Brown beer festival at the Meguro Black Lion

Well, the title says it all.

I turned up for the third and sadly, last of three monthly beer festivals at the Meguro Black Lion pub in Meguro, Tokyo. The first festival was a black beer festival, the second being a white festival (someone told me this idea was based on the classical piece of French cinema, The Three Colors Blue (of course the real title is in French).
As I hoped, I got the spelling write and was not confronted by two dozen large, North American omnivorous animals (brown bear festival?).
Rather, I was welcomed by about 15 or so Japanese craft beers, plus the regular beers on tap.

For a complete list of beers on tap that night, and a decent craft beer blog (much better than silly old me can manage - too busy drinking and then recovering), click HERE.

"Welcome! ...and see you in London!"

To drink, you had to buy tickets from the ladies that wondered around the pub.
There were two choices:

• three half pint tickets for 1500yen
• three one pint tickets for 2700yen

I started with three one pint tickets. Of course.
I started drinking from the area just inside the entrance.

"Just pour it in!"


My first beer was Baird Beer's The Professor Munchner Dunkel.


After trying the 80 schilling ale, I really wanted to try this beer.

Unfortunately, my high expectations were short lived. It wasn't as flavorsome as I'd hoped. I wasn't sure of the dunkel label. More like an alt? I would have prefered a more malty, roasted taste. It tasted a little on the light side and was slightly bitter.

Verdict: 5.5/10






Next up was an interesting number from Ishikawa brewers.

The Ishikawa Munchner Dark:

This one was ok. It tasted smooth, with an almost treacle like undertone. It had the good dunkle malty smell and tasted 'dunkel-like'. Sorry to sound so ridiculous, but that's the way I felt it tasted. I reckon this could make a nice session beer.


Verdict: 6.5/10.







By this time, my good friend, Mike, turned up.
Here he is, he's making a list.
He's checking it twice.
He's gonna find out, what tastes naughty or nice...





What did Bryan think of the beer?
Well, let's check...


Here he is, with his first taster.
Hmm... perhaps that one fell a little short.




Next up for me was to be the Fujisakura rauch (smoked wheat beer).
That was, if I could get past Johnny Ramone.

I eventually gave Johnny the slip and made it to the Fujisakura tap.
A brief exchange of my final pint ticket later and I had a pint of some nice Sylvan's sweetness in my hands!


I already know what this beer is like, so I was looking forward to this one.
A Sylvan's Fujisakura Kougen Weissen Rauch beer:

First impression (besides from being too damn cold - all the beer was chilled using big blocks of ice so most of the time it was just too cold. They used the kind of small draught systems that were designed for lager beers which were fine when chilled but with brown beer, it shouldn't really be that cold (listen to the British in me talking!)) was that is was a little flat. Not as good as it could be. But still not bad. Usually I would give it a 7 or even more but this night it was only worth a 6.

Verdict: 6/10.

I met this nice couple. The guy was actually a brewer from the Ozeno Yukidoke brewery.
Wow! This was the beer that I had recommended to me, just the day before! I asked him about this beer and he said it was good, but apparently the best one they have done is the 10 year anniversary beer. We had some interesting conversations about weissen beer (he alos loves this style) and Munich and of course, Augustiner (best beer in Germany and possibly the world - so there!). Nice pair - I mean the two of them - I mean the lovely couple in the picture - I mean the guy and the gal.

Soon after, I was talking to the nice guy from the St.Bernardinus Abbot brewery. He told me to try their strong beer, which was 10% alcohol! I said I didn't have a ticket, so he gave me a free glass - which was nice.
Here's a funky psychadelic shot (this drunk guy bumped into me as I was taking the photo).
This beer tasted smooth at first, then gave way to a sherry like alcoholic tang. Something I could drink, but not at my usual pace.
But then barley wines are not really my thang. Knowhatahmsayin?

By now, Anthony and I were getting 'in the zone'.

My next up was a high alchohol, number from Hitachino Nest.
This was their XH (extra high) beer.
This was the only beer to be served from a wooden cask (looks nice, doesn't it?)
It was 8% alcohol and tasted it!
I thought it tasted more like a wine or perhaps a brandy?
Pretty strong and a little sweet.
Also had a woody taste that I liked.


Something else that I liked was the lovely ladies who were pulling the pints - they kept refilling my glass! Thank you, ladies!
I think I must have had at least 2 full glasses worth. Nice.




Whoo! Time to hit the toilet...
I was very carefull not to drop my camera, mobile phone or my ever shrinking brain into the toilet bowl.






The view from above was...
..well, just a little strange. Isn't the toilet at an angle, or is it me?







Back in the bar and it was time for a nice, proven German beer. In fact, the only German beer there.

This was a Weihenstephaner Dunkel Weisse.
A nice beer.

Also, when you ordered a beer, you could try your luck at their prize draw! Guess what? - I won!






Here I am, with my beer and...my beer.
Awesome!




By now I was getting pretty plastered (did I mention that I hadn't eaten that day and had hardly eaten the day before?).


I wondered over to the area where the Fujisakura double bock had run out! - dammit!

"Scheisse!!!!"

But all was not lost.

Despite not being able to drink the beer I was saving until late in the evening, I managed to persuade the manager to put on, a nihgt early, the beer I really wanted to try - the Ozeno Yukidoke brown weissen! (remember the brewer from the company I talked to before? Well, he and the guy I met in The Thrash Zone the day before made me really want to try this beer. It wasn't bad, but then it wasn't so good, either.
Verdict: 6/10

By now, I was really getting tanked and the nice guy from St.Bernadus Abbey thingy was back and this time he gave me six tasters (kind of lost two and got two more, then two more)from various beers I hadn't tried yet.
I think they were Rogue Ale's Dead Guy Ale (6% and as my Canadian friend put it "tasted like soda - gross!"), a Shigakougen IPA (nice), an Aizu Beer Beethoven Marzen (can't remember) and something else.

My friend, Steven was now talking to a group of people around one of the standing tbales.
This lovely lady had an interesting t-shirt and I asked her if she was chesty, as she really gave that impression.


What do you think?




Obviously, I was having a miserable time.

Then, it was my turn behind the camera and my good friend, Toby had some fun and high jinks:

(Why he looks suprised, I'll never know. Her look is priceless.)

They were handing out certain safety measures for the evening.
Here Barnaby has two, one hanging from each ear.

It was getting late. Most of the crowd had left.
We were more or less the last people there.
Here are my last two shots of the evening:



Guys, it was fun hanging with you all and inhaling those helium balloons (my voice always sounded like that).

I turned down a great offer from my friend Mathew of a place ot crash.
Instead, my foolish stupid pride and sense of valor made me walk to the station to catch my last train.
I ended up getting off at the wrong station, walking an hour, getting lost, find ing the station again, taking a taxi, realising teh fare was rising above 3500yen, getting out of the taxi as fast as possible, walking the hour or so more to my home and passing out.
Yeah, great decision. Thanks, foolish pride and stupid sense of valor.
Great deal it did me.

But I had a great night and have good memories (apart from that damn taxi and urinating in the street - I have a vague hazy memory of something...).

Thank you to everyone.
Thank you, lovely chesty lady. What was your name? May you remain forever chesty and oh so zesty.
Thanks to my new Canadian friend (sorry you didn't like the rogue).
Thanks to the lovely couple and her boyfriend from the Ozeno Yukidoke brewery.
Thank you to the cool St.Bernadus place (great samples!).
and thanks to my good freind from New Zealand, Sir Reginald Smythe (looking forward to the All Blacks game!).

Another beer festival survived.