Enter the Beer Forest

Festivals featuring a wide range of Japanese craft beers have been going on in Japan for a number of years now, and from the sounds of things at North Island, they seem to be growing and attracting more and more fans. In Hokkaido, similar events have so far been absent. Caveats include the Bare Bear Beer Festival to be held this August at Sapporo's International School gym (mostly imports) and the Hakodate beer fest which this year takes place on 8/31 and 9/1.

But now the time has come for a Sapporo event featuring Japanese craft (and of course some imports). The event is set for October 14th, a Monday and a national holiday. A group including North Island, Kalahana, Higurashi, Maltheads, and others just settled on a name last night. Here it is: Sapporo Craft Beer Forest 2013 --- or perhaps SCBF2013 for short. The forest part comes from the planned venue, namely the Bankei ski area not far from downtown Sapporo, which in the late summer is not yet snowy and surely not so hot. Details are forthcoming, but I'll definitely keep the internets posted via Twitter and this blog in English.

So mark your calendars, book your LCC flights, and join us in the forest for what I can only imagine will be a great party.

Beer Bar North Island turns 4 years old

July 11th marked 4 years since Beer Bar North Island opened in central Sapporo. I was still living in Mie of course, but the staff and many of our regular customers have been there since the beginning. Many were already North Island fans when they had their small brewery and beer hall in Sapporo's Kita Ward, a spot that closed when the brewery moved to Ebetsu.

On Sunday, July 14th (2pm - 10pm), the bar is hosting a small event to celebrate the milestone. Called the 4周年ぷち感謝祭 (4-shūnen puchi kansha-sai) ((4-year anniversary small party of thanks, roughly)), two special beers and some guest beers join North Island's regular lineup. A limited release made specifically to mark this event is the American Smoke Ale. A second special beer is the RyIN' Devil IPA made at North Island to celebrate the 2-year anniversary of Tokyo's Devil Craft. Two guest beers each will come from Shiga Kogen and Minoh.

For more details (in Japanese), visit North Island's official blog.