Beer travel in Japan from craft bars to big brewery tours

Two sides of Japanese beer

Japanese beer has two faces. One is the big brewers, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory, best known for crisp, dry pale lagers. The other is craft beer, known locally as ji-biru (local beer) or simply craft beer.

Craft brewing grew after 1994, when Japan cut the minimum annual volume a brewery needed to get a licence. Small local breweries opened across the country. Many today make well-crafted ales and lagers, often with a careful, precise style.

Big brewery tours

Several of the big brewers run factory tours and visitor centres. The Sapporo Beer Museum in Sapporo, Hokkaido, is one of the best known. Kirin and Asahi run factory tours at some of their plants. Tours often include a guided walk through the brewing process and a tasting at the end.

Many tours need advance booking, sometimes weeks ahead. Some are only in Japanese, with printed or audio guides in English. Check each brewery's own site for the current details.

Craft beer bars

Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto have many craft beer bars, often small, with a handful of seats and a row of taps. Menus change often and list the brewery, style, ABV and pour size. Many bars offer small and regular sizes, which is ideal for tasting widely.

Staff care a great deal about serving temperature and glassware. Our guide to the Teku glass explains one shape you may see.

Why Japanese lager tastes so dry

The best-known Japanese lagers are often described as dry, a style term the big brewers made famous from the late 1980s. In brewing terms, dry means high attenuation: the yeast ferments almost all the sugar, leaving little sweetness and a crisp, quick finish. Rice or other adjuncts in the grist help, since they add fermentable sugar without the protein and body of extra malt.

The result is a beer built for food and for hot, humid summers. It is served very cold, often in a frosted glass. That is fine for refreshment but it hides flavour. If you want to taste the beer itself, let a glass warm a few degrees and try it again. Notice how a little malt sweetness and hop bitterness come forward. Our guide to why craft beer costs more explains why a small craft lager made with all malt and longer lagering often costs more than a mass market one.

Izakaya and beer with food

The izakaya, a casual Japanese pub serving small plates, is where most beer is drunk. A first round of draught lager is common, followed by food in small shared dishes. Cheers is "kanpai". It is polite to pour for others at the table and let them pour for you.

Japanese food pairs well with crisp lager: yakitori, karaage (fried chicken) and edamame are classic. Vegetarians should ask carefully, since many broths and sauces contain fish.

Rules, habits and the rail network

• The legal drinking age is 20. Carry your passport.
• Some izakaya add a small table charge, often with a small appetiser called otoshi. It is normal.
• Tipping is not customary and can cause confusion.
• Cash is still common in small bars, though cards are spreading.

Japan has strict drink-driving laws. Use its excellent trains and walk.

Japan's rail network makes beer travel easy. A trip might cover Tokyo's craft bars, a brewery tour in or near Sapporo and a few days in Kyoto and Osaka. Indian passport holders need a visa for Japan, so check the current process early.

Hokkaido is cool in summer and cold in winter. Tokyo and Osaka summers are hot and humid. Beer tastes best when you are not dehydrated, so drink water between glasses.

What is on the shelf

Convenience stores and supermarkets sell a wide range of canned beer. You will see categories that differ from Indian shelves. Happoshu and other beer-like drinks use less malt or none at all. They are taxed differently and taste lighter. Read the can if you want beer made mainly from malt.

Seasonal releases are a big part of Japanese brewing. Autumn and spring often bring limited cans. Our guide to craft beer gifts has ideas if you want to bring some home.

Taste the precision

Japanese lagers are clean and subtle. The differences between them are small: a touch more malt sweetness, a sharper finish, a hint of rice. Rice is a common adjunct in Japanese lager and lightens the body. Taste two side by side and write a note on body, bitterness and finish for each.

Training your palate on small differences makes a lager-heavy trip far more interesting.

Your first step: check which big brewery tours need booking and reserve one for your dates before you plan the rest.

Common questions

What is the drinking age in Japan?

The legal drinking age in Japan is 20. Carry your passport for ID.

Do Japanese brewery tours need booking?

Many do, sometimes weeks in advance. Some are in Japanese only with English guides, so check each brewery's site.

What is happoshu?

Happoshu is a beer-like drink made with less malt than standard beer. It is taxed differently and usually tastes lighter.