Event Report: 2017 Oedo Beer Festival (Autumn)

System

The 2017 Oedo Beer Festival Autumn had a ticket machine system.  Beers ranged from 500 yen to 1,500 yen.  The majority was 500 yen with sample flights starting at 1,000 yen to 1,500 yen.  Only tickets could be used at the booths.

Seating

There were no seats during our visit but seats may have been made available on other days of the festival.  Previous editions of the Oedo Beer Festival did have seating.  We visited on Thursday and there were no seats.  There were tables throughout the event space as well as inside the main building.  The main square next to the event area was off limits for drinking, although there were areas on the boundary with seating.

Merchandise

Most breweries didn’t bring any merchandise for sale.  Some breweries did have stickers and coasters.  The Oedo Beer Festival had T-shirts for sale for 2,500 yen each in either white or black.

Interviews

breweries Visited・REcommended Brews

In this first group video, we visited Kokake Beer, Nasu Kogen Beer, Yokohama Bay Brewing.  We talked about the different beers they all brought.  Kokake recommended their IPAs while Nasu Kogen explained their Ai Beer as well as the origin of their Scottish Ale.  Yokohama Bay Brewing was generous enough to let us try their Black Mild on Nitro.  We also tried their Z-Z-Ale.

breweries Visited・REcommended Brews

For the second group, we visited Outsider Brewing, Helios, Swan Lake Beer, 10ants Brewing.  We talked with Mark of Outsider Brewing about what new beers were on hand as well as how he usually creates the names for the beers.  Helios Craft Beer recommended their Pale Ale as it goes well with meat in a Mega Beer size (1.2 L).  Swan Lake was on hand with managers from their new Shinjuku location as well as their Yoyogi Uehara location being kind enough to introduce their locations in Tokyo.  10ants talked about how they only make IPAs and they were kind enough to introduce all of their beers to us.

breweries Visited・REcommended Brews

The third video saw us visiting Tokorozawa Beer, Rokko Beer, Inawashiro Beer, Fujizakura Beer, Kirishima Beer, and Yakurai Beer.  Tokorozawa talked a lot about their Bitches Brew, available online from November 2017, as well as letting us try it.  We looked at Rokko Beer, who was taking a short break during our filming, as well as talking to Inawashiro about popular Golden Angel.  Fujizakura was kind enough to let us sample their Weizen which was spot on and Kirishima Beer talked at length about their beers and let us try their Pale Ale as well as their American Wheat.  We also had time to check out Yakurai Beer who was also MIA when we visited.

breweries Visited・REcommended Brews

Our last video, split into 2 parts due to someone’s fat fingers, had us say hello to Iwatekura, Virgo Beer, Doppo Beer, Taiwan Head Brewers, and Ushitora Brewery.  We talked to Iwate Kura about their IPA, Golden Ale, and Sansho Beer.  Virgo Beer recommended their Lychee Beer and their Yokozuna sized (1 liter) beer before we stopped by Doppo to steal a keg of beer.  Taiwan Head Brewers introduced us to their tea beers before we bumped into a local craft beer lover who talked at length about his love of craft beer in Japan.  The video then cuts out by accident but it is followed by a short 1 minute video at Ushitora Brewery.