Kyoto round up

Kyoto, much like Osaka, is a city with a lot of options that this site could never expect to be able to keep on top of. Because of this, until now, I’ve thought that it’s not worth adding Kyoto places as I could never do it to any degree of accuracy. I then realised that this whole site is a mess of contradictions when it comes to places that get added and places that get ignored, sometimes due to laziness, sometimes due to grudges, so I thought I’d just add places that I’ve been to and that I liked. I always say that this site is not comprehensive and in the case of Kansai, this is a massive understatement, so bear that in mind when considering you boozing options. Given that I’ve actually visited these places, sometimes on multiple occasions, you might be able to take that as some kind of recommendation. But remember that in a big city that I don’t go to particularly often, google is still your friend. But google can’t make bad jokes and sometimes thinly veiled snarky comments, can it? But anyway, Kyoto is a fun city to drink in, particularly at the moment as there still aren’t so many tourists there due to the limits on inbound tourism. I realise this isn’t necessarily going to be a good thing for readers living overseas though. Sorry about that!

Kyoto Brewing

Perhaps the most well known of the Kyoto breweries and one which has a pretty good reputation. The brewery taproom is currently still under some kind of COVID restrictions. I’ve heard that you have to drink outside and it’s all in plastic cups. As I haven’t been there under these conditions, I’ll add that in normal times, they have the bar area for standing downstairs and some seating upstairs and had about eight taps (maybe… or was it six?…) of their own beer, lots of brewery goods and an occasional food truck. It has limited opening hours so bear that in mind before you go down there mid afternoon on a weekday. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon as even though it was a bit of a pain to get to, it was one of my favourite places to drink in Kyoto.
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Kyoto Beer Lab

I’ve only been here a couple of times. Nice riverside location with some outside seating/standing boozing opportunities and a few counters inside too. Has about eight taps of their own beer at decent prices. Seems that lots of them are quite high strength, or at least that was the case last time I visited. We’d also just lost a terrible football match. Both of these things may have contributed slightly to my vague memories of the place. But I will say that I have a generally positive impression of it. Perhaps not particularly helpful. Sorry. You can walk here from the main Kyoto JR station in about ten minutes, so it’s an option if you’re just changing trains and don’t want to stray too far.
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Yamorido

A new place for me, which I visited very recently so I’m sure my recollections will be spot on… except we went here after a day of boozing in Nara so maybe not. I think it was an old tea house but is now a brewpub. Very nice atmosphere to the place, with a real traditional feel to it. This must be one of the nicest looking bars around. Serves about five taps of their own beer and has some guests too. Very nice chips/fries with a great selection of different flavourings. Out of the city centre a little but only a few stops south on the Kintetsu line and also near the Keihan line. Really liked this place.
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Bungalow

It’s been a while since I last went here but this used to be my favourite place to drink in Kyoto. Corner bar which kind of opens out onto the street, with just some kind of plastic sheets for walls or doors. I guess that maybe I haven’t been here in Winter when I guess it might be a little different. Food and beer selection was always good and it had a stripped back concrete decor minimalist feel to it. Must revisit soon and then I will probably discover that everything I have written here is now factually inaccurate.
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Crafthouse Kyoto

Just round the corner from Kyoto Beer Lab, this is a bar that prides itself on having some local taps and some other Japanese craft. I was really smashed when I went here about a year ago so can hardly remember anything, but I remember it being nice. Not sure about prices… They have food and the place felt kind of like it was on the comfortable side of classy. But yeah, all of this might be completely wrong…
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O Beer Kyoto

Fairly new brewery in the north of the city. Has a little shop and taproom where they sell their own beers on tap, (three when we were there for ¥550 if I remember correctly), and their own beers and Belgian guests to takeaway in bottles. Two premises separated by one other shop in the middle. One has the brewery in the back and the service area at the front where you make your purchases. Then a couple of shops along there is the drinking area which is a small counter by the front window. Their beers are in a Belgian style and were pretty nice! 5-10 minutes walk from Kitaoji station. Well worth a visit.
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Woodmill Brewery Kyoto

Fun place. Sizable looking brewery in the back and some casual seating at garden type tables in a taproom at the front of the warehouse building. Five taps of their beers on, plus lots of merch and beers to take away too. Good prices and a really nice atmosphere on a warm spring day. Reminded me of Bermondsey beer mile places but without the masses of people and with a significantly more relaxed atmosphere. Slightly north of the city centre in a very interesting neighbourhood.
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Bighand Bros. Beer Teramachi

Don’t know what’s going on with the name. Quite a different atmosphere to the other breweries in the city. This place has a young feel with the taproom being part of a shared use area with a coffee shop and some kind of pork restaurant. Tables are for the use of all of the parts of the business. Six taps of their beer plus a couple of little fridges of their beers in cans. Prices for the halves seemed pretty good I thought. Styles are quite wide ranging and a bit more modern than some other places. This may or may not be to your liking. But at the same time, the wide range also included some more traditional European styles too, so they’re not just going for the young and trendy money.
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Tram

A new place from the people that brought you Takumiya and Takanoya in Kyoto. Apparently they are also connected to the Nude brewery in Kyoto too, so quite an empire. Standing bar, quite trendy and quite expensive. Six taps as far as I can remember and fridges of bottles and cans. The taps were dominated by Nude beers when we were there but apparently they usually have some more guests. Beers served in wine glasses so the sizes are quite small. Felt very classy and was a nice place to have a drink, but considering it’s not in a particularly convenient location, the prices were quite a turn off for me. I’m sure others will love the fanciness though.
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KBL – The Garage

A new taproom for Kyoto Beer Lab that is more spacious and less crowded than the other place. Both of these things are probably because the location is a bit less convenient. But it is quite close to Umekoji-Kyotonishi station. The only problem with that is that station is on the busy tourist line to Arashiyama so the trains can be pretty full. Something a bit like a bank of seating against one wall, a food truck and plenty of taps of their own beer. As well as their other place, this location is also a brewpub, and the beers they serve are a mix of stuff made at the two branches. Prices were decent and the experience was a lot less hectic than you get at the original site. I liked this place a lot. Beware, closes early.
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52’s Brewing Exploration

Kind of large complex that used to be an Okonomiyaki restaurant but is now a brewery and taproom. There was also another counter that looked like it would be for food, but to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what was going on there at the time we visited. They had six taps on, five of their own and one guest but I think they’ve only recently started brewing so this will probably increase. Prices were what you’d expect. A little bit out of the way, (10 minutes walk from Saiin station), but a fun place to pop in to and the staff were really friendly. Sorry the outside photo is so bad. Below is a photo of the beer to make up for it.
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