I-P-A RIVER: Will Japan have any good beer...that is the question....

April 2017 - Ashlee and I have a big trip to Japan scheduled for the end of the month and I have a few places scoped out at least in Tokyo where I should be able to have some craft beer.

Until then...

Saturday, 4/1 - We had tickets to see the Preds play today and before the game we stopped at Czann's Brewing for a beer (and to score some valuable free parking). I had their German Pislner which was crisp and refreshing. They also had a "we-need-to-open-a-new-tap" deal on their Oatmeal Stout where if you bought a pint, which Ashlee did, you got a free growler-fill of it as well. We also ran into our friend, and craft beer aficionado, Nate, while we were there.

At the game I continued my pilsner-kinda-day with a nice PC Pils from Founders Brewing (MI) which was available at the Better Beer Bar in Bridgestone Arena. The Preds took it down in impressive fashion over the Minnesota Wild, 3-zip.

Tuesday, 4/4 - I saw Ghost in the Shell at the $5 Bargain Night at the Roxy Theaters here in Lebanon with my pal Casey tonight. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. I didn't have any beer to report, I just REALLY LIKE this poster...hubba, hubba, Miss Scarlett, I do declare!

Friday, 4/7 - I couldn't let National Beer Day pass by without having a brew, so I dug out a tasty HANGTIME pale ale from Blackstone Brewing here in Nashville from the refrigerator vegetable crisper (my favorite place to chill beers).

Ashlee partook as well to celebrate National Beer Day and we hung out on the patio with the warm sun on our backs and toasted the day, the weather and the fact it was Friday!

Sunday, 4/9 - It was Poker Night in Lebanon for me so I stopped by Lebanon Wine and Spirits (whose beer selection seems to get better every time I go there). I got a variety four-pack that included a strong Palate Wrecker double IPA from Green Flash Brewing (CA); a decent Namaste White witbier from Dogfish Head Brewery (Delaware); a really good Pure Hoppiness double IPA from Alpine Beer Company (CA) and a tasty finish with an Expedition Stout (Russian Imperial) from Bell's Brewery (MI). Before I left for the game, I had a sip of Ashlee's delightful Pear Lager from Devil's Backbone Brewing (VA).

4/15 - We had a layover in Denver on our way to Tokyo and we found a great little hot dog place in the airport call Steve's Snappin' Dogs and they had a nice beer list from which I chose the solid IPA by Odell Brewing over in nearby Fort Collins, CO.

ON TO JAPAN & yes, on to BEER!

I surprisingly found a good amount of decent craft beer in Japan along with some of their better known national brands that were hit or miss...

April 16 - I didn't have to go far once we got to Tokyo to find some decent craft beer. Yona Yona Beer Works was within walking distance of our hotel and it's also where we had our first meal in Japan consisting of some interesting house-made sausages including our favorite: the bologna with edamame (round one at top of photo below). I had a tasting flight of beers with my meal and started with their pale Yona Yona Ale which was decent. The Tokyo Black Porter wasn't quite as smoky or coffee-infused as I was hoping for. Their Aooni IPA was solid and my favorite of the bunch. My last one was the Karuizawa Kogen Wild Forest blonde ale which I thought could use a bit more bite to it. I also had a sip of Ashlee's Boku Kimi Beer which was their saison and wasn't too bad.

April 17 - As we were walking back from a self-guided morning tour of the famous Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, I got my first "street-walkin' beer" in Japan. I discovered that you can walk around in Japan with an open beer without any scrutiny (at least I didn't get any). I grabbed an EXTRA Pale Ale from the Ginga Kogen Beer Company at a little market on our way back to the hotel. It wasn't too bad, but seemed to be a stretch to call itself a pale ale.

April 18 - During a half-day city tour of Tokyo we passed by the macro-brewers Asahi Beer headquarters which is the color of a beer complete with a "foamy top." Now that's funny and kind of awesome! My second "street-walking beer" of the trip was a decent Tokyo Craft Pale Ale from macro-brewerers, Suntory, bought at the busy Ginza Subway Station.

We had a food tour tonight and at our last stop for some hot monjayaki I had an ice cold Super Dry Extra Cold lager from Asahi. Cheers to your cool building, fellas! Now go focus on making better beer... I finished the evening with my third "street-walker" which was a Lager from macro-brewer, Kirin, that was pretty good actually on the way back to the hotel.

April 18 - We took an awesome day-trip from Tokyo to Mt. Fuji today and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! Ashlee even found me a can of World Treasure Mt. Fuji Original Craft Beer which I promptly drank on Mt. Fuji at about 6,627' elevation! The experience was a little better than the beer, but you take moments like this in stride.

I slipped off back to Yona Yona Beer Works again today while Ashlee turned in early and had another round of sausages and another beer: the SunSun Organic Beer which is their blonde ale. It was light and crisp and pretty tasty.

April 19 - We took a break from Japanese food (and the lager-rich environment of their beer) and had an Italian dinner tonight at Trattoria e Pizzeria De salita near our hotel that was actually pretty good. They had some Italian bottled beer on the menu and I had a pretty glass of macro-brewer, Birra Moretti's La Rossa, a decently smooth dopplebock.

