Numazu Brew

I have toured the Sapporo brewery in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and the Orion brewery in Nago, Okinawa. I am yet to visit the Yebisu brewery in Tokyo, but I already know none of the above could rate with the Baird Beer microbrewery in Numazu, Shizuoka.Numazu is a coastal city an hour east of Shizuoka City by local train, and the brewery is a quick walk from Numazu Station. The trick is making absolutely sure one leaves at the end of the night in enough time to catch the last train back to Shizuoka City (around 11 p.m.).Baird Beer was started in 2000 by Bryan Baird, originally from Boston, and his wife, Sayuri. Patrons sit on comfy couches or varnished tree stumps in the small, second-floor Fishmarket Taproom, and can enjoy their choice of seven beers on tap year-round, plus an additional 6-10 seasonal specials that change each month or thereabouts. Varieties range from golden, fruity ales to thick, midnight-black stouts; the beers have original names and great logos as well. There’s always the Angry Boy Brown, Rising Sun Pale Ale, or Kurofune (“Black Ships”) Porter, but on my last visit, Bryan the Brewmaster had crafted Temple Garden Yuzu Ale made from Shizuoka yuzu fruit (which resembles a tiny grapefruit), and Morning Coffee Stout brewed with Guatemalan beans. Among others! While Baird is hands-down the best beer I’ve sampled in Japan, I’d rank it at or near the top of my best-anywhere brewpub list as well.

The stellar beer selection, accompanied by endless peanuts and pretzels, light dishes from the decent menu, and perhaps a game or two of Scrabble or Bang!, does make catching that last train difficult, but I’ve not had to sleep on the Numazu beach thus far.Check out: http://www.bairdbeer.com/