September, 2010:

Beer. The most social of all drinks. It’s the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and has been appreciated in cultures all over the world—there are even hieroglyphics in Egypt showing workers receiving beer as payment! The only more popular drinks overall are water and tea.

Beer is of course widely drunk in Japan and Japan is one of the world’s largest beer producers. There would seem to be many choices available, but this is actually not the case. The big beer companies have significant control over the market and the typical lagers are about all that people drink. Japan actually has a growing craft beer (microbeer) industry but because of distribution difficulties and other barriers, finding the beer is difficult. Did you know that there are over 200 microbreweries in Japan, several of them world-class?

The general lack of choice in Japan became apparent during a recent trip to the U.S. where there is a thriving craft beer industry; a great selection of good beer is available at almost any restaurant or supermarket you visit. Why shouldn’t Japan be the same?—again, because beer and a whole lot of other consumer products are limited by tightly controlled distribution networks. This is why you should care, even if you don’t like beer. Consumers should have more choice from retailers, but need to demand it. Ask for organic. Ask for Fairtrade. Ask for good beer. Power ultimately lies in the hands of the consumer.

The other problem is education. Most Japanese just don’t know much about craft beer, or they have tasted poor-quality varieties that have negatively shaped their opinions. This has to change and we hope to help.

Why a beer revolution in Yokohama? And why us? As you may know, Yokohama was the location of Japan’s first commercial brewery, built up on the Yamate bluff! Yokohama also has good consumer demographics, especially for craft beer. There is a relatively good number of small bars here that already serve a fine selection of craft beer. As a magazine, we have close working relationships with most of these places, and also our industry responsibility is to educate and inform. One of our partner publications is the Japan Beer Times, the country’s only craft beer magazine, published bilingually every season! We can very easily connect interested bars, restaurants and retailers with excellent breweries, circumventing the expensive and limiting distribution channels while stimulating local economies.

We are also proud of our local brewery, the Yokohama Brewery in Bashamichi. The young, ambitious brewer Suzuki Shinya frequently hosts beer events to try to raise awareness of the variety and great taste of craft beer. We support these events and also try to host some of our own every two months. Our next one is on September 25th, when we will hold a brew cruise in the Yokohama Bay: all-you-can-drink of some of the best craft beer from Japan and the U.S. together with a two-hour cruise! Beer education and appreciation aside, Yokohama just needs more of these fun events.

There are a few beer festivals held in Yokohama every year. Much to our disappointment, these are run by organizations outside Yokohama. Do they care about Yokohama, or just the money they can get from its residents? This is something we feel very strongly about; money should stay local, as much as possible. A wealth of professional research from around the world backs us up. Together with Suzuki and a few devoted others, we hope to foster this industry from within Yokohama, for Yokohama (and city hall, don’t you want the tax revenues, too?).

We won’t bother you much more with this ‘mission’ of ours in future issues. There are a lot of other things in Yokohama that need attention. But for now, kanpai (cheers) and ganbarimasho (let’s fight the good fight)!

For information about the brew cruise and ticket availability, please check our website: www.yokohamaseasider.com

For more information about Japan Beer Times, please visit: www.japanbeertimes.com

Below is a list of some of the bars in Yokohama that serve craft beer. You can find copies of the Japan Beer Times at most of these locations. This article is not a paid advertisement or paid editorial. We’re serious about this!

Apollo: Naka-ku, Hanasaki-cho 1-9-1 (中区花咲町1-9-1)
Charcoal Grill & Bar Green: Naka-ku, Ishikawa-cho 1-8 (中区石川町1-8)
Cheers: Kanagawa-ku, 3-32-14-B1F (神奈川区鶴屋町3-32-14-B1F)
Copa: Aoba-ku, Shiratoridai 1-9-2F (青葉区しらとり台1-9 安藤ビル2F)
Craft Beer Bar: Naka-ku, Ota-cho 2-31-3-102 (中区太田町2-31-3-102)
Pivo-ya: Hodogaya-ku, Tenno-cho 1-7-1 (保土ヶ谷区天王町1-7-1)
Thrash Zone: Kanagawa-ku, Tsuruya-cho 2-19-8-2F (神奈川区鶴屋町2-19-8-2F)
Three Lions Pub: Naka-ku, Tokiwa-cho 1-4-2 (中区常盤町１-4-2)
Yokohama Brewery: Naka-ku, Sumiyoshi-cho 6-68-1 (中区住吉町6-68-1)