Best Breweries in Japan 2016

Reads 5605 • Replies 66 • Started Tuesday, November 8, 2016 10:20:03 PM CT

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Message shoulderbroken beers 4258 º places 393 º 08:21 Thu 11/10/2016 Great stuff. Thanks everyone. I guess I should do mine... I think there might be a new leader this year.
Message TimE P beers 8459 º places 409 º 16:17 Thu 11/10/2016 Fujizakura Y Market Shiga Kogen Yorocco Shonan Ajb Devil craft Kyoto Hitachino Song Bird Lots of other good breweries but I largely didn’t try their beers this year, or they didn’t put out anything new that I tried,so can’t put them on the list. Tim
Message KyotoLefty P beers 15130 º places 1061 º 17:13 Thu 11/10/2016 Song Bird very impressive for sure. AJB’s first appearance! Will that remind people to add it? Not me.

Message TimE P beers 8459 º places 409 º 18:53 Thu 11/10/2016 Originally posted by KyotoLefty Song Bird very impressive for sure. AJB’s first appearance! Will that remind people to add it? Not me. One pint of beer bet that you will include them on your 2017 list. I know why people aren’t putting them on this list - I think largely they are swayed by the price vs. quality of the reserve society, but price, and reserve society exclusivity are two factors that should not be included in this. I would love to get the ever critical Chuwy’s opinion for 2016. I am willing to bet he would include them. With brewery expansion early next year, as long as quality of non-barrel reserve beer remain the same, I think AJB will show up on a lot more lists next year. 2017 predictions AJB will be back in the mix as a top ten for most people George’s brewery makes the top 10 Kyoto rebounds up. At least one new brewery that isn’t on people’s radar now will make an appearance. Song Bird will jump - lack of distribution and inconsistency hold it back, IMO. The most bold prediction - Coedo will make an appearance. Ushitora (which I didn’t even list) will be on everyone’s list. I would have put #11, but just too much inconsistency in quality. Remind me a bit of Brewdog in that I never know if I am going to love the beer or regret buying it.
Message maekchu P beers 5670 º places 181 º 20:33 Thu 11/10/2016 1. Fujizakura 2, Shiga Kogen 3. Yorocco 4. Y Market 5. Kyoto Brewing 6. Daisen G Beer 7. Nihonkai Club 8. Ushi-Tora 9. Shonan 10. Baird
Message shoulderbroken beers 4258 º places 393 º 21:24 Thu 11/10/2016 I’ve pointed Chuwy in the direction of this but asked him not to check it before he makes his list. Curious to see if Tim is right. I like AJB much less this year than last year. Last year we had Imperiality and some great regular beers. This year has been a huge disappointment. Think even the regular beers have got worse. But like Tim said, I think next year from them could be interesting. Wish I had the same confidence though! I really feel that I should have a Nihonkai pint before I make my list as I always love their beers but haven’t had one in a while.
Message willisread beers 7331 º places 126 º 00:50 Fri 11/11/2016 If I were to choose 2015 debut most improved brewery in 2016 it’s hands down Song Bird. They would probably be number 11 for me at this point. I considered them for top 10. Devil craft really improved down the stretch for me this year as well. It’ll be interesting to see what styles George makes and how those beers turn out for sure. AJB had an up and down year for me this year but they would be in my top 15. Daisen G started out strong with the Pils last winter and a few others, but they made some stinkers so they dropped pretty hard in my book. I’m very much missing low abv beers here in the states now. Seems like every beer is 7-8 percent here. Kyoto was solid to me this year with Nidomemashite. That was one of my favorite beers this year. They had a few other homeruns with Catcher in the Wheat and that Nagori-yuki. I guess I’ll only be able to watch 2017 from abroad :(

Message KyotoLefty P beers 15130 º places 1061 º 11:17 Fri 11/11/2016 looking forward to more Songbird. I barely get them and although wildly interesting still a bit rough. Will get better, I am sure. I also think that AJb will go higher. This year, not impressed, and like Will said the regulars too not so interesting. Daisen has a couple great ones, the Dubbel and the CBM beer. A couple stinkers too, though, so for me, maybe top 15 but not 10. Pils great though. I have had a couple great beers from Devil Craft but not like you cats in Tokyo. Mostly just ok. Ushi, I agree with Tim, but fun enough and a few real winners, like the sour beer at Keyaki. Coedo. Wow. I have no idea what they are planning, but interested in seeing it. also want to add that I almost put Minoh in there. Pretty solid lately. A couple of their new beers were not good, but today had a coffee pa that was really great. They are definitely back on track.
Message biirusaikou beers 2704 º places 329 º 18:45 Sat 11/12/2016 1 - YOROCCO Most homeruns by a distance, Skywalker and Cultivator rule! 2 - KYOTO BREWING Rarely exciting but most often balanced and consistent 3 - Y.MARKET Usually love their dry hop bombs but seem to have faded recently 4 - SHIGA KOGEN Disappointing year with average releases and mediocre bottling quality 5 - ONI DENSETSU Fun pale ale series and outstanding Y.Market collabs 6 - THRASHZONE Best value in Japan for hopheads, lacks consistency though 7 - DEVILCRAFT Great addition to the local scene, solid IPA’s 8 - USHITORA Clearly over-releases but has had a few yummy homeruns 9 - ZAKKOKU Solid year-round lineup, some lovely seasonals as well 10-SONGBIRD Lacks distribution but probably the most original and improved one
Message maekchu P beers 5670 º places 181 º 03:48 Sun 11/13/2016 I think we should get other people involved in this poll, just as Willis did last year. Maybe you could message Japan RB people who may not be subscribed to this forum group and get rankings from Japan-based non-RB people whose opinions you feel would be valuable for the poll. Otherwise we might not get a very healthy sample size. What do you think?