Beer Museum Yebisu

> Location : Yebisu Garden Place, 4-20-1 Ebisu Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo, Japan
> Cuisine : Beer tasting / Museum
> Tel. # : (81) (3) 5473-7255
> Website : www.sapporobeer.jp/english/guide/yebisu/

So wait, Simon enjoys beer too?! Well hey, drinks is an important aspect of food so it needs to be covered too! What I'll be covering is a certain Japanese beer called Sapporo. Well, to be more specific, I'll be discussing one of its museum and a bit about the beer itself...

Dating back in the late 1800's, Sapporo has a long history with making fine tasting Japanese beer. From Hokkaido to Sendai to Chiba, Shizuoka and New Kyushu Brewery to two beer museums (one we will be talking about), Sapporo is obviously no stranger to its Japanese competitors (Asahi, Kirin, Suntory, etc).

Besides using its own name on bottles and cans worldwide, Sapporo also has a brand by the name of Yebisu. So what makes this particular Sapporo brand so popular? Well, let me quote directly from Sapporo:

Yebisu Premium - "The secret of YEBISU beer's distinctive taste lies in our use of 100% barley malt, an extended aging period, and attention to detail in all stages of the brewing process. Specially selected aroma hops from Bavaria help to produce a taste that has ensured YEBISU has remained Japan's most popular Premium Beer for over a century."

Yebisu Black - "Slowly roasted black malt and specially selected Bavarian aroma hops combine to create the delightfully fragrant aroma and smooth taste of YEBISU Black - a 100% malt premium black beer for the true beer connoisseur."

Note, Bavaria is the largest province in Germany. So yeah, after a tiny bit of history and some background facts, lets get back to the main highlight. At the Yebisu Garden Place at Ebisu, Toyko, Japan, Sapporo has a beer museum dedicated to Yebisu beer. For a beer lover, it's only stupid to not go for a visit! The entrance is free! When you step inside, there's a souvenir shop to the side. As you walk downstairs away from it, there's a performance area (for special events I believe). The semi-circular museum itself is split into various parts. The following are the different sections: Yebisu Memorial Room - dedicated to the rich history of Sapporo/Yebisu beer, Gallery - displaying the different advertisements Sapporo has brought out throughout the years, World Beer History - talking about the general history and how beer has evolved, The Science of Brewing - explaining with colorful visuals the process to brewing Yebisu beer, Tasting Room - you guessed it, a place to relax and test Yebisu and other types of beer! Besides all these, you'll find little surprises here and there. It's truly a very fun and informative museum for just about anybody.

The tasting room, consist of venting machines for you to purchase tokens to get your beer at the bar. You can purchase any type of beer individually to the 400 Yen, beer sampler. Well, not to any body's surprise, I went with the sampler! The sampler is really a combination of the four different brews. Regular, Black, Brown and White. Regular is served with Yebisu Premium. The description from me is no more or no less than the quote I have above including Yebisu Black also! For White brew, yeast containing Major Weiss (white) is a Bavaria province favorite for "hundreds of years. Weiss is a top-fermented beer produced using 100% wheat malt. It has a characteristic mild taste, with little bitterness." As for brown or ale, Major Ale (mild type) is served. Popular in Britain (e.g. New Castle Beer), "produced by a special brewing process which uses 100% malt, this top-fermented beer has a characteristic fruity aroma and unusually deep color." All straight from the tap, all these draft beers are excellent from start to finish. All beer are served with snacks. Additional snacks can be purchased at the bar.

Seriously, I've tried all sorts of Japanese beer from smaller breweries to major ones and Yebisu brand is definitely one of my favorite. The beer and the museum is all worth a visit for fellow beer lovers and anybody within the Ebisu, Tokyo area! In the end, free entrance fee, fun/informative museum and the great tasting YEBISU beer allows me to give this experience a...

< 5 out of 5 >