Beer Cellar Tokyo is a fairly recently opened, bar, bottle shop and soon to be brewery located in Komae in west Tokyo, not too far from Komae or Kitami stations on the Odakyu line. There seems to be a connection with Beer Cellar Sapporo, at least nominally and thematically. The big difference is that it will soon also be a brewery, with brewing set to begin in the next few weeks. Here’s what you need to know.
– Front of the building is a standing bar with a couple of counters and some bottle and can stocked fridges round the corner. The back of the building is the nice shiny new Izumi brewery which will get going some time this month (January 2018).
– 10 taps of US imports from the Oregon area. I imagine the focus will shift to some of their own taps when their beer is ready. Pricing is reasonable, ranging from ¥600-¥800 for a half and ¥900-¥1200 for a US pint. Taplist is posted on their facebook page daily. Growler fills are also available. In addition there are a couple of well-stocked fridges of US import bottles and cans which also seem pretty reasonably priced. The price for drink-in and take away is the same, which is nice. Update: They are now brewing and on my recent visit had three of their own beers (Izumi), on at the lower end of the above prices. They had a farmhouse ale, a dark strong saison and a sour, so it’s clear that they’re not going with the same old styles. The farmhouse ale was very very nice.
– The place is no smoking, there will be wifi coming soon, plenty of plug points for charging phones and they open during the day! They are happy with you bringing in your own food too.
So, right now, before they’ve started brewing, this is a fun place to visit. When they start brewing I imagine it will get even better. They seem to have a genuine interest in beer which you would imagine most places would have, but I find it’s not always the case. I’m looking forward to going back when their beers are ready and will update this post when I do. Cheers!
Japanese breweries seen on tap when I visited:
Izumi
Opening Hours:
Wednesday & Thursday, 16:00-21:00
Friday, 16:00-22:00
Saturday, Sunday & holidays, 12:00-21:00
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Location/map:
1-12-1 和泉本町, Komae-shi, Tokyo
Telephone:
03-5761-7130
My favorite local spot. Those 10 taps are still going strong with half of them pumping out Izumi Brewery’s stuff, the other 5 Oregon / Japan-centric. The can/bottle selection also great, with no opening fees, always a bonus.