Sankt Gallen Taproom : The Bottom Line
I’ve often thought that Sankt Gallen’s beers are better on tap than in bottles and with Sankt Gallen Taproom, it proved my point. If you’re looking to try some of their beers, then get down to Sankt Gallen Taproom, though it’s certainly a trek for some of our readers. There are plenty of options for beers, covering pretty much most styles, besides sour beers I guess, but the main downside to Sankt Gallen Taproom is the lack of food really. As much as I love pizza and salads, the portion sizes left me wanting more. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charge, and prices include tax.
Sankt Gallen Taproom : The Full Write Up
If you follow Miki from Sankt Gallen on Twitter or Instagram, then you’d have seen lots of pictures of the Sankt Gallen Taproom on her account. This isn’t Sankt Gallen’s first taproom, as they used to have one a long time ago as a coffee shop, but it seems that it wasn’t that popular and closed down. However, it seems that with brewpubs and taprooms becoming the new normal (I hate that phrase so much!) in the craft beer world, it was strange that Japan’s oldest craft beer brewery (Sankt Gallen have been around since 1994), didn’t have an official taproom. With Sankt Gallen Taproom though, they have achieved it, and it is also more accessible for most than going to the brewery itself, which is also located in Hon-Atsugi.
Sankt Gallen Taproom is located just outside of Hon-Atsugi station, on the Odakyu line, which is about a 45 minute train journey down from Shinjuku – depending on if you take the rapid or local train down. This makes it a good choice if you’re coming down to the area for some shopping perhaps, or even on the way back from hiking in the local Tanzawa rolling hills and mountain range.
Sankt Gallen Taproom : Atmosphere & Interior
The first thing to say about Sankt Gallen Taproom is that it is very, very light and airy, with the huge windows stretching from ceiling to floor. Thankfully though, most of the second floor of MyLord provides some cover from the sun so if you’re standing outside, or next to the windows, you won’t get blinded or scorched to a crisp. In terms of seating, there is space for around 30 people inside, all at various seats at the bar, booths, or tables dotted along the wall. If you’re so inclined, there is also some standing room outside for around 10 people, though on the day we went, the heaters were not on, so everyone had moved inside. A shame but a good option for the warmer months. For those wondering, there is some free Wifi, with the details dotted around the bar, and also no table charge too. The whole place is non-smoking – hoth inside and outside, though MyLord – the department store Sankt Gallen Taproom is based in – does have a smoking room somewhere inside.
There was some light pop music playing, that segued into pop-punk and power-pop. If those genres of music excite you, then you might find yourself singing along to the music in the background. It was loud enough to be heard but not enough to be a distraction.
Sankt Gallen Taproom : Approach to Covid-19
Sankt Gallen Taproom is pretty much in line with all places now – staff wearing masks, alcohol spray, and temperature checks for all, though there was no time limit to our stay.
Sankt Gallen Taproom : Beer & Tap Information
It shouldn’t need saying but Sankt Gallen Taproom only has beers from Sankt Gallen on tap – so if you come along and expect some guest beers, then you’re going to be out of luck. However, there are 20 taps of beer here, encompassing most styles of beer, so you’re bound to find something that you want to drink. There are also numerous sizes of beers that you can order: half size (300 – 350 ml) at 715 yen, regular size (473 – 500ml) at 935 yen with the high alcohol beers coming in at one size of 300 ml for 850 yen. There is also the option of two choices of beer flight: regular 4 x 150 ml beers for 1,320 yen, which is any four beers on the menu, or the massive 20 beer set of 150 ml beers for 6,050 yen which gets you one of every beer on the menu. I would recommend the regular 4 beer set as that includes the high alcohol beers too. There is no happy hour option though.
Sankt Gallen Taproom also has some limited house beers too that can not be bought outside of the bar, with the list changing throughout the year. On my visit, there was a celebration beer for the 40th Anniversary of MyLord, called the Omedetou Nya England IPA and also a limited edition version of the Amabie IPA that uses concentrated hop oil in the brewing process. There is also the option of takeaway beers in the form of canned growlers, with 550 ml at 1,100 yen for the regular beers, and the high alcohol beers at 1,800 yen.
Sankt Gallen Taproom : Food Information
First things first, there are no chips at Sankt Gallen Taproom. I mean none. There are nachos, but they don’t count unless you’re from America or some other country that uses the word chips incorrectly. Jokes aside, the menu at Sankt Gallen Taproom is pretty basic with lots of smaller foods on offer, with the only large choice being a coconut curry. That’s not necessary a bad thing as it gives you the option to have lots but the main downside to the food at Sankt Gallen Taproom is that the portions are small while being pricey. The pizza lone in the middle was around 850 yen and was just a cheese topped tortilla bread. But it was very tasty. There are some basic vegetarian options, with some of the vegetables sourced from the local area, and also farther afield from Tochigi. The menus though had some basic katakana on them for the items.
Sankt Gallen Taproom : Details
- Open : Daily 11:00 – 22:00 (L.O Food 21:00 Drink 21:30)
- Closed : N/A
- Happy Hour : N/A
- Phone : 046-230-7017
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/taproom/
- Social Media : Instagram
