Summer 2013

Imagine summer without beer. Yeah, didn’t think you could. This summer, there’s been copious consumption, especially at the ballooning number of festivals. Craft beer boom? Seems, too, like there’s a festival boom.

In May, the four Kyoto breweries along with Yamaoka Liquor Store hosted their Kyoto Craft Beer Festival once again along the Sanjô shopping arcade. We were pleased to see greater participation from merchants along the arcade this year, not to mention people not so accustomed to craft beer turning out in droves. Craft beer festivals in such natural city settings are often more stimulating. They also allow unitiated pedestrians to wander in. Brewers, got your hunting nets ready?

A week later, one of Japan’s fastest growing festivals, the Keyaki Hiroba Spring Beer Festival, managed to survive an initial night of downpours for another successful installment. The fall version will be held inside Saitama Arena, rather than in the lovely elm (keyaki) plaza (hiroba) outside. Time to rename it? We’re talking about the arena: Craft Beer Arena. That has a nice ring.

The end of May saw both Craft Beer Live in Osaka, and the Tsukuba Craft Beer Fest, which is run by students! This important demographic is the future of craft beer and we hope to see more student organizations around the country taking similar initiative. Some universities even have craft beer social clubs. Now universities just need Craft Beer 101 courses. Required, of course.

BeerFes Tokyo, Tokyo’s largest craft beer festival, did not disappoint this year. Guests were perhaps surprised to receive, instead of the usual tiny tasting glasses, new tulip-shaped “Best Aroma Glasses”. Many were happy not only about the enhanced aroma, but also about servers who, oops, poured too much. Next year we hope for even bigger imperial pint aroma glasses and, oops, failed pours again.

Nature. Camping. Music. Food. Ji Beer Fest Daisen? Yes: add craft beer. Outdoor camping music festivals have spread all over Japan―too bad this is the only one serving craft. Come on, promoters, if you have such good music, then why not good beer, too? Serve it, and we shall come.

Tochigi Craft Beer Festival ran toward the end of June, with our brave correspondent Kumagai Jinya venturing into the unknown… to discover that craft beer is alive and thriving in Utsunomiya.

Niigata has many a good brewery and, finally, a good festival to serve thirsty locals. “Craft Beer no Jin” took over the city at the end of June and shows signs of being a major festival in the years ahead. And with so many great sake breweries in the prefecture, too, would it be too much of a betrayal to invite them, too? Of course not; craft sake and craft beer are kissing cousins after all.

One of our favorite festivals of the summer, Tanabata Beer Festa Toyama, expanded again this year, adding a Friday night session to the weekend. Festivals across Japan seem to be getting longer. Eventually, we will have a festival for every day of the year, will need more days and will need to reinvent the calendar.

BeerFes Osaka followed the following July weekend. Yep, more “Best Aroma Glasses” and, oops! Big Pours! Some people have been noting that the price has been creeping up for these JCBA events over the years. Actually, we’ve noticed that the international selection and overall diversity has been increasing, so we don’t mind. Neither did the thousands of people who descended on Kyocera Dome for the United Nations of Craft Beer.

That’s all for festivals until we go to press. What about the rest of the Japanese craft beer world? As we’ve been reporting, mainstream media is increasingly picking up on the growing trend―no magazine wants to be left out of reporting on something so cool. Popular women’s magazine Hanako, among others, recently ran a rather well-informed feature. We even spotted one of our popular T-shirts on the cover of Kansai regional magazine “Meets.” Now if the Person of the Year for Time magazine would only wear one of our shirts… We recently released a new T-shirt, after many requests over the years for something more positive. It says, “Craft Beer is My Lifeblood: I take frequent transfusions.” What wasn’t positive about Bad Beer is the Enemy?

Back to the publishing world, we’ve spotted two new publications of late that may be of interest to readers. Fujiwara Hiroyuki recently released “World Beer Museum” (Japanese), to add to his other publications. The Japanese-language “120 Places to Drink Fucking Great Craft Beer” (Did we mistranslate 極上?) also came out from Enterbrain, Inc. The big bombshell, of course, is Craft Beer in Japan: the essential guide. Dr. Mark Meli’s landmark publication of a complete guide to craft breweries in Japan also includes informative historical and culture essays, as well as a guide to festivals and some of Japan’s best bars. It is the fruit of years of ‘research’ he was lucky to survive. Copies on sale soon from this website.

Finally, in international craft beer news, another collaboration between Coedo and Ballast Point, East to West IPA, has reached these shores. Great to see trans-Pacific love, ne (right)? Devil’s Canyon also released a “Yoroshiku IPA” for its debut draft beer in Japan. They’re additionally distributing it in the U.S., which will hopefully make people curious about Japan’s craft beer scene. By year’s end expect thousands of Americans arriving in Japan speaking only one Japanese word: Yoroshiku. Would’ve been funnier if they called it “Miruku Chôdai” (Gimme milk).

OK, this column is over. Beer chôdai.

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.