"Craft Beer Festival" nomihodai!

[Taro Toporific]

Let's Nomihodai happy!
"World Craft Beer Festivall" at Sunshine 60 Bldg.
at the Bunka Kaikan Hall
Location: At Sunshine 60, Bunka Kaikan (cultural center/hall) on the 3rd floor, Hall C
Time: from 1pm to 8pm this Saturday and Sunday Sept. 18, 19
Advance tickets from Lawson, Ticket Pia, etc. 3,200 yen <or> 3,800 yen at the door.
url: http://www.wcbf.jp
General map to Sunshine 60: http://www.japan.com/travel/cities/ikebukuro_map.php

World Craft Beer Festival
September 18th & 19th 1 pm to 8 pm
Ikebukuro Sunshine City - Bunka Kaikan 3F Hall C
http://www.tokyopc.org/cgi-bin/webnews/readnews?I=%3ccibvh4%24qa5%241%40big.tokyopc.org%3e

Tickets: 3,200 yen in advance, 3,800 yen at the door

Sponsor: Nippon Broadcasting
Support: Good Beer Club, Japan Craft Beer Association Cooperation: Beer Club Popeye, Yaho Brewing Company (Yona Yona Ale), Kiuchi Shuzo (Hitachino Nest Beer), Seiwa, Mokuya, Toshin-Brussels
By Toshi Ishii
This is the first World Craft Beer Festival event, sponsored by Nippon Broadcasting (AM 1242), and will offer some 100 kinds of beer on draught, including 10 real ales from Japanese microbreweries, and some import beers from Belgium and the USA. Some 20 Japanese microbreweries will be represented at the event, and all beers will be served through taps or hand pumps only. The admission price gets you all the beer you can drink (though those who are unable to remain standing may be asked to leave). Some types of beer may run out, so go early to avoid disappointment.
Also of note will be the appearance of nine beers that have won awards at the World Beer Cup. They are Hitachino Nest White Ale, Nasu Kogen Scottish Ale, Swan Lake Amber and Porter, Allagash White (Maine USA), Blue Point Toasted Lager and ESB (New York USA), Sierra Nevada Stout (California USA), and Victory Hop Devil (Pennsylvania USA). Presumably, those who show up early have a chance at tasting these beers before they run out.
The event will also be a chance to meet key people in Japan's beer scene, such as Bryan Baird, who will be attending on Saturday, and Phred Kaufman of Ezo Beer, who plans to be there both days. There will also be retail booths selling beer in bottles and cans for take-away or home delivery.
Aoki-san of Popeye and I have organized all the volunteers, who are mostly members of the Good Beer Club. The volunteers will wear uniforms, sort of like a bartender's outfit, when serving tap beers. I will be in charge of all the handpumps dispensing real ale.
While at normal beer festivals each participating brewery has a booth, at this festival there will only be four booths, each for styles of beer from different countries: American, Belgian, British and German. For example, the American booth will feature American-style beers from Japanese microbreweries, such as Swan Lake Porter, Taiko Ale and Yona Yona Ale.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at Beer Club Popeye in Ryogoku, Beer House Kura Kura in Shimokitazawa, and at 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Lawson, and Sankus convenience stores. For more details, go to http://www.wcbf.jp or phone 0180-99-3544 (24 hours, in Japanese).

[krimebot]

I'm going tomorrow, maybe I'll see some other FGs

[mr. sparkle]

I'm going tomorrow, maybe I'll see some other FGs

I'm jealous 'bot. Give us the full scene report!

[Bucky]

Brian Baird mentioned above in Taro's post was featured in a post on the Huffington Post.

Earlier this month during a trip to Japan, I traveled to the coastal city of Numazu to visit Baird Brewing Company, one of the country's most innovative new craft breweries. When I arrived, I had the fortune to meet Bryan and Sayuri Baird, who founded the brewery in 2000. Bryan answered some questions about brewing in Japan:

Japanese ji-biiru (craft beer) boomed out of the gate in 1994 but was already turning into a bust by the time we were getting into it around 1997. There was, and still is, simply too much bad craft beer in Japan and not enough really good stuff. Thus, we had to overcome the largely negative image that the industry garnered for itself in its initial years. The other major challenge was simply that we were brewing a kind of beer that had never really existed in Japan before and people really didn't know what to make of it and us. The key to growing sales in a nascent market like craft beer in Japan is, in addition to great product, constant consumer education. The more that consumers understand about beer and about how and why we approach it the way we do, the more open they are to the experience. This sort of education, though, takes time and requires persistence.

Baird Brewing

[tone]

would be so nice to have some more beer alternatives in japan, green and silver labels dont mean much to me coming from seattle where we have a rip roaring craft brewing culture...

any of you guys into belgian beer? i had a weird trip to hong kong that ended up being where i discovered hoegaarden, which is now among my favorite tastes

[Mike Oxlong]

any of you guys into belgian beer? i had a weird trip to hong kong that ended up being where i discovered hoegaarden, which is now among my favorite tastes

The crack cocaine of beer!:cheers:

[GomiGirl]

The crack cocaine of beer!:cheers:

A beer that even I will drink. I am not normally a beer drinker.

[dimwit]

would be so nice to have some more beer alternatives in japan, green and silver labels dont mean much to me coming from seattle where we have a rip roaring craft brewing culture...

any of you guys into belgian beer? i had a weird trip to hong kong that ended up being where i discovered hoegaarden, which is now among my favorite tastes

Japan is full of very good local craft breweries. Matsuyama has two; Dogo Beer which brew three different German style beers and Umenishiki, which has about five or six varieties including a very good Belgian wheat beer knock-off. In fact, just about every prefecture seems to have one or two decent micros. The big problem is distribution. Outside of the toruist areas of the city craft beer are notoriously difficult to find.

We order wine every monthy and last year the company started selling craft beers monthly from all over Japan. Many of them were really good, and the ones from Shimine and Iwate in particular were outstanding. However, when I went to Shimine last spring, I couldn't find that beer anywhere.

Only one caviat I would have about micros. Beware of microbrews that come in a weird colors, like pink or blue. I tasted a 'blue' from Hokkaido recently and I suspect they were using diakon for the base of their malt. It was the sort of beer that could only be appreciated by someone who smoked 3 packs a day and consequently no longer had any taste buds left. The unpleasent favour seemed to stick with me for about two days.

[Bucky]

Japanese Craft beer finding its way to Seattle

[dimwit]

Actually have a good recommendation for craft beer fans. I was up in Wakayama back in Golden Week and I found a pretty good company called Nagisa, based in Shirahama. The make a Pale Ale and a American Wheat Beer and both are really enjoyable. Better yet they are reasonably priced. I think I paid about 350 yen a beer. Here is there website:

http://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/nagisa/