by Kumagai Jinya After last year’s inaugural hosting of Snow Monkey Beer Live, showcasing craft beer and good music, Shigakogen is doing it again this March. But how many have actually encountered one of those snow monkeys? During the winter when the snow falls, the hot springs must look rather inviting and those monkeys inevitably…

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.…

by Kumagai Jinya The great appeal of brewpubs, where beer and food is made on the premises, is without a doubt that you can get beer freshly made right there. There are actually quite a few brewers that serve their own beer, and asking them about brewing techniques and beer condition is fun, too. Brewpubs…

by Lee Reeve “How do you know how much alcohol’s in the beer when you make it?” is one of the most frequently asked questions I got as a homebrewer. The answer is, of course, gravity. No, not Sir Isaac Newton’s mutual attraction between any two bodies in the universe gravity; but rather, the term…

Some conversations with Charlie Papazian photos & text: Ry Beville Charlie Papazian. The name almost needs no introduction in the world of craft beer. He’s a craft beer advocate and celebrity at least equal in stature to the late beer critic and author Michael Jackson, Sierra Nevada co-founder Ken Grossman, or the man who saved…