Bar house ales can be made!
What kind of craft scene starts in Itabashi?
<Part 2>

A new craft beer mecca in Itabashi, where anyone can become a brewer!From brewing experiences to new pairings, here are the latest addresses beer lovers should keep an eye on!

writer：Ryoko Kuraishi

The bright, California-style restaurant with 22 taps.Photos Kenichi Katsukawa

Jimmy Yamauchi, chief producer of TOKYO ALEWORKS, tells us that the joys of home brewing are to create, taste and share.


In contrast to the "brewing" of TOKYO ALEWORKS, the IBU Itabashi Brewers Unit, a brewpub next door, is a facility where you can deepen your "tasting" experience.


The IBU Itabashi Brewers Unit is a California-style brewpub with 22 taps serving craft beers from Japan and around the world, and aims to be a comprehensive beer facility in collaboration with TOKYO ALEWORKS.


The aim is to create a comprehensive beer facility in collaboration with the Tokyo Aleworks.This atmosphere may keep the entry-level and light drinkers away. ......" Nana Eguchi, beer co-ordinator and brewer at the IBU Itabashi Brewers Unit, is concerned about the decline of the beer scene.


I want to create a place where everyone can drink, talk and share experiences, whether you are an enthusiast with knowledge and skills or a light drinker.
I want to create such a place, and that's why I call myself 'Communal Brewing'.
When 'communal' becomes the norm, I think the craft beer scene will take root in Japan as a culture."

Some unique selections showcase Eguchi's aesthetic eye.

From a restaurant perspective, the brewing experience at TOKYO ALEWORKS offers even more possibilities for house ales, says Mr Eguchi.
Some restaurants do this on an OEM basis, but if they can be involved in the brewing process, they can pursue their own unique pairings more freely and severely.


'Until now, we have mainly paired selected beers with the food they are served with, but now we can propose house ales that have been brewed to match the food.


For example, if we have an Italian restaurant, we can brew a beer from scratch that matches the Italian ingredients.
Because we can make test batches, we have a lot of flexibility, and through repeated fine-tuning, we can create what we really want.


Our speciality is authentic Japanese food prepared by kappo chefs, so we are planning to release a green tea beer to go with that.


Because neither the beer nor the food is ready-made, the possibilities for unconstrained, free pairing expand.
I'm excited that we can pursue pairings in the truest sense of the word."

Nana Eguchi, beer co-ordinator and brewer, and Kyohei Takano, itamae and manager with more than 10 years' experience in kappo.

The IBU Itabashi Brewers Unit opened in December last year in the Wine Cask Village, preceding the Tokyo Aleworks.


It was part of a project that started with the aim of conveying the roots of craft beer culture, which originated in homebrewing in the USA in the 1970s.The restaurant was supposed to follow the West Coast style.


'We are a latecomer to the brewpub scene and our concept is 'to create a place where professionals and amateurs alike can spend a creative time brewing', so we felt that the usual brewpub approach would not be enough.


Fortunately, we have a Japanese chef and a French chef.
So we have steered the restaurant towards authentic pairings, especially a style of enjoying Japanese food and craft beer, which is still rare in Japan" (Mr Eguchi)


"Cooking with the idea of pairing food with craft beer in mind.Kyohei Takano, chef and manager of the restaurant, says: "In thinking about this, we face the ingredients with a free mindset, without being bound by traditional techniques or values.

At the party held to celebrate the opening of TOKYO ALEWORKS, the pairing of Japanese food and craft beer was proposed, with a flair for the use of ingredients.These included the 'Board Bridge Roll', which combines yolk batter, sake lees and yuzu pepper with hop flavours.

When paired with existing craft beers, Japanese food is given a modern update with bold use of pak choi and paradise seeds, which are rarely seen in Japanese cuisine.
For example, a ceviche of white fish such as flatfish, sea bream and chicken grouper is paired with a Belgian beer called Koji Riso, which is made from rice and koji malt and is characterised by its soft acidity and carbonation.
To match the beer selected by Mr Eguchi, Mr Takano fine-tunes the direction of the acid used in the dish, whether it should be citric or acetic acid.


The important thing when matching craft beers is to utilise the flavours of the ingredients while avoiding letting undesirable flavours of the beer stand out," says Mr Takano.
For example, by pairing a sour beer with a dish that has a stronger umami than sour flavour, the flavours of the beer and the ingredients can complement each other.


'We tend to pair lagers with red fish, but that emphasises the fishy smell.
That's why I prefer IPA to lager.
For white fish, choose something that is not too dry, such as 'Koji Riso' or cider.
For sweet and spicy cooked fish, which the Japanese like, something with a robust aroma and flavour, like stout, is good".

Homemade pretzels with malt have an excellent chewy texture!

Other fun experiments unique to this place include making use of the strained lees in cooking.

Malt is an excellent source of protein and fibre.



We use it to bake chewy brezels, or grind it into a fine powder and add it to rolls as a textural accent, and in many other ways.Mr Eguchi says he wants to offer unexpected flavours and harmonies by pairing beer with food, rather than having people enjoy the beer on its own.


Our goal is to make beer enjoyable, casual and long-lasting, with pairings that will make restaurants, professionals and craft beer novices alike say 'Wow'.


Eventually, we'd like to be able to offer a service where beer made at TOKYO ALEWORKS can be connected to the taps here and shown off at the pubs" (Eguchi).

Keep an eye on the Japanese craft beer scene, where you can enjoy brewing, tasting and sharing all at once at TOKYO ALEWORKS and IBU!