Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara The Bottom Line
If you have a winning formula, why change it? Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara does exactly the same thing as the other bars, but to a larger scale and brings some much needed cheaper craft beer to an area in danger of becoming gentrified. If you’ve been to any other branch of Craft Beer Bar iBrew, then you know what to expect here: a variety of beers on tap at prices that are still some of the cheapest in Tokyo. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charge, and also has some free WiFi. The menus are in English too, while those worried about ordering can just say the number of the beer. The downside is the pours – they vary wildly with some coming up with too much head while at other times, they come up perfectly – and it is cash only here.
Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara The Full Review
Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara is the fourth in the slowly expanding chain of Craft Beer Bar iBrews, and have also grown to be one of Tokyo’s cheapest places to try craft beer. This branch opened up in January 2019 and is the largest branch at the time of writing.
Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara is located about 3 mins from Akihabara station, on one of the (many) offshoots and alleyways that surround the station. It’s not hard to miss though, with the plywood facade that adorns a concrete and steel interior. There is space inside for over 100 people, situated around the many long benches, high tables, counter seats, and also private rooms at the back of the bar. The whole of Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara is non-smoking and there is also no table charge either. While the bar itself didn’t appear to have WiFi, there was a signal from the building next door that we could log into and check the internet.
The number of taps at Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara is astounding – so much so that I doubt I could ever get Joe to drink with me as he would have to put up with my constant self-doubt of choosing a beer. There are 47 taps of craft beer, though there is not always 47 taps of beer on, if that makes sense. The taps are split between domestic and imports, though there is a heavy leaning towards the former. The beers come in two sizes: half UK pint (270ml) for ¥421 and US pint (470ml) for ¥745. There are also three different beer tasting flights on: 3 x 90ml for ¥745, 5 x 90ml for ¥1,177, 10 x 90ml for ¥2,149, or the epic 47 x 90ml for ¥10,789 – but you can choose your own beers from the menu for tasting. The prices on the menu show tax-included, and tax not-included, so I’m guessing they are future proofing themselves towards the inevitable change.
The food themes at Craft Beer Bar iBrews change from store to store, with Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara being more meat and tapas focussed than other branches. There are plenty of small dishes that can be shared, and there are also numerous vegetarian dishes too. The prices are reasonable for the portions that you get, but one thing to note is that the tapas dishes are chosen by the staff, which seems strange considering the beer flights. All of the menus are in English – the staff were very willing to hand me an English menu and tell me that I can say the numbers of the beers and food if I can’t speak Japanese. Very nice of them. The strange thing is that the food menu DOESN’T include tax?!
Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara Details
Open: Daily 13:00 – 23:30 (L.O Food 22:30 Drink 23:30)
Happy Hour: N/A
Phone: 03-5825-4520
Homepage (in Japanese): https://craftbeerbar-ibrew.com/akihabara/
Social Media: Facebook
How to Get to Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara
The closest station to Craft Beer Bar iBrew Akihabara is Akihabara, which is on the JR Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku, and Sobu / Chuo lines. It can also be reached from the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line and also the Tsukuba Express.
[ezcol_1half]Directions from JR Akihabara
[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end]Directions from Tokyo Metro Akihabara
[/ezcol_1half_end]
3 comments
This sounds like a great venue. My infrequent question at a beer bar anywhere is “Do you know any wi-fi passwords?” This encompasses both its own wi-fi network (if it has one), or one that it knows about from an adjacent venue (which seems to be the case here). If you encounter a venue, and wi-fi networks appear that seem to be orbiting around beer, stock passwords to guess include “beerisgood”, “drinkbeer”, “drinkguiness”, “drinkguinness” {sometimes a finger slips}, and “haveanotherround”. The understated problem with any beer bar in Akiba is: The craft beer drinker is very likely already aware that Beer Club Popeye in Ryogoku is two stops away (¥140) on the J.R. Chuo/Sobu Line. ..So, why should he | she hang out here? 8=)}
Because here is cheaper?! That’s enough of a reason to stay here.
It’s easier to get a table here, more spacious, and definitely cheaper than Popeye. But hey, what’s wrong with more choice?