Two weeks ago in the Tsukuba station area, there was an amazing craft beer festival. The festival went on from July 22nd to 24th. It was a festival full of music, food, and a lot of beer. I went to the festival during the day, and at night. I unfortunately couldn't drink during the day but I did get my beer on at night.
During the day, it was pretty hot and there were quite a few people around. There was a live rock concert on the bottom floor which you had to pay to get into. I wasn't really feeling the music from the concert so I didn't check it out. I did however, check out all the food stalls and beer stalls.
Beer Time
The rules for the beer festival were a little similar to the rules for the famous Octoberfest that happens around Japan. You could pay 500 yen for a small cup, pictured above. Or 1000 yen, for a bigger cup. This was your cup for the entire day until you went home. You could then return the cup and get your 500 or 1000 yen back. I thought it was a great idea, and a great way to save on plastic waste.
There were a lot of craft beer places from all over Japan. A lot of places from around Ibaraki. Saitama, Tokyo and Nigata's breweries were also in attendance. But first, let me talk about a tasty burger I had.
Gouda Cheese Burger
This cheese burger came from Border Town Brewery which is in Sakai city in Ibaraki. I hadn't really had any beer yet and was starving so this seemed like a good start for the festivities.
Pretty Good
This was a pretty tasty burger. The gouda cheese was melted and perfect, the grilled onions were fantastic, the buns were normal, nothing really special there. But overall, I did enjoy the burger.
To be honest, there weren't too many food stalls around. Dr. Pho was serving pho and sandwiches, this place had burgers, there was a cheese shop from Tokyo, and finally Fromagerie LA MARINIERE was serving their awesome cheese at the festival. I did end up buying parmesan cubes from them at night, and as expected, they were amazing. (Sorry forgot to take a picture.) I do hope more food stalls are at the next festival. Looking at you Hi-5.
For the rest of the day, I hung out with some buddies and just enjoyed the day.
I went back home for a bit and came back to the festival at around 7:00, with a designated driver, and ready to try some beer.
Border Town Hazy Beer
The night time atmosphere was completely different than the day. First off, there were way more people. Huge lines at all the beer stalls. Secondly, the J-POP rock concert was over, so the music came from one DJ who was playing pretty good music and got some drunk people dancing by his booth.
I went back to Border Town and gave their Hazy beer a try. Before I go on I should mention, I am not a huge beer expert. Secondly, I am not an IPA guy, so won't be talking about those.
So how did I find Hazy, quite good actually. It wasn't very bitter and it had a small fruitiness to it. It was a great refreshing beer for a hot night. I wouldn't mind having one of those again in the near future.
Pharaoh
Next, all the way from Saitama we have Tokorozawa Beer. Unfortunately, by the time I got to this stall, everything was sold out except for two beers. I decided to give Pharaoh a try. I love dark beer so this was right up my alley.
I got to sipping my beer and I really enjoyed it. I thought the summer night heat wouldn't go well with this beer but the weather didn't matter. It was a fantastic dark beer and I almost went back for another cup. It had that usual dark beer taste, but it was refreshing and not so heavy. I really liked this beer and hope I can have it again.
Meat and Cheese Plate
While sipping on my dark beer, my beer comrade and I decided to get some food. We wanted some meat so we went to the Lammas food stall. Lammas is a cheese shop from Tokyo. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. It was over priced and the roasted bacon was dry. The shredded cheese was tasty but it didn't really go with the meat or tortilla chips. If they come back next time, I hope they change up the menu.
I believe the 2022 Tsukuba Craft Beer Festival was a rousing success. I had a great time, both during the day and at night. I hope the festival comes back next year and I promise I will try more beers and report on how good they are. I also hope that more food trucks and stalls from around Ibaraki can come sell their tasty food next time.
Even though the Craft Beer Festival is over, you can check out their website and see what breweries attended and find out more about them.
Hope to see you next year at the Tsukuba Craft Beer Festival!
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