Autumn 2012

Did this past summer feel like beer festival overload? There wasn’t just a festival every weekend; sometimes there were two festivals the same weekend in the same region! While some grumbled that they wished organizers had cooperated better, this seems like the inevitable future, lacking the miraculous birth of new weekends.

We pick up where we left off last issue, just before BeerFes Osaka, a three-day event in a city that is quickly becoming a hotbed of craft beer activity. Several new craft beer bars have opened in recent months, and we hear constant rumors of other companies looking to open another place there. The thousands that showed up for the festival in July indicates there’s plenty enough demand for at least a few more bars. Or a few dozen.

Next stop on the summer tour was BeerFes Nagoya. Once a relative ghost town for craft beer, Japan’s 3rd largest city can now claim a growing festival and a handful of establishments serving craft beer—let’s hope that trend continues (come on, Kinshachi, we’re all waiting for a taproom!).

Several groups in Tottori prefecture hosted their second “Ji-Beer Fest Daisen” in a beautiful outdoor setting in August. Good music, good beer, good weather—what more do you need for a good summer festival? How about a good cause? Ichinoseki celebrated its legendary craft beer festival just a short drive from the coastline devastated by the 3-11 tsunami. Iwate and the city thank the many people who came from elsewhere in Japan to support craft beer and the region’s battered economy. May coastal reconstruction include at least one bar serving craft beer. Wouldn’t you travel out to support it?

JCBA, meanwhile, hosted the International Craft Beer Conference in Tokyo, right after judging for its International Beer Competition. Charlie Papazian was one of the many honored guests from overseas, and gave an encouraging keynote address regarding craft beer’s promising future. Although the conference is still in its infancy, it seems to hold much promise for the years ahead. We hope the momentum continues.

Thank goodness for the good people at Golden Garden (and also Raku Beer) who, every September, run the only major craft beer festival in Hiroshima, not to mention the entire region. Akita launched its annual festival the following weekend with strong support from local brewery Aqula. Two small organizations in small cities hosting big festivals—we sense other regional municipalities paying attention. The gears are turning.

Two of Japan’s largest craft beer festivals kicked off in mid-September: BeerFes Yokohama and the Keyaki Hiroba Craft Beer Festival in Saitama. Many breweries divided their staff up to attend both; we divided available livers. Ballast Point, which traveled all the way from San Diego, dropped into both, too. Before the festivities, they visited Coedo’s brewery to brew a special collaboration beer: Coedo’s first IPA! BeerFes Yokohama included a guest brewery from Taiwan, as well. Will craft beer festivals in Japan become increasingly international?

“Yes!” say Ai Tani, of Craft Beer Base, and Ajen Birmingham, organizers of the inaugural “World Craft Beer Tasting” festival held in Osaka the following weekend. It featured most of the major importers of American and European craft beer and a handful of great Japanese breweries. Over a thousand guests attended—not bad for a first event. It helped that they had great music, decent food and good prices. Bakuon, held just a short train ride away the same weekend, offered similar fare, but was more of a community festival. Well, nothing better than craft beer infiltrating the uninitiated community, right? We hope more local festivals invite craft brewers to set up stalls. That’s a win-win situation.

Did Yokohama need another beer festival? Yes, it did. Hundreds showed up at the Ichinoseki Beer Fest in Yokohama, despite Oktoberfest just a few blocks away. Alas, this will be the festival’s last year. So as to go out in style, someone hijacked one of (insert large beer maker’s name here)’s frozen beer machines and pumped some Belgian lambic into it. Yum… Now that’s something we could drink more of!

Hakata Beer Festival was thankfully moved back to early October this year—the atrium in Riverain where it’s held was literally a greenhouse in previous summers. We feel that Fukuoka is finally catching on to the great pleasures of craft beer, as evidenced by a new craft beer bar opening, and several other established bars switching over to craft beer. We also hear that ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel’s restaurant is planning to host regular craft beer pairing dinners. Keep it up, Fukuoka!

Kyoto’s four breweries, along with local champions of craft beer, Yamaoka liquor store, held the second installment of their craft beer festival in Zest, an underground shopping arcade. The Spring session got mobbed, but luckily this time they were better prepared and even invited Minoh and new brewery, Zigzag, to participate in the fun. Next year, we hope for more breweries—and geisha. Lots of geisha.

We’ve saved the best news for last. A few Yokohama city employees struck on a great idea: promote the city through beer. And why not? It’s the birthplace of Kirin, it’s home to three craft breweries, and central Yokohama is chock full of craft beer bars. Its sister city is San Diego, and many of that city’s great beers are available in Yokohama through locally-based Nagano Trading. Add to that all the beer festivals…

Well, after a competitive application process and presentation to a panel, we won the rights to publish (fireworks!) the Yokohama Beer Magazine (see image, opposite page). This is a one-off, bilingual guide to Yokohama’s rich beer scene and history. It features guides and maps to not only the city’s beer attractions, but also other entertainment options like music, fine dining and cultural facilities. Ten thousand copies are even on their way to San Diego, to entice beer lovers there to visit Yokohama. If you are a bar or restaurant owner here in Japan, contact us and we’ll send you a stack for free. If you’re an individual, visit our website for ordering a single copy: www.japanbeertimes.com/issues

We’re actually talking with governments of other cities with strong craft beer scenes about possibly publishing similar bilingual guides for them next year. Now that’s some sensible use of tax payer money for city promotion, don’t you think?

This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.