Culturebox: The Portland of the Far East

Now playing: Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V at www.slatev.com.
drink The Portland of the Far East Craft beer is booming in Japan. By Mark Garrison Posted Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at 6:42 AM ET Walking through Tokyo's garish Roppongi district on my first visit to Japan, I found it remarkably easy to ignore the pulsing high-tech signs promoting electronics, movies, and cars. What caught my eye was probably the most modest ad: a tiny bilingual sandwich board that said "Craft Beer Bar." When I think of Japanese alcohol, sake and mass-produced lagers come to mind. Apart from the excellent Hitachino Nest, I wasn't aware of any Japanese craft brewers of note. Skeptical, I squeezed down a narrow staircase into a tiny, subterranean bar, expecting nothing more than insight into which foreign craft beers suit the Japanese palate, and possibly a taste of a Hitachino Nest creation that hadn't yet crossed the Pacific. I got neither. Instead, I found 19 gleaming taps ingeniously squeezed into the diminutive space, with every last one offering a local brew. That bar (it's called Ant 'n' Bee, in case you'd like to visit) and those beers represent just a fraction of what's available. Japan's craft beer is little known globally, but alarmingly good. Breweries you've never heard of and may struggle to pronounce are making well-executed beers in a wide array of styles. I sampled a white beer from Shiroyama, cloudy with citrus and a hint of spice, subtle enough to please Belgian witbier partisans. Those who like muscular hop flavor would probably enjoy the powerful IPA I tried from Minami Shinshu. To continue reading, click here. Mark Garrison is a journalist and co-host of The Sporkful, a food podcast and blog, at sporkful.com. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Did Goldman Con the Government? Maybe. Did It Con Its Customers? You Bet. Now I Know Why It's So Difficult To Design a Search Engine That's Safe for Kids Coke and Pepsi's Plant-Based Bottles Are Just as Bad for You as Regular Plastics	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe | Forward to a Friend | Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group | Privacy Policy The Slate Group | c/o E-mail Customer Care | 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 | Washington, D.C. 20036