April 20 - Happy Birthday to Me. Salute!! I technically checked a couple more beers in at Yona Yona Beer Works on 4/19 in Japan, but it was already my birthday back home so my Untappd birthday badge was legit. I started my third and final visit to Yona Yona with their Boku Beer, Kimi Beer Yorimichi an American-style pale wheat ale that was very good. "The final flourish" (I loved the movie, Love Actually) at Yona Yona was the Karuizawa Kogen Sesaonal Golden Ale (2016) which was excellent. Thanks, Yona Yona Beer Works for a great start to Japan and finding good craft beer!

April 21 - We got on our cruise ship yesterday for our circumnavigation of the whole main island of Japan and today was a day at sea. My beloved Nashville Predators SWEPT the hated Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and I was ecstatic! Do you know how hard it was to find a GOLD BROOM on a cruise ship to pose for this picture??? Thanks Princess Cruise Lines for accommodating this silly request! GO PREDS!!

April 23 - I found this little beauty in a gift shop at The Tottori Flower Park in Sakaiminato, Japan, our first stop on in Japan and our second port of the cruise (Busan, South Korea was first...no beer found there...boo!). It was a real craft beer because you couldn't screw the top off and I had to get creative to pop it off. The Daisen G Beer Pilsner was pretty good. It's made by the Kumezakura Daisen Brewery located right here in the Tottori prefecture.

April 24 - It was more flowers and more beer today at the Tonami Tulip Park and Festival inland from our third cruise port, Toyama. I found this rather tasty can of All-Free (lager?) from Japanese macro-brewer, Suntory. at an outdoor vendor in the park. I didn't really realize it was alcohol-free until I checked it in. I figured the "All-Free" just meant it was organically brewed. The "All-Free" also means calorie-free and carb-free. These guys might be on to something!

April 25 - No idea what this beer is. Probably just a Kirin or Asahi lager. I like the picture because it's a cool mug and it was served at a very authentic Japanese restaurant in Akita by our waiter who didn't speak a word of English. Our table was in a little wooden booth with a privacy curtain. Dinner was excellent and the beer was ice cold.

Lawson Convenience Stores are all over Japan and today in Akita on our way back to the boat after dinner, I found out that they have a pretty good beer selection. The only Japanese craft beer I had before this trip was from Hitachino Nest. This canned Lager was outstanding. And now begins a nice little run of some of the better craft beer I was able to find in Japan outside of Tokyo. That is except for the Kirin Lime can of beer I bought next. at a gift shop near the port I poured that shit out after two swallows. Awful!

April 26 - The port of Hakodate was a gold mine of good canned craft beer that I found in gift shops and convenience stores. This Otaru Bakusyu Amber Ale is a pleasant English-style brown ale produced by Hokkaido Brewing Company just north of here.

This fairly hoppy Onuma Altbier is produced by the brewpub, Brauhaus Onuma, also in the Hokkaido prefecture. These folks have been brewing craft beer since 1997!! Respect your elders!! I took a couple more beers back to the boat since they had crap to choose from on board and we had a long day at sea day after tomorrow. One was the Onuma India Pale Ale which wasn't my favorite IPA ever, but an interesting take nonetheless.

I also grabbed a can of the Otaru Bakusyu Pilsner that was solid.

4/27 - Thanks to my wife, Ashlee, for making me get this one to have on the boat during the day at sea as well. I didn't really care to have another mass-produced pilsner, but she pointed out that you CAN ONLY GET THIS BEER IN JAPAN, so I slurped down the so-so Sapporo Classic continued enjoying our trip.

4/28 - BACK IN TOKYO

My little trick of looking in convenience stores and markets for craft beer paid off in spades!!

I found the nice and hoppy Flying IPA from Echigo Beer Company and enjoyed it in one of the many open-air parks in the Odiaba District.

Ashlee's choice for park sipping that I also had a sip of was this Suiyoubi no Neko white ale made by Yo-Ho Brewing (i.e. the brewers for Yona Yona Beer Works for our first days in Tokyo). It was tasty and what a cool can!

I went from Level 1 all the way to Level 5 on Untappd for Japanese beer thanks to our little jaunt to The Far East!

No, I didn''t have a beer here. Just thought it was awesome..."and I ain't talking about in no paper cup...I mean a glass of beer...(at McDonald's)" - Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction

Well, I looked the whole trip for the legendary beer vending machines of Japan with no luck. Someone told me they stopped allowing them on the streets since they couldn't enforce age restrictions (no duh??)...but they are real!!! I found this one down in the bowels of our hotel next to a conference room hidden in the corner. Sadly, there wasn't anything I wanted in it....especially not those nasty Kirin Lime beers....yuck!!

Just a cool twilight shot of the harbor and The Rainbow Bridge from the beach near our hotel. I am gonna miss you, Tokyo.

My last two beers in Japan were good ones that I enjoyed with a great view from our room. First up was the excellent Captain Crow Extra Pale Ale from OH! LA! HO Brewery. Last, but not least, was the Okinawa IPA from the Nanto Brewery that was brimming with hops just the way I like 'em!