Mizonokuchi Brewery : The Bottom Line
I was nicely surprised with Mizonokuchi Brewery, considering that it had opened less than six months ago. There’s a decent range of beers, prices are reasonable, and there is both inside and outside drinking space. Moreover, if you like their beers enough, there’s the option to get some to takeaway. Perhaps the only downside to Mizonokuchi Brewery is the annoying system of ordering a beer at the counter, then having to go to the otherside of the bar to queue in line to get the beer. Weird and a minor annoyance, but annoying enough.
Mizonokuchi Brewery : The Full Review
Mizonokuchi is not well known for being the centre of much – heck, it’s kind of in a weird place between Jiyugaoka, Futakotamagawa, and Musashi-Kosugi – all places with a number of craft beer bars that have been around for a while. Yet with Mizonokuchi being on the junction of two train lines – the Nambu Line (one of the worst train lines in Kanto) and also the Den-en-toshi Line – it was only a matter of time that some places began to pop up.
Mizonokuchi Brewery opened in May 2022, and is located between Mizonokuchi station and Takatsu station, with the latter being the closer if you don’t fancy a 10 minute walk from the station. The Mizonokuchi Brewery Project began with the determination to create a place and beer that will become an icon of the town by meeting people who truly love food and believe in its power.
Mizonokuchi Brewery : Atmosphere & Interior
As you approach Mizonokuchi Brewery from the outside, you may think you’ve going to the wrong building as the exterior appears to be an old office building from the 60s/70s. With such little fanfare or signage outside, it’s easy to miss but the truck outside the front door is a slight giveaway. As you enter Mizonokuchi Brewery though, you enter into a big open space, with the stainless steel fermenters against one of the walls, and the space is rather open.
Inside, there is space for 6 people to sit at, along with some tables against the fermenter wall, and a big shared table in the middle of the room. Outside the front of the store, there is also a small outside area for people to sit and drink at, when the weather is good, with space for another 12 people there. There is no table charge at Mizonokuchi Brewery, and the whole place is non-smoking, and there is also some free Wifi.
In terms of music, there was some light jazz playing, and on the day I went to Mizonokuchi Brewery, there was a small concert on in the evening, with it being held where the projector is.
Mizonokuchi Brewery : Beer & Tap Information
There are 12 taps of beer on at Mizonokuchi Brewery, with all of them being craft beer – though there is a split between in-house beers and also guest beers. The beers come in three sizes: small (235 ml) from ¥680, medium (350 ml) from ¥880, and large (470 ml) from ¥1080, with the guest beers being more expensive. There is also an option for a three beer flight that gets you 3 150ml beers from ¥980, though if you want to choose across the whole menu, then it’s ¥1080 instead. Mizonokuchi Brewery also has takeaway beers available in 500 ml metal containers for ¥1080.
On top of this, there is an extensive range of beers in the fridges next to the entrance, though prices are a tad more expensive than in dedicated craft beer stores online. Moreover, if you want to drink any of the beers in-store, then you’ve got to pay a ¥200 corkage fee. All of the prices do include tax though so there are no surprises when you order.
Let’s talk about ordering a beer. It should be a simple system of order beer, beer is poured, you pay for beer, you take beer. But not at Mizonokuchi Brewery. First you have to look at the menu, and decide what you want. Then you have to go to the counter and order your beer, hoping that noone has changed or forgotten what they want. You then pay for the beer, and then walk back to the serving area. If you’re unlucky, then you have one person serving you and you’re stuck in a queue, while other staff just are waiting at the counter for more orders. It’s a very convoluted system, and one that did bring a slight annoyance to my general enjoyment of the place – but if that is the biggest annoyance a place has, then it’s not that bad, is it?
Mizonokuchi Brewery : Food Information
Look, I ordered chips – let’s get that out of the way first of all. Mainly because they came with a Thai mayonnaise dip that cost ¥250 extra – they saw a mug coming from a distance it seems. There is a small selection of dishes, nothing major or filling, but enough for people to share and pick from. There are two fridges with sausages and pizzas that can be bought to eat in or takeaway, though vegetarian options were rather limited. The menus were all in Japanese, with most of it being in katakana and I wasn’t offered any English menu. But when you can read beers and chips, do you need much more than that?
Mizonokuchi Brewery : Details
- Open : Daily 11:00 – 23:00 (L.O Food 22:00 Drink 22:30)
- Closed : N/A
- Happy Hour : N/A
- Phone : N/A
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://mizonokuchibrewery.com/
- Social Media : Facebook / Instagram
