IPA Honpo : The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for something that exudes some craziness into drinking, then IPA Honpo should be on your list of places to go. From the outside, it might not look like much, but after walking in, having a beer, and then having some funny conversations with locals during drinking, it reminded me of how much fun drinking with a community of like minded people should be. Of course, you might need to have a predisposition to IPAs as the range of beers available was plentiful from breweries, but lacking in terms of styles. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charge or corkage fee, though you will need some Japanese to converse.
IPA Honpo : The Full Review
I knew IPA Honpo existed as an online entity before coming here, but I was in conversation with the owner who said that you can also drink on site and I was welcome to come along but make sure I liked IPAs. I mean yeah, I like beer a lot (I must do to have kept this site going for almost a decade) but IPAs are a mixed bag recently though who am I kidding? Of course I was going to go to IPA Honpo and enjoy some beers.
IPA Honpo opened in May 2021, and it is about a 15 minute walk from JR Sendai station but actually, it’s better to go from Kita-Yobancho station, which is about a 5 minute walk from the bar – though I only learnt this on the way back as the owner of the store thought I was crazy having walked from Craftsman Sendai beforehand.
IPA Honpo : Atmosphere & Interior
As you walk into IPA Honpo, you’re greeted by 8 fridge doors of craft beer, as well as a massive wall of Knee Deep Simtra Triple IPA cans – almost as it you have stepped back in time and entered Antenna America Kannai back in its heyday. It’s pretty spartan inside as well, though there is a small area at the back that has 6 seats for people wanting to drink in-store, and there you can see some fridges that hold kegged beer.
It’s a very relaxed atmosphere inside. When I walked in, of course there was some surprise being a foreigner, but I was immediately welcomed by others in the store, and felt nice and relaxed. There was some light UK Indie music playing in the background too, and of course there was some free WiFi. IPA Honpo is completely non-smoking and also has no table charges either.
IPA Honpo : Beer & Tap Information
IPA Honpo specialises in IPAs – West Coast, Hazy, New England, Imperial, etc – so you better make sure you like IPAs before coming here. Though there were a couple of non-IPA beers in store, they were equally as strong, with a couple of imperials stouts on offer. The prices were reasonable and with no corkage fee, it was easy enough to pick up one or two to drink as there are over 200 beers in stock.
IPA Honpo also has 3 taps of craft beer on, with a split between domestic and imports. On the day I went, there was a beer that had been made up at Be Easy Brewing by the owner of IPA Honpo, called Chikyu Brewing Project, so I had one of those and it was like the double IPAs of the early 00s – big hit of caramel flavour with a dank and citrus punch around the taste buds. The draft beers come in three sizes: small (200 ml) from 400 yen, medium (350ml) from 700 yen, and then large (470 ml) from 880 yen, with all of the prices including tax. The imports were priced higher than the domestic beers, but that’s still some pretty good prices for local made beers.
IPA Honpo : Food Information
There was some basic snacks on offer at IPA Honpo though people can bring in their own food though all rubbish home with them.
IPA Honpo : Information
- Open : Tuesday to Saturday 14:00 – 22:00 (L.O 21:30) Sunday & Monday 14:00 – 19:00 (L.O 18:30)
- Closed : –
- Happy Hour : –
- Phone : 022-263-7790
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://ipahonpo.com/shop/
- Social Media : Facebook / Instagram
IPA Honpo : Location
