Good Japanese beer/bar?

I really liked Goodbeer Faucets & Devilcraft. Popeye was lots of fun too.

Brimmer only had 4-5 beers, but a good central location & great service made that lots of fun. Baird Harajuku was also good if you like US style stuff.

Recall very little of Craftheads.

I can't help with Yokohama, but shoot me a message and might be able to help more with Tokyo.

 

Here was the Popeye blackboard at the start of June. It is really easy to get to, very close to the Ryogoku JR Rail station.

 

Here was the Devilcraft taplist around the same time. The service here was excellent, so too the pizzas (their specialty)

 

Taplist at the time from Brewdog Tokyo. The Thrashzone was very good. Prices less so.

 

This was the taps at TY Harbor smokehouse, in Harajuku near the Oakley store

 

Ill be Tokyo and Kyoto in late Aug/early Sept. I appreciate the tips here, Popeye looks awesome. What about japanese whisky bars and whisky distiller tours? Anything else I must see?

 

Popeye is very much an institution there. Been around for about 30 years, in the Lonely Planet books, so it can get packed pretty quickly. It had the most taps that i found, also the most Japanese beer (a lot of other places have an imported i.e. US beer focus).

I can't speak highly enough of the Hitachino Nest brewery tour. It is a couple of hours by train from Tokyo (need to catch a train from Ueno to Mito and then change at Mito), but well worth it and the people are just the best you will come across. They have a near 200 year old restaurant at the Sake brewery where the tasting room for the beers is also located. The beer brewery is about 10 min drive by car. You will need to email ahead to book a spot. Good idea would be to bring some US beer to give to the tour guide as thanks (they have brewery staff tasting every so often). Mito station also has a bar owned by Kiuchi/Hitachino.

Not sure on the whisky side of things sorry. Tanakaya liquor, 50 yards away from Mejiro station has an excellent whisky selection from around the world.

Another thing to bear in mind, a lot of places are cash only (no debit/credit cards or EFTPOS). Tanakaya for instance is cash-only. ATM's that accept foreign cards aren't everywhere (Citibank, Japan Post), so just bear that in mind.

 

Great thanks man!

 

I am especially keen of this Google™ map.

 

Baird Taproom in Harajuku is a good one

 

I prefer Baird's Nakameguro taproom over Harajuku. Both are fine, but Nakameguro just has a better vibe.

Ushitora in Shimokitazwa is fantastic, Devilcraft in Hamamatsucho is nice, and if for some reason you find yourself in Sangenjaya, Pigalle is a great European-focused craft bar with typically one or two Japanese options on tap. My wife and I rented an apartment in Sangenjaya this past April, so Pigalle was our late night hang out.

Also, if you or anyone finds their way to Osaka, Craft Beer Base is great and centrally located in the shadow of the Umeda Sky Building. Going out to Minoh to visit the brewery is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Seriously, I can't recommend it enough. Hike up the falls and then stop at the brewery before heading back into Osaka.

 

Totally forgot to mention that Oh! La! Ho! Beer is killing it right now. Their Captain Kid Extra Pale Ale was awesome.

 

Plan on heading out to Japan in early June. I wanted to bring some bottles to share with the staff at different beer bars around Tokyo, but don't know the policy. Are places open to that or should I just leave the bottles at home. Thanks for the info.

 

I gave some bottles to staff. They liked the gesture. Not sure about sharing though

 

Yeah Craftheads for Beer and Bourbon. (I can't believe they get 3 Floyds and pipeworks and NYC doesn't!)

Devilcraft for beer and pizza.

Baird Harajuku taproom for beer and bar bites.

Popeyes for way too many taps and free food at happy hour.

 

Anyone going to the Great Japan Beer Festival in Tokyo?

http://beertaster.org/index-e.html