The opening of new breweries and bars is becoming so frequent nowadays that when Spring Valley Brewery opened up in Daikanyama on 17th April, the target audience was neither surprised or shocked about it casual dating norge. Even with the backing of beer behemoth Kirin behind it, Spring Valley Brewery has no chance of failing as it could just be a side project; however, respect has to be given to Kirin for at least trying out their range of beers from Spring Valley Brewery on the market before opening up. These beers were blink and miss it prototypes that came to be the beers on tap and available in bottled form from mid April 2015 onwards, with one a month being released. For now, the only chance to try all of them is at Spring Valley Brewery.
Darker than the photo lets on.
Spring Valley Brewery is located in a newly rejuvenated area of Daikanyama called the Log Road that stretches from just north of Daikanyama station on the Tokyu line, up towards Shibuya for about 250m with the brewery / bar located at the end closest to Daikanyama station. It’s an impressive piece of architecture and impossible to miss with crowds lining up to go inside with bags full of clothes and people drinking outside on the deck. Getting a table is going to be difficult for a while at the weekends and perhaps Friday evenings though with 200 seats, people didn’t have to wait long. Disappointingly, by the time we left at 7pm, after three hours of eating and drinking, the crowd had greatly thinned out to small groups of people dotted around on the second floor; however, the first floor was buzzing still.
It’s important to remember that Spring Valley Brewery is a working brewery throughout the day. When we went, the brewery wasn’t making anything; however, the tuns and fermentations tanks are in in full view, allowing the public to see the live brewing process throughout the day. While impressive and engaging, the first floor is light and breezy but the second is much darker due to the fermentation tanks being in the way of the windows.
The beers on tap are ones that were developed and tested on the (paying) public during 2014 and the start of 2015, with six different regular styles; IPA, Czech pilsner, stout, saison, wheat, and fruit beer. There is also a rotating seasonal beer as well with it being an “ale” during the first month or so of opening. The 496 IPA was ok; however, the hoppy taste felt flat and lacked kick. The Copeland Pilsner was a good traditional pilsner, with a refreshing aftertaste to it. The Afterdark Stout was a personal favourite of mine due to the rich coffee taste, while the On The Cloud Saison just didn’t do it for me as it was too watery. The Daydream Wheat had a nice yuzu subtleness to it though the sansho, or Japanese pepper, was meekly present. Finally the Jazzberry Fruit Beer should just be avoided. Beers come in three different sizes, with the taster (120ml) at ¥350, regular (360ml) at ¥680 and the megapint (600ml) at ¥1000. There is also a six beer tasting set of six 120ml glasses for ¥1000, which can also be paired with six different recommended snacks for an extra¥1000.
Spring Valley Brewery also had a pretty varied food menu, ranging from simple snacks such as pickles and smoked nuts, to 28-day dry-aged steak and everything in between. The food menu also indicates which foods should be paired with beers and you can also ask the staff, some who are bilingual, for their suggestions. For the carnivores among the readers, the pastrami comes highly recommended as does the charcuterie board. The pastrami came up piled higher than expected with a dollop of pickled red cabbage on the side, and the charcuterie board came with five different meats: pate de campagne, guanicale, Iberian pork salami, pork rillettes, and some Iberian pork chorizo. Don’t expect a lot of meat there but expect very good quality meat. The fries, a de facto standard at BeerTengoku drinking sessions, were thin and crispy though lacking in volume. The pickles were good but lacking in amount and the smoked almonds were disappointing as we only got 20. 20. For the same amount of money, we should have bought some more of the pastrami. Finally, the “COPELAND” battered fish and chips were soft and tender though with the same shoestring fries. If only they had come with wedges.
Spring Valley Brewery One Paragraph Review
I’m in two minds whether I liked Spring Valley Brewery or not. It’s a good chance for the public to see a working brewery close up, though the beers need a lot of refinement if they want craft beer fans to keep coming back for more. Right now, I could only recommend two beers out of the Spring Valley range. The food is great though.
Spring Valley Brewery Details
Open: Monday to Saturday 08:00 ~ 24:00 (L.O for drinks 23:00, for food 22:30) Sunday 08:00 ~ 22:00 ( L.O for drinks 21:00, for food 20:30)
Phone: 03-6416-4960
Website: Spring Valley Brewery Daikanyama
How to Get to Spring Valley Brewery
Spring Valley Brewery in Daikanyama can be reached either from Daikanyama station on the Tokyu line, or from walking from JR / Tokyo Metro Ebisu station. It’s about a four-minute walk from Daikanyama station, or about ten minutes from JR / Tokyo Metro Ebisu.
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