NOW CLOSED
Now I don’t normally venture into Roppongi but August Beer Club is one good reason to go there. In an area that is famous for its Irish pubs and sports bars you might assume that it is something of a Ji-Biru desert. However, there is Ant & Bee, to be covered in a later post, and today’s venue of choice, August Beer Club.
Located in the shadow of the Mori Tower and the Roppongi Hills complex, August Beer Club is a pizza and beer restaurant/bar. Don’t be put off if you just want to drink though, as they are fine with this. Be warned though, that on more popular nights it can be quite busy. The two times I have been (on a weekday afternoon, and a Wednesday evening) there has been plenty of space. The decor is quite modern and there is plenty of seating. The food is maybe a bit pricy, but then again, we are in Roppongi, and there are some pizzas with very interesting ingredients (white bean paste, and it was very nice).
Onto the beers. As the taphouse of the August brewery, they have all of the regular production August beers on tap; Pale Lager, Maduro Dark Lager, Extra Pils, Snow Blanche and Toshi’s IPA. If you haven’t had the last two, these are worth going for by themselves. The first two are pretty good too, if not quite as exciting. Still haven’t tried the Extra Pils, as the others always look more inviting. Servings come in three sizes, small (270ml), regular (330-400ml) and large (473-568ml). Prices are decent enough, small is ¥550-¥600, regular ¥650-¥780, and large ¥900-¥1100. The difference in serving sizes and prices generally depends on the strength of the beer which I guess is fair enough, or at least par for the course. There are also a couple of 750ml bottles of two of their 2011 Barley Wines which look tempting but are priced at ¥4500, so immediately lose some of their allure.
All in all, a good place. The real selling point has to be the constant availability of the very nice Toshi’s IPA and the really strange (and in my opinion, really nice) Snow Blanche. I know we all from time to time find ourselves having to go to Roppongi, and if you are there it’s well worth popping in. To be honest, if you did August and Ant & Bee in a mini-crawl, you would have a reason by itself to go to Roppongi. Also well worth remembering that August Beer Club is one of the few places in Tokyo that is open all day during the week, so if you do find yourself craving an early afternoon beer but have missed lunchtime, this is one of the few places you can get a good one.
Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
August
Opening Hours:
12.00 – 23.00 every day.
Location/map
西麻布3-2-21, Minato, Tokyo 106-0031
Directions:
From Roppongi metro station, leave via exit 3. Turn left and carry on along the road. After about 400m you will see the Roppongi Hills complex. Cross the main road and then take the first left down a little curvy street just before Roppongi Cross Point. This will bring you out onto a slightly larger road. Turn left here by the booze shop and carry on down this road past the Hyatt hotel. August is on the right hand side about 200m down the road opposite a Family Mart.
Telephone:
03-6804-1655
Links:
Website
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