rice, craft beers to enjoy a taste specific to Niigata are also attractive. The dish that you cannot miss is their French fries, which is the most popular dish. They put extra effort into preparing the dish by steaming potatoes in their skins, breaking them by hand, and frying them, and you can enjoy a variety of delicious flavors because they are crispy and crunchy and have a soft and fluffy texture. And if you drink clean and refreshing White Swan Weizen, you will not be able to stop eating and drinking. Turnips dressed in salted kelp, a dish that uses the whole turnip, are tasteful and go well with beer.
I am also so attracted to gems with local flavors, such as the beef and chicken produced in Niigata Prefecture, as well as B-grade gourmet Italian. Among such gems, the one that is subtle yet impactful is smoked tofu. A traditional spicy condiment called kanzuri (hot peppers mixed with rice malt, yuzu, and salt and fermented) is used, and that spicy hot taste goes well with beer. I would like you to definitely try Aganohime beef simmered slowly with dark beer that is thoroughly simmered until the fat becomes creamy for JPY 1,580 along with Amber Swan ale of which the delicate aroma and bitterness are really good! With the synergistic effect, the deliciousness will be much enhanced.
Left photo: Osaka/Minoh Beer’s Pale Ale, 250 ml, JPY 830 (500 ml is JPY 1,300), which has mild flavor and hidden subtle bitterness.
Middle photo: Nagano/Shiga Kogen Beer’s Snow Monky IPA ~FujiRock Ver.~, 250 ml, JPY 830 (500 ml is JPY 1,300), which is impactful with tropical flavor and strong sour taste. This is the limited time menu.
Right photo: Mr. Koshiro handling beer.
Regarding craft beers, they serve the brands from other breweries that built the foundation of the Japanese craft beer world like SWANLAKE, such as Minoh Beer in Osaka and Yoho Brewing in Nagano, in addition to their products, and comparing the taste of a total of about 15 different kinds is nothing but happy. If you would like to casually consult about beers, closely watch how beer is poured, and fully enjoy a moment with craft beers, a seat at the counter is recommended.
CRAFT BEER BAR IBREW Ginza 1-chome Branch, which has a lineup of craft beers mainly from up-and-coming breweries, is also one that you should not miss. They usually have a lineup of about 10 different craft beers, including the original taste created by collaborating with a brewery. Their lineup is changed little by little on a daily basis, but they sometimes have rare beers, which are known to those in the know, and that people from provincial areas made a new discovery and said, “I’m from the same hometown but never knew about that beer!” But even so, their charges are easy on the wallet, and I am happy about it.
While saying, “The owner and I do not like drinking beers with a serious face. Because we wish people to have a good time while trying various beers, we kept the prices down,” Mr. Yuji Kawashima who is the general manager smiled tenderly. As Mr. Kawashima who had never been involved with craft beers encountered and was instantly into these beers’ diversity, there are a multitude of flavors. If you would like to thoroughly compare the taste to your heart’s content, the all-you-can-drink plan with food, which is from JPY 3,000 and over, will be a reliable choice.
Regarding the daintiness to go along with the beers, you should first choose the all-round menus that go well with the beers, such as the crisply baked thin home-made pizza and grilled roughly ground sausages. Chicken carpaccio, which is a dish with diverse umami from the three kinds of chicken breast, heart, and liver blossomed on a plate, accentuates the appeal of comparing the taste of beers. After drinking Akita Aqula Beer’s refreshing Futarigakari, drink I’m So Wired with the harmonized flavor of moderate richness, sourness, and bitterness, which is brewed by Ise Kadoya Beer in Mie Prefecture, and it is delightful to search a chemistry while changing the taste.
Left photo: The original I’m So Wired by collaborating with Ise Kadoya Beer in Mie Prefecture and the medium size Pizza Margherita, JPY 680 (the large size is JPY 994).
