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…

Summer 2012 It’s been a very busy season for beer so far. We start with the Kyoto Beer Festival in May. Organized by the four Kyoto breweries and Yamaoka liquor store, the festival this year spread from the park where it’s been hosted the past two years into the adjoining shopping arcade. Beer servers were…

Spring 2012 Craft beer season has kicked off! Actually, there is no specific season for craft beer. It tastes great all year long! But the warmer months tend to bring out the festivals. So let’s just say the busy festival season has kicked off in earnest. It all began with a unique festival co-organized by…

Autumn 2011 As the summer shifted to early fall, craft beer activity continued full steam. The Ichinoseki beer festival in late August hit a slight ‘bump’ as a strong aftershock on the first day shut down train lines, delaying the arrival of many a thirsty drinker. The lovely Tohoku town had even debated not having…

Summer 2011 As always, summer is a busy season on the beer circuit. We’ve been to most of the festivals and are excited to see the continued growth of the craft beer nation. Kyoto’s Yamaoka liquor store (which stocks bottles of craft beer) successfully hosted the Kyoto beer festival for its second year in late…