Well, this was a very pleasant surprise! Matsudo Beer has been on my list of places to go for a long time (it was on Digest post number 5 and now we’re up to 14, so that should give you an idea of how long!), but I’ve finally managed to visit. I’m not sure why it took so long as Matsudo isn’t that far out of Tokyo, and is pretty close to Kashiwa, where I go to football games at least once a year. I was so surprised by how much I liked this place that I’m already thinking about when I can visit again. Here’s what you need to know:
- Kind of small brewery taproom not far from Matsudo station on the Joban line. In the main room there was seating for maybe 15 at some tables and a small counter. There was another room round the corner of the bar which I couldn’t see completely but it looked like it had standing tables for maybe the same amount. Relaxing feel to it. No bare concrete. Everything pointed to it being the kind of small regional taproom that you find in plenty of suburban areas. So far so predictable, but…
- The beer was really good! Nine taps but only seven were on, all of them their own beers. (Actually there was Sapporo on too but we’re not here for that, are we?) Beers served in three sizes, S, R and L and they also had a flight of three 120ml beers of your choice for ¥1400. The S was pretty small. I guess it’s the same size as the flight glass and the prices ranged from ¥450-¥500. The R was probably around 250-300ml and prices ranged from ¥680-¥750 and the L was US pint, (priced ¥1000-¥1200). So pretty good value! I really enjoyed the Saison and the Pilsner and the Brut Lime was a beer style that I’d never seen around before and was fun. They also had some of their beers available in bottles, presumably for take away.
- No cover charge, couldn’t find WiFi, and a little bit of daytime opening on weekdays and a lot at weekends. I should also mention the food which was really nice. There were a few different kinds of Japanese dishes including oden and kushikatsu. I tried the latter and it was really good. Their cheese portion was classy too.
When I wrote about this place on a digest post, I maybe incorrectly said that it was the new name of Eitai Brewing. Perhaps this was part of the reason I was so surprised this place was so good. Actually it seems like it’s just a former employee of Eitai who has started her own brewery and is making beers that are really nice. I’m definitely going to try to go here again the next time I head out to Kashiwa and if you’re in the area I’d definitely recommend you check it out too, for both the beers and the food.
Japanese breweries available on tap:
Matsudo
Opening Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday, 16:00-22:00
Friday, 16:00-23:00
Saturday, 13:00-23:00
Sunday, 13:00-21:00
Closed Monday
Location/Map:
松戸 1151 , Matsudo-shi, Chiba-ken
Telephone:
047-711-7218