Reviews & info on some beers, bars & pubs in Japan (mainly Tokyo/Yokohama area) - with an extra large serving of nonsensical jibbbbah jabbah thrown in:

Thursday 7 January 2010

Czech this out - PUB CRAWL!

A friend of mine, Jiří Kotýnek is in town.
Jiri is Czech. He is a brewer.
He brews for the Nihon Kai lub in Ishikawa.
He likes beer.
He asked me to take him to some interesting bars and have some good beer.
I do like a challenge!
PUB CRAWL!!!!He gets off work today at 1:30. Then it's on!
I'm hoping to have already started, in the Nakameguro Taproom.I'll be drinking Baird beer and probably 2 of the 4 beers Nagano Trading have on at that place.
I'll be trying the Stone Arrogant Bastard and the Ballast Point big eye IPA.
Lovely beers!

I’m hoping Jiri can meet me there and we can have a few warm up drinks.
Then we go to Yokohama and Pivovar Yokohama, where we hope to meet the chief brewer, Suzuki san. Suzuki san worked breifly in Prague at the famous brewpub Ur fleku and met Jiri, so it should be a nice reunion - with lots of beer!
I want to try the Apache Scream IPA!
Then we go to the Thrash Zone, to meet Tim Maloney and maybe one or two others (Chuck?).I'll also try a Big EYE IPA there and compare it with the Taproom quality.
I'll also recommend Jiri try a Nagahama ale and maybe Shinano, as well as Minoh beers.

Then it's off on the Toyoko line to Shibuya and maybe a brief food stop
then to the Aldgate, where we are hoping to meet up with a few home brewing friends who may want to meet Jiri and 'pump him' for information.After a few beers there, we rush to Towers and Bulldog and Nagano Sake miura if we have time.
If not, we go straight to Popeyes, and the last bar of the day.
It's a tiny bar, with just SEVENTY beers on tap.
It's gotta end at Popeyes.
Not sure if I can manage all 70 beers, but I'm gonna try and see how far I go.
Once you get there, you're not going anywhere else.

Hoping we can last the night.
If you feel like coming out, why don't you join us?

Come on, it's Friday!

Just take care not to drink too much, or you never know how the evening may turn out.
Wahatever you do, have a great weekend.

Friday 1 January 2010

Happy New Year!!!! Grrrr!!!!!


New, year, new decade.

The year of the TIGER!I hope you all have a great 2010.
I'm off to the Craft Beer Bar, in Kannai, one of the few remaining bars to be open during this time.

They have a great line up of quality Japanese craft beer:

Minoh English bitter (hand pump)
Baird Teikoku IPA
Fujisakura weissen

Shiga Kogen pale ale

Swan Lake Belgian IPA

Swan Lake IPA

Iwate Kura pale ale (handpump
, latest batch)
Hakusekikan doux marriage
Baeren schwarz
Harvestmoon New Year pilsner


The perfect way to usher in the New Year!
If you fancy it, pop down and join me for a few!

Just be careful not to drink too much, or you may find yourself waking up next to a big fat pig.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!