Spring 2011

There have been an abundance of craft beer events these past few months, most of them held for charity. Perhaps the largest was the “Re-Fermenting Japan” event held April 17th in Tokyo, organized by the Good Beer Club with cooperation from brewers throughout Japan. Over twenty breweries donated kegs for the event, and the cost of attendance was whatever guests wanted to donate at the door. The haul? Over one million yen (USD$10,000+) for Tohoku! Hori of Nide Beer also helped organize a great charity event at Roti on April 23rd that included several businesses in the craft beer industry. Finally, Suzuki Shinya of the soon-to-open Bay Brewing in Yokohama kicked off another big charity event in Minato-mirai that attracted several hundred festive drinkers.

Of course, bars all across Japan collected charity donations in some form or another and deserve credit. We’d like to give special mention to Tadg’s in Kyoto for holding regular charity concerts and recruiting volunteers to go north. Also, a big thanks to Rogue in the U.S. for donating $5000 to relief efforts! Reconstruction is expected to take years; it’s not too late to hold special charity events. If you do, announce it on the BBS on our website. We’ll help spread the word!

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.