Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2011
The long-awaited opening of Bay Brewing Yokohama happened quietly in August. Proprietor and head brewer, Shinya Suzuki, who had more recently honed his craft at Yokohama Brewery, is the latest brewmaster to launch his own public house among the other craft beer bars and taprooms that have opened up recently in Yokohama’s new “Beer District” in the Kannai/Bashamichi area.
We walked in with high expectations and big thirsts on a recent, sultry Saturday night, rubbing our hands together in anticipation of a new batch of malts to savor. What we found, though, was a little less than expected—but in no way bad. Bay Brewing Yokohama has some great craft brews on tap, but unfortunately none of them are proprietary—for now. It appears that the opening has been soft, offering a temporary selection of taps from other regional brewries, until their equipment is running full-tilt.
In the meantime, their selection of Japanese brews changes every day. We started with a pint of the Aomori Oirase amber lager (¥900) that looked more the color of a pale ale. It was nicely malted and full-bodied—definitely on the nose for those who like it hoppy. If it weren’t for the stifling heat that was sucking our energy and making us crave the lighter side of the menu, this would normally have us guzzling. Definitely a treat come the fall.
Next, we opted for pints of the Shiga Kogen IPA from Nagano. After the previous hops blast, Shiga Kogen’s IPA was not overly bitter and its golden-amber color and grapefruit finish had us wondering if we had actually gotten our rounds mixed up—though not for long, as our bellies were adamant about getting some grub.
We ordered some nibbles off the daily sheet that were all of the deep-fried goodness category: home-style onion rings (¥400), goya chips (¥500) and a batch of deep-fried Camembert. The onion rings disappeared fast and the goya chips were deliciously bitter and salty—the large basket of them seemed to last forever (well, considering how wolfishly we eat…). We burned the inside of our mouths in our haste to get the gooey hot cheese into our gullets, but that just gave us another reason to order more beer.
It’s not hard to sit in Bay Brewing Yokohama and anticipate the carefully crafted brews soon to come, and Shinya-san assured us that they would be available before the year’s end. The lack of their own beer certainly didn’t stop the small but steady trickle of patrons into the pub, though.
The soundtrack was decidedly blues, with Sonny Boy Williamson sticking out like a metal guitar slide on a hurt finger, and Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” really encouraging some bobbing heads, table-tapping backbeat and man-sized gulps.
We finished up our little tasting session with some half-pints of the Kaze no tani pilsner (¥600) . These went down so quickly they turned into another round of the same. The classic pils from Shizuoka was dry and light with an unobtrusive, citrusy fruit finish. We normally start with the lighter beers first, but this was a pleasant way to cap of the evening’s offerings as it perfectly complemented the hot weather. It earned a unanimous vote for best beer of the evening.
There’s a definite “cart-before-the-horse” feel to Bay Brewing Yokohama—their own eagerly awaited brews aren’t ready yet and the pub itself has an unfinished feel. In the meantime, its convenient location just a short walk from Kannai station, makes it a great place to start the evening off with some good craft beers before exploring the area’s brew pubs, tap rooms, craft beer bars and other entertainments with mannish boys and girls this fall.
