Deep Kyoto

good places - good people

Craft Beers at Kyoto Brewing Company Taproom

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Here’s a pleasant way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. Head down to Kyoto Brewing Company’s Taproom and enjoy the very freshest craft beers in a super relaxed and casual space. If the weather is good you can sit outside, and if not, you can chat to the friendly brewery staff indoors as they pull your pints. In the colder months they will also set up a tent outside with heating.

Mewby enjoying the cool and crafty weekend beverage vibes.

The taproom has six taps with a mix of regular beers and seasonal specials. The beers themselves are a fusion of American and Belgian styles priced at 600 yen for each 400ml glass. I enjoyed a glass of Ichigo Ichie (a fruity/spicy Saison style beer), which I followed up with a very satisfactory seasonal IPA. These are great artisanal beers, well priced, and served in a very special location.

Deep down inside all beer crates secretly want to be chairs or tables.

The brewery doesn’t serve food itself, but there is often a food truck on site for the taproom’s opening hours, and if not, you can bring your own snacks.

Perfectly poured by people who care from perfectly maintained taps.
Souvenir glasses and t-shirts are also on sale inside.

Opening hours: Kyoto Brewing Company Taproom is only open on weekends from 12.00-18.00 (Last orders are at 17.30). As the taproom closes on occasion, when the brewery staff are taking part in special events, you should check the scheduled openings either on the official Kyoto Brewing website, or on their Facebook page. Please note also that the taproom is not open on public holidays.

A window onto wonders. This is where the magic happens.

Location: Kyoto Brewing Co. is located in a former lumber yard about 10 minutes’ walk south of Toji Temple, about 15 minutes south west of Toji Station, and 12 minutes west of Jujo Station. Here is a MAP of the location.

Address: 25-1 Nishikujyo, Takahatacho, Minami-ku, Kyoto 601-8446
Tel: 075-574-7820

Once a lumber yard, now a hub of local beer appreciation.

Kyoto Brewing Company’s craft beers can also be enjoyed at a range of venues around town including (but not limited to) Tadg’s Gastro Pub, Bungalow, 100K, Bozu Bar, Beer Komachi, Len, and Beer Pub Takumiya.

Craft Beer in Japan: The Essential Guide by Mark Meli

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Ry and mark
Real beer lovers: Publisher Ry Beville and author Mark Meli launching the book at Tadg’s Bar Kyoto.

This is an excellent little book, packed with useful information for beer lovers here in Japan and a handy portable size for carrying around to all those bars. Personally, I enjoy drinking craft beers, but I am very far away from being an expert, and far too lazy to study the variety of beers available in a systematic way. Fortunately, Mark Meli has done my homework for me. Mark has long had an almost venerated reputation as the authority on craft beer here in Kyoto. In fact Tadg revealed at the book’s launch party that he has long relied on Mark’s counsel when choosing beers for his bar. Now Mark has distilled that expertise and five years of research into this fine book: the very first, and currently only English language guide to Japan’s craft beers. [Read more…]

Craft Beer in Kyoto

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A pinty at Tadg's
A pint at Tadg’s. Craft beer has become a serious business in Kyoto.

Craft beer is trending in Kyoto with craft beer festivals twice a year, many bars stocking varieties and some bars dedicating their business completely to promoting craft beer culture. There are two craft beer breweries in Kyoto, and another starting next year. Here I talk to Tadg McLoughlin who runs the eponymous Tadg’s: a craft beer specialty bar in Kyoto, about being on the cusp of this trend. Below the video I have posted a list of bars serving craft beer in Kyoto, with links for maps and details. [Read more…]

Baird Beer & Oysters at Dining Room You

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oysters and baird beer
This picture by Robert Yellin

Many thanks to Robert Yellin for introducing us to Dining Room You, earlier this month. Hearing that they had both oysters and Baird beer there I was eager to give the place a try. We found it casual, and relaxed with a tiny garden at the back. Snow was gently falling to set the mood.
 

Here’s Robert in his element with a IMG_5007bottle of Angry Boy Brown Ale. Realizing that the owners of You were keen to compliment their food with the very best nihonshu, Robert felt that something was missing from the menu, and was good enough to introduce them to Baird Beer. It’s a shame to drink cheap beer when you are eating good food. Now they have the very best craft brews and all are served in these lovely ceramic cups.

oysters (Medium)
This picture by Chihiro Yadokoro

 

We weren’t just there for the beer though, but for the oysters. Robert ordered five right off the bat – raw with just a slice of lemon. I have to agree with Robert that this is the best way to eat them. But for those who can’t stomach them raw, there are plenty of options: steamed in sake, fried, in tempura… So many tantalizing alternatives to try!

Here’s two more with yuzu ponzu.

IMG_5009 (Medium)

IMG_5011 (Medium)
Robert is also keen to recommend the Jikon nihonshu. He brings a little bag of sake cups with him when he goes drinking, as he feels it’s a shame to drink good sake out of mass-produced cups. He’s right too. The flavor of the nihonshu is subtly altered by the shape and texture of each individual hand-crafted cup. You are not simply drinking sake, you are experiencing it through the medium of a craftsman’s art.

IMG_5015 (Medium)

Oysters are a seasonal dish and in season now, so if you want to try them you’d best get yourself up to You pretty soon. But it’s not all oysters there of course. We had steamed clams, grilled broad beans, gyoza, and saba no kizushi (mackerel marinated in mackerel). And how better to finish the meal than with a dish of macha tea-flavored chocolate ice-cream?

Great food, great beers, great nihonshu… and most importantly great company. That’s the good life for you. We’ll definitely be going back.

map to YOUDining Room You is on the north side of Shimochoja Dori, east of Horikawa, next to a Family Mart convenience store. Here is a map from Bing.
Opening hours: 17:30 – 00:00
Closed on Tuesdays.
Tel: 075-414-0166

Tadg’s Irish Bar and Restaurant

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The Home of Craft Beer in Kyoto

Meet the family: Jimmy, Tadg, Mika, and Ben.

Four years since it first opened, the Irish pub formerly known as Mc Loughlin’s has been renamed as Tadg’s. Not a big change really, as I think everyone was calling it that anyway. I’ve written previously about this pub; its friendly hospitality and the fantastic views over the river and city. And Tadg’s cooking is also justifiably renowned; he uses locally grown organic vegetables in his many fine creations and the menu features an impressive vegan section. All that aside though, this bar’s most impressive feature is the selection of craft beers: Rogue, Ise Kadoya, Minoh, Yeti Imperial Oak and Victory at Sea… I had a snifter of the latter last night; a fine coffee flavored porter with hints of bitter chocolate like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. Absolutely gorgeous. [Read more…]