Many people differentiate between “craft beer bars” and “Belgian beer bars” in Japan, but the distinction is becoming increasingly blurred. Some bars that originally specialized in Belgian beers have begun carrying domestic craft beer, while many more bars that focus on domestic craft beer are increasingly serving Belgian beers. At some establishments, like Craft Beer Base, it’s hard to tell which their specialty is, as if to say, “any good beer is good for us.”
This convergence makes sense. Consumers are increasingly interested in premium and craft beers, wherever they’re from. And most Belgian beers consumed in Japan are basically craft beers anyway. The breweries are typically small, many are privately owned and the brewers refuse to compromise quality ingredients for the sake of lower cost.
As Michel Moortgat, the president of Duvel, noted in our interview with him several years ago, Belgian beer provided much inspiration and market opportunity for craft beer in America during its early days there. The same is fairly true of Japan as well. Belgian beers have acclimated many consumers to pricier, but certainly more delicious, premium beers. Belgian beers are, for many people, a gateway to domestic craft beer.
Many brewers we’ve interviewed in these pages have revealed that some of their brews were in fact inspired by Belgian ones, Hoegaarden perhaps being the most common case. Minoh’s Yuzu White Ale, which won a gold medal at last year’s World Beer Cup, is one of several notable examples. Meanwhile, brewers like Honda at Swanlake, Gojo at Yokohama Brewery, and Mochizuki at Atsugi Beer are using Belgian yeasts in exciting ways.
We’ve decided to devote some pages of the Japan Beer Times to Belgian beer each issue. It’s important that we all know more about this centuries-old brewing tradition and the wonderful beers emerging from it. But for this issue, we’re going to introduce three individuals in Japan who are intimately linked with Belgian beer. Their success will impact the spread and appreciation of good beer in Japan. And that’s good for all of us.
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.
