Robert Yellin gives careful thought to what he drinks from. If you’re going to drink craft beer, why not drink from a craft vessel?
The owner of an internationally famous Japanese pottery gallery in Kyoto with clients ranging from prestigious museums to world celebrities, Yellin has been conducting hands-on research of yakimono for three decades. He doesn’t just study books but travels widely to pottery-producing towns in Japan where he develops personal relationships with artists. Many yakimono aficionados consider Yellin the foremost expert on contemporary Japanese pottery. He is, without a doubt, the world expert on which yakimono are best for drinking craft beer.
Before moving to Kyoto last year, Yellin spent most of his adult life in Numazu where Baird Beer’s brewery is located. Naturally, he cultivated a penchant for craft beer there. Over the years, he has developed an excellent sense for what makes a good craft beer drinking vessel.
“People in Europe have been drinking from steins for centuries. In Japan, it’s been sake from yakimono. But when I was in Bizen, at Nakamura Makoto’s place, he started pouring beer into one of his pieces. He said, ‘this vessel makes the head creamier,’ and sure enough, that was true.”
Clay is somewhat porous and that texture helps develop a creamy head. Yellin claims unglazed Bizen, Shigaraki and Iga vessels are usually the best for beer.
“The lips of yakimono are all different: thick, thin, smooth, rough, curved uniquely. It will all change how you experience the taste and aroma.”
Yellin is also influencing the production of yakimono, claiming that the mugs most artists made were all too small. He wants to be able to drink a full 330ml bottle from a mug, for example, and shares this idea with artists. Ichii Kei from Okayama was one artist who came back with bigger mugs.
“The mugs were smaller because in Japan, people had typically shared beers by pouring for each other. But most craft beer fans want to drink from a proper mug of beer. And when you chill the mugs, it’s really nice.”
Some traditional restaurants in Kyoto now serving craft beer, like Omen in Kodaiji, have begun using Yellin’s mugs. But what if you drop them? For starters, Yellin claims that people shouldn’t worry so much about the value, that if they break, that was the fate of that piece. Such yakimono is meant to be used, not simply exhibited. Also, many of the mugs are quite affordable. Some cost just a few thousand yen. For less than ¥10,000 you can get a fine piece of art. Otherwise, for a couple million yen or more, splurge on some Shino masterpieces. Yellin would love to add some more funds to his craft beer budget!
Robert Yellin Yakimono Gallery
Ginkakuji-mae-cho 39, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto-fu 606-8407
TEL: 075-708-5581 FAX: 075-708-5393
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.
