Goodbeer Faucets / GBF Bottle Shoppe

GBF has been open now around a year but given the recent explosion of new places in Tokyo it already feels like a well-established veteran. As with most Japanese Craft Beer places, beer on tap is the focus here. They have 40 taps and 3 handpumps, split fairly evenly between Japanese micros and imports. The Japanese micros come from a variety of brewers, but with quite a few from Baird and Nide, and there always seems to be a decent mix of styles. The imports lean towards the US, but Brewdog also makes an appearance, I have seen Nogne O, and they normally have one or two Belgians on. As a Belgian beer snob, I would probably say that the Belgian taps normally tend to be the syrupy fruity stuff that seems to be the norm for Belgian taps in Tokyo bars. However, they occasionally do have good stuff on. I recently spotted XX Bitter which is pretty good by me.
The decor is modern and minimalist looking, with a large central island bar with a long counter round it. There is more counter-style seating by the large window, which gives you a nice place to drink and stare at the passing crowds if you are so inclined. There are a few tables too if you are in a group.
The big draw of Faucets for me is their Happy Hour. From 16.00 – 20.00 Monday to Thursday, and from 15.00 – 20.00 on Sunday, all pints are ¥200 off. This can make drinking here very economical. The normal prices are pretty standard for Tokyo, pints (473ml) range from ¥900-¥1100 for Japanese micros and ¥1100-¥1300 for imports. Glasses (236ml) are from around ¥500-750 for Japanese micros and ¥750-¥850 for imports. However, I should also mention their house beer Endless Brown Ale, made for them by Brimmer, which is pretty nice, and is only ¥700 a pint, so becomes an ultra-affordable ¥500 during happy hour. They have bottles too, some Belgians, Germans and a few others, in the ¥1200-¥1300 range, but personally I don’t think they are as interesting as the tap selections.
All in all, a really good part of the Tokyo scene. A nice bar with a good selection and decent prices. The staff are helpful and there is always someone there who can speak English. They are open late (till 3am) on Fridays too, which is nice if you end up in Shibuya at that time needing a decent beer. GBF is definitely on the must-visit list for any beer lover in Tokyo, whether you are interested in imports or Japanese micros.

Japanese breweries that appear on tap:
Baird
Nide
Chateau Kamiya
Baeren
Aqula
Hidatakayama
Swan Lake
Shonan
Kisoji
Nihonkai Club
Minamishinshu
Oh La Ho
North Island

Opening Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 16.00-24.00
Friday, 16.00-03.00
Saturday, 15.00-24.00
Sunday, 15.00-23.00

Location/map
松濤1-29-1, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0046 

Directions:
From Shibuya station, leave via the Hachiko crossing gate and proceed to the famous scramble crossing. From here if you look across the road you should see a silver tower at a fork just down the road with 109 on it. Head down the road on the right of the fork, past the adidas shop on the right-hand side and then a bit further down electronic superstore LABI on your left. At the next junction (where the Tokyu department store and Bunkamura are) head left. At the next set of traffic lights you will see a Family Mart on the right-hand side and Faucets is above it. If in doubt, ask for Bunkamura and then walk all the way round keeping your eyes on second floor premises at traffic lights.

Telephone:
03-3770-5544

Links:
Website
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