Albirex Niigata’s return to J1 meant that once again I was off to Niigata for an away game. It’s been a while so was nice to go back! The game was perhaps one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen from my team though, so that part wasn’t much fun. But we did get the chance to visit some new places and therefore it’s time to do a Niigata round up. Not visited and therefore still something of a mystery so not written about are two new breweries in Niigata, Jokun and Tsumaari. I’ll put them on the map with a ? but you’ll need to check them yourself I’m afraid. Jokun beers appear quite often in Tokyo (often at Gremlin), so you won’t need to go to Niigata to drink them, but it’s always fun to do that kind of thing, isn’t it?
Niigata city
Since I was last in Niigata, the main beer place Beer Trip Olive has apparently changed ownership but still seems like the main place to go in the city. It’s old sister pub (almost) next door has changed name and ownership too and is now called est. They still make a great double header though and have lots of local stuff. A link to the original post about Olive is below and so is the one on local brewpub Nuttari. Also there is a new mini listing for est. In addition to these places, the other spots in town that looked interesting were Quick Step Beers and Eki Minami Beer Hall Amarillo. They are both on the map marked with a ?.
Beer Olive post
Nuttari
est
The full name is Izakaya x Dining EST, but I thought that might just confuse things so I’m putting it on as est. Didn’t take any notes as I was a bit smashed by the time we got there, but had four or five taps I think, with a focus on local stuff. Lots of local Nihonshu too. Ground floor was a counter for about five but there are more seats upstairs. (About 45 spread over the three floors if my initial post was correct). Lots of fun was had here and I broke my golden rule by having a Nihonshu (or actually more accurately a doburoku) in the middle of a few beers. I was ok the next day though. No link below as the only thing I can find is a Facebook page which hasn’t been updated in five years.
Good googling luck to you
Suzuvel
Last time we went here it was just to eat, but in the last few months they seem to have got interested in beer. Just in front of the station, located on the ground floor of the same building that Ponshukan, the Nihonshu lover’s paradise, is in. They have five taps of Niigata craft beer, all priced at ¥1000 for plastic cup of probably about 400ml. When we last went they had beers from Nuttari, Heisei and Tainai Kogen. And as you can probably guess from the fact that we’ve been there twice, the food is good, so worth a visit either way. Lots of Niigata prefecture food, drink and goods for sale too.
Website
04 and Beer
I’m not sure of the significance of the name, but this is a beer pub run by someone who clearly loves rugby! Small counter for maybe five or six and a couple of tables. Four taps of Japanese craft beer, (ah! maybe that explains the name), one of which was a hand pump. Some bottles and cans too if my memory serves me correctly. Nice food. Somewhat unhelpfully I’ve forgotten what the prices were like. Beware, there is a ¥500 cover charge. What was offered looked like it was worth it though, but of course it wasn’t vegetarian. That’s my problem though.
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Bier Bar Ferkel
German bar in the centre of town that seems to usually have one tap of Japanese craft on, but mostly has imported beers from the Plank brewery. It was a nice place to have a quick beer, but as I’m mainly looking for Japanese stuff we only stayed for one. Looked like it would have been a nice place to settle in for a few and some food though. Sorry a Tabelog link is the best I can find.
Tabelog
Sumer
Strangely reminiscent of Craft Beer Kan, the bar that was in the station building in Niigata but closed quite a few years ago. Not sure if that’s because it has a similar amount of taps, because it uses a ticket machine for ordering or because it’s in a bus station. Loads to choose from, I think around 20 taps and the prices were good. Bottles and cans too. Maybe about twenty seats. They specialise in hotdogs (seems to be becoming a thing recently!) but there’s quite a few other food offerings too. Will definitely go back.
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Mitsuke
Mitsuke Local Brewery
Mitsuke is about an hour from Niigata on the Shinetsu line. Mitsuke Local Brewery is a further twenty minutes walk from the station along a main road. So it’s quite a trek! They have a counter area and a little raised bit behind the bar where there are a few tables. They have six taps of their own beer served in three sizes along with some bottles in the fridge which I guess are probably for takeaway. Some food served too and there is a cover charge with a little bowl of something. Can’t remember how much it was though. As Mitsuke beers are often available in Niigata city, you’ve got to really want to come here for it to be worthwhile. You can thank me for for doing the trek for you.
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Nagaoka
Heisei Brewing
Two stops further down the Shinetsu line from Niigata but not as far from the closest station as Mitsuke is. From Kita-Nagaoka it’s about a 10-15 minute walk along the river and it’s a nicer walk than the one in Mitsuke. Heisei is a brewery that is next door to a booze shop that has its tasting room at the back of the aforementioned booze shop. It’s quite a small operation with a counter for maybe five and a table for two. Five taps of their beer on served in half or pint size. They also offer a flight. The booze shop had some of their bottles that weren’t available and it was ok for us to drink them in the bar. Likewise with the snacks available in the booze shop. Although obviously we ate them rather than drank them. This was a fun place to visit and is much more easily accessed from Nagaoka station which is also on the Shinkansen.
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Yahiko
Yahiko Brewing
Brewery based in, surprise, surprise, Yahiko, a small town with a famous shrine and a ropeway about an hour from Niigata. The trains are quite irregular though so be careful. This is their small taproom in the building next to the brewery (which was actually bigger than I had expected. I wonder if they have expanded out of the original building). Six taps of their own beer and plenty more available in bottles. Lots of other booze options too and some interesting sounding food. And they have a beer flight which includes a snack. Their beers are made using local ingredients, some of which you probably wouldn’t expect to find in a beer. They seemed to have another place selling their beer closer to the shrine, but it’s not much of a walk to go to this main place, so I’d probably suggest you do that instead.
Website
Echigo Yuzawa
Beer Lab Jokun
Really nice second floor pub from the Niigata based brewery about five minutes walk from Echigo Yuzawa station. Sorry the photo isn’t very good. To get to the bar go up the stairs to the second floor and you’ll see it in front of you. Considerably more convenient for passing tourists than their brewpub in Tokamachi. Counter for five and seats for eight more. Five taps and some nice food. The cheese portion and pickles were really good! If you have a JR pass it’s definitely worth getting off the train and having some beers here. Slightly limited opening hours at the moment though, but I guess that’s because it’s summer so not exactly the season for a ski resort. They don’t seem to post about this branch on their social media very often, so if you’re making the trip, it might be worth confirming they’ll be open before you travel.
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