Beer Cellar Tokyo : The Bottom Line
I really couldn’t recommend the beers at Beer Cellar Tokyo if you’re wondering about that, but the bar itself is a nice little setup that is worth popping into if you’re in the area – just make sure you check out the tap list first and see what guest beers are on, or what beers are in the fridge around the corner. There is a fun community aspect going on at Beer Cellar Tokyo, and it was great to see so many people laughing and joking with one another. The whole place is non-smoking, and has no table charge, along with some free WiFi, but make sure you get some food from the FamilyMart across the road as there is nothing on at Beer Cellar Tokyo it seems.
Beer Cellar Tokyo : The Full Write Up
Beer Cellar Tokyo, combined with Izumi Brewery, has been a place I’ve been meaning to get to for a long time. However, it’s a proper little community bar and for long time, there was nothing else in the area to warrant a trip up. Over time, it seems the area around Komae has been building up in terms of craft beer, and as the state of emergency had just finished, combined with some amazing weather, it was time to break the duck of bar reviews.
Beer Cellar Tokyo is located about 10 minutes from Kitami station on the Odakyu Line out of Shinjuku and encompasses three different aspects: a brewery out back called Izumi Brewery, a bar that sells both in-house beers, and a rotating list of guest beers, and a bottle shop with beers to drink in or take away. The bar / bottle shop opened back in November 2017, with the brewery opening a year later in March 2018.
Beer Cellar Tokyo : Atmosphere and Interior
Beer Cellar Tokyo is a standing bar, with a small ledge for beers that runs across one wall of the shop, so be warned that you could be standing for a while. Of course, with this aspect there is no table charge either. This adds a relaxed feel to it, with people leaning against the ledge, and a few people hanging around the doorway to the brewery out back, and also some people drinking just outside the front of the store. With Beer Cellar Tokyo being located in a commuter town, there were a fair number of people popping with growlers and then going off home – a nice sight to see. There was some Japanese pop music being played but to be honest, you had to be near to the counter to really hear it as it wasn’t that loud.
Beer Cellar Tokyo : Approach to Covid-19
To say it was lax would be an understatement. No temperature checks, no enforced alcohol spray, people standing around without masks on in a busy place. Glad I was standing outside to be honest really because as the day went on, more and more people were going in, but few people were coming out.
Beer Cellar Tokyo : Beer Information
As mentioned before, Beer Cellar Tokyo is the taproom for Izumi Brewery, but they also have guest beers on tap, primarily from Oregon. There are 10 taps of beers with beers coming in two sizes: half US pint (240m) from 600 yen and US pint (470ml) from 900 yen, with Izumi Brewery being the cheapest. There were no beer flights or any signs of a happy hour but you can get beers to takeaway, charged by the ml. There is a small fridge around the corner that you can get some beers to takeaway but there was no sign or notice about drinking them in the store.
And the beers were not great. I had three in the end and none of them really screamed that it was worth trekking out for them. The American Wheat wasn’t really wheaty or malt, the 3A Saison lacked the dry and phenolic fruitiness that is supposed to be in the style, while the Belgian IPA had the funk from a Belgian yeast, but none of the hops that I was expecting.
Beer Cellar Tokyo : Food Information
Beer Cellar Tokyo has no food but there is a FamilyMart across the road for you to stock up on some snacks.
Beer Cellar Tokyo : Details
- Open: Weekdays 16:00 – 21:00 (L.O 20:30) Weekends 11:00 – 20:00 (L.O 19:30)
- Closed: Mondays
- Happy Hour: N/A
- Phone: 03-5761-7130
- Homepage: http://www.beer-cellar-tokyo.com/
- Social Media: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
