[Beer EXPO 2025] An Amazing All-You-Can-Drink Event with Over 700 Craft Beers from 200 Breweries Across Japan!!

Beer EXPO2025

The event was held at Makuhari Messe for four days from April 9th (Wednesday) to April 13th (Sunday).Beer EXPO2025”, so I would like to introduce you to the event.

ビアEXPO｜全国203社のクラフトビールが集結 – 日本クラフトビール業界団体連絡協議会（クラビ連）

4月10日(木)～13日(日)全国203ブルワリー700液種のビールが楽しめる過去最大級ビールイベント「ビアEXPO2025」が幕張メッセにて開催！

0423craft.beer

I generally drink whiskey, but in addition to distilled spirits such as shochu, gin, and rum, I also drink sake and beer, and recently I've become interested in wine, so I like all kinds of alcohol.

Occasionally, we will introduce beer events other than whisky.

Participation fee

There are two main types: weekday tickets and weekend tickets.

Weekday tickets will be available on April 10th (Thursday) and 11th (Friday).

12th (Sat) and 13th (Sun) will be held every 3 hours and will be a weekend ticket.

In addition, tickets will also be sold to industry participants.

If you can drink to some extent, I think it would be a good idea to participate with a weekend ticket.

Introduction of brands sampled

This time I participated in the third part on Saturday the 12th.

Now, I will introduce the brands I drank.

I took pictures of all the pop brands I drank, but there were some beer brands I forgot to photograph. .

1st glass: Echigo Beer Stostra Tahara Tau Tradition (Session IPA)

First, I'll start with Echigo Beer, a brewery from Niigata, where I'm from.

After the Liquor Tax Law was revised in 1994, the minimum production volume required to obtain a beer manufacturing license was significantly lowered, and Echigo Beer was the first to obtain a license.

This time I received a session IPA.

It had a refreshing citrus-like impression, and a rich aftertaste.

It will be poured into a special glass like this.

2nd cup: Saga Armstrong Brewery Strong Barley

It had a sweetness reminiscent of brown sugar, sweetness from barley, and hints of coffee and chocolate, making it an overall dark beer.

That's no surprise, it has 10% alcohol content.

3rd cup: HOPDOG BREWING hard cider

On my third drink at a brewery in Akita, I received cider instead of beer.

Cider is basically apple wine.

It's a fairly deep and interesting drink, ranging from sweet to sour and dry.

This has a dry impression with a sour taste, and a hint of apple honey in the aftertaste.

It seemed to go well with cheese.

4th cup: Kyoto Ichijoji Brewery Golden Ale

We are trying to create terroir using malt and hops from Kyoto.

It has a rich flavor, but the overall impression was that it was refreshing, or to say worse, it was thin.

5th cup: Better life with upcycle hoppy weizen

Better life with upcycle is located in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture.

It is an SDGs brewery whose biggest feature is that they brew using bread ears as part of the malt.

I received a hoppy weizen made with 60% bread ears.

It had the feel of a white beer, but I think it also had a refreshing impression and a hint of wheat and a bit of meatiness.

6th glass: Matsue Beer Hern Weizen

This is a relatively long-established Matsue Beer Helmet in Shimane Prefecture that has been around for a long time.

I had a weizen, and it had a banana flavor with a slight tropical element, and it was viscous and thick, so it gave me the impression of a banana smoothie.

The banana taste is delicious.

7th cup: Danchi Kitchen Tajima Sakurasouhime

This brewery is located next to Tajima Danchi in Saitama Prefecture.

It looks like a fruit beer, but it's different when you try it.

It's a full-bodied, crisp beer that you can gulp down.

8th glass: Dogo Beer Kölsch

This is Kölsch from Dogo Beer (Botchan Beer) in Ehime Prefecture.

I felt a banana-like impression and a tea leaf and sour taste.

9th glass: Craft Ale Chigira NEW IPA

This is a NEW IPA from Craft Ale Chigira in Gunma Prefecture.

It's fruity and delicious with a hint of vanilla and brown sugar.

10th glass: Nasu Kogen Beer Scottish Ale

Scottish ale from Nasu Kogen Beer in Tochigi Prefecture.

I felt the flavor and richness of the barley, the tea leaves and brown sugar, and the aftertaste of coffee.

11th cup: Tono Beer Hazy IPA

This is Hazy IPA from Tono Beer in Iwate Prefecture.

The taste is fruity, but the sourness from the citric acid stands out on the finish.

12th glass: Beer Club Popeye Ryogoku IPA

Ryogoku IPA is produced by Beer Club Popeye in Ryogoku.

The taste is fruity, with a rich and slightly meaty taste in the second half, and a bitterness in the finish.

13th cup: KANASAGO BREWERY Botanical Craft ENJU

This is Botanical Craft ENJU from KANASAGO BREWERY in Ibaraki Prefecture.

It has a white beer-based taste and is said to contain plenty of herbs, and you can definitely feel the refreshingness of the herbs in the aftertaste.

14th Cup: TDM 1874 BREWERY The Whole World Window

This is The Whole World Window (double IPA) from TDM 1874 BREWERY in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The taste is fruity, with a strong taste of tea leaves and barley in the second half.

It's delicious without the unpleasant taste or unpleasant elements of IPA.

15th cup: IyokanIPA, Koyojima Beer Farm

Iyokan IPA from Kogojima Beer Farm in Ehime Prefecture.

As the name suggests, it contains Iyokan extract.

Because it contains extracts, the fruity element is stronger.

16th Cup: Twin Peaks Mountain Brewing Dr. Kölsch

This is Dr. Kölsch from Twin Peaks Mountain Brewing in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

It has a strong richness and has a fruity taste like pineapple.

17th glass: Maihama Microbrewery HARVEST MOON Belgian Style Wheat

Belgian style wheat from Maihama microbrewery HARVEST MOON, which is produced in Ikspiari next to Disney.

It has a strong barley and richness, and the refreshing coriander gives it a white beer-like feel.

18th cup: Wolfbräu Shuri Red

Shuri Red (