Heading down to the opening night of Yggdrasil Brewing (blog post to follow soon, I’m giving them a little time to get going before I write anything), I popped into to a couple of places in Chigasaki that I’ve been meaning to visit for a long time (a phrase that is becoming something of a regular refrain on here, it seems). Gold’n Bub has been on my list for a while as I’ve heard great things about it. This is another Kanagawa brewpub so perhaps I should change the name of this blog, but is in relatively easy reach of Tokyo and has the added benefit of being by the seaside, if you’re into that kind of thing. Here’s what you need to know.
– Taproom and brewery of Barbaric Works beer, which you can find at quite a few places in Tokyo now. This is a nice looking place, with a U-shaped counter for maybe twelve and a few other high tables for maybe ten. Seems pretty trendy and young, but I would say that as someone who is conscious about being not young and is deeply unfashionable. I don’t want to say the word ‘hipster’ as it has negative connotations, but that will give you a bit of a feel for what is going on here. There’s a patio too, but I guess we’re currently heading into the wrong season for that. Who knows when you’re reading this though.
– 10 taps, one hand pump, around 2/3 of which is their own stuff, made on site. Beer is served in two sizes, the usual half and US pint. Their beers range from ¥600-¥700 and ¥1000-¥1100 respectively. Their beers were all Pale Ales, IPAs and Saisons, as is the fashion at the moment. Their guest beers rounded out the styles somewhat though, with an Imperial Stout from Outsider, Scotch Ale from Baird and an AJB Berliner Weisse. Guest beers were ¥750 and ¥1150 for the two sizes. They also have six of their beers available in bottles which cover even more styles, most of which are Belgian influenced and high alcohol! The cheapest is ¥630 and the most expensive, a ¥2400 750ml Barley Wine. DOWN IN ONE! Strangely, whilst it seems that the bottle prices don’t include tax, the tap prices do.
– Unfortunately has none of my holy trinity. No daytime opening, but it is open very late every day if that’s your thing. There is a ¥50 cover charge, which seems so small that it probably can’t really be worth it. I got a very nice little pickled beetroot and cabbage dish for it, so no complaints from me about it, but I know people don’t like charges. The big let down for me is the fact that smoking is allowed. It’s such a shame that they put so much effort into their beer and food and then you probably won’t be able to smell either.
Unsurprisingly, they seem to love beer here. Although maybe it’s not completely unsurprising as plenty of recent bar openings seem to be more in love with money than beer. But this is a serious beer place and it’s good to get to try many of their beers in one place. It’s not the cheapest of places, but at the same time, it’s not so expensive either. I’d have no qualms about trumpeting this place if it weren’t for the smoking which is a huge downside for me. Perhaps this is looking at things from a European point of view, but I think there are plenty of people who won’t go to places where people are smoking. However, if this isn’t an issue for you, or it’s patio weather, head on down. They are clearly a hugely important part of the beer scene in this area and seem to be really passionate about what they are doing.
Japanese breweries seen on tap:
Barbaric
AJB
Baird
Outsider
Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday, 17:00-02:00
Closed Sunday
Location/Map:
幸町23-21ブリーゼ茅ヶ崎1F, Chigasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken
Telephone:
0467-67-7916
Links:
Facebook
Website/blog