Middle photo: Grilled Roughly Ground Sausage, a plate of six sausages, JPY 1,274 (a plate of three sausages is JPY 734) and Nova Paka’s Brouczech Dark from the Czech Republic.
Right photo: Akita Aqula Beer’s Futarigakari and Chicken Carpaccio, JPY 572.
All the beers are priced at JPY 421 for the regular size of 230 ml and JPY 745 for the large size of 410 ml.
As an easy-to-understand guide to judging the characteristics before drinking beer, first of all, the shades of colors, which are often linked to the taste, might be a rough indication. Pilsner has clean taste, weizen has a refreshing taste with strong fruity aroma, IPA (India Pale Ale) has a strong taste and is faintly sweet if fruit juice is added, and so on. So, you can predict the direction based on the difference in manufacturing to some extent. This is what I had thought; however, I was so surprised with Itsumono FM with the peach fruit juice manufactured through the collaboration with Fukushimaji Beer that I encountered at the bar because of its refreshing yet dignified taste like a samurai who just celebrated his coming of age! Just like Nova Paka’s Brouczech Dark from the Czech Republic where the color seems to be powerful but tastes smooth with a little bit of sweetness. So, there is also the type of beer that seems to be heavyweight but has a mild sweetness. The more beers I drank, the more the scales fell from my eyes.
Other than the beers I mentioned, if I talk about other beers that I drank at SWANLAKE Pub Edo Yaesu Branch and CRAFT BEER BAR IBREW Ginza 1-chome Branch, it will take the whole night, so I have to abandon this but there might be a situation where you fall in love with beer in an unlikely place. Even if you are a beginner or have experience, it would be better for you to not assume anything from the beginning. It is better drunk than said. If you open the door, the wide, deep, and happy world of craft beers will be waiting for you. There are many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Anyway, frequently visiting the bar is the best course of action to deepen your love of craft beers.
Profile of the guide: Fumiko Yamauchi
A heavy drinker and a travel writer who often appears in the gourmet magazine dancyu (President Inc.). Born in Aomori City in 1966. She graduated from the Department of Literary Arts, Nihon University College of Art. After being in charge of promotion at Penguin Books in the UK, she became independent. She is self-satisfied to stand on the stages of historic remains and tell stories at home and abroad, and drinking excellent alcohol at bars at night is what she lives for. She is a heavy drinker since she is called Itto-Chan as used in the units of 1-sho and 1-to (1-sho is 1.8 liters and itto or 1-to is 18 liters). Her books include Eikoku Kizoku no Yakata ni Tomarru (Stay in the Mansion of an Aristocrat in the UK) and Eikoku Fantasy wo Meguru London Sanpo (Strolling in London to Go Around British Fantasies) (both of them were published by Shogakukan), Akage no Anne no Shima he (To the island of Anne of Green Gables) and Harry Potter eno Tabi (Travel to Harry Potter) (Hakusensha), and Nippon Sake no Tabi (Travel to Find Good Sake in Japan) (Yosensha).
SWANLAKE Pub Edo Yaesu Branch
Address
Yaesu Go no Go Building 1F, 2-6-5 Yaesu, Chuo-ku
Tel
+81 (0)50-3464-5535
Business hours
Monday through Friday: 1 to 11:30 p.m. (LO 11 p.m.)
Saturday and holidays: 1 to 11 p.m. (LO 10:30 p.m.)
Regular holidays:
Sundays and public holidays (only if it is Monday)
CRAFT BEER BAR IBREW Ginza 1-chome Branch
Address
Toei (former Masumi) Building 1F, 2-11-7 Yaesu, Chuo-ku
Tel
+81 (0)3-3281-6221
Business hours
Monday through Friday: 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. (LO 11:30 p.m.)
Saturday: 2 to 11 p.m. (LO 10:30 p.m.)
Sunday and holidays: 2 to 10 p.m. (LO 9:30 p.m.)
Regular holidays
None
Website
https://ja-jp.facebook.com/CraftBeerBarIbrew/