Misadventures with Miso

Misadventures with Miso

Monday, August 29, 2016

What's Brewing in Tokyo at Spring Valley Brewery

Walking in the heat and humidity in Daikanyama and what do I see?

I don't think they would let me back in Oregon if I didn't at least check out Spring Valley Brewery.

While it's actually part of Kirin, they do actually brew beer here. Along with selling some kitschy items.

Not the best photo since I think the heat and humidity affected my camera's focusing much like my own. But here's a line up of beers they offered. Plus a warning that glass is fragile.

My interior photos did not turn out well but here's one of some of the equipment being used to process and brew their beer. One might wonder why Kirin would open a place like this. Novelty? Actually it's a good way to test new seasonal beers.

Nine beers on the menu. Decent range, nothing too extreme or unusual.

They also have several food options. Seriously you could lift this place out of Tokyo and set it in the Pacific Northwest and except for the kana on the menu no one would know this was a restaurant from Japan. I will say that it was very nice inside and the food that was being served looked good. My friend said she wants to bring people there.

I ended up just getting a pint of their Copeland Pilsner. This was a very nice pilsner, refreshing and just right for the hot summer. Funny thing is with all the heat I barely felt the effects of this beer.

Spring Valley Brewery has their own website here (in Japanese) and Beer Tengoku reviewed them here. We were there on a Friday about 3 pm and there were seats available. They have mostly good reviews on Yelp. I have to say it was a nice stop on that hot first full day in Tokyo. Although a little disconcerting to me because it felt so American.

And that was it for Daikanyama. We had come here in hopes of visiting the Kit Kat shop at T-Site but time was short, I was a bit tired from traveling and the weather was not helping. It was good to check out a part of Tokyo I had not seen before. It's why I keep going back.

3 comments:

  1. Did I read right that they have bagna cauda? That is the most typical food from Torino, so typical that you can't find it in any other part of Italy! Even the spelling is correct ('bagna cauda' means "hot soup" in the dialect of Torino, even though it is not a soup). Amazing!

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    1. That is interesting! Now I am tempted to try making it after looking it up.

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    2. Do you like garlic? The original recipe is essentially a mixture of garlic and anchovies cooked in oil until everything blends together... and kept boiling while you immerse fresh vegetables in it... it is kind of an acquired taste, few outside Torino dare to try it ;-)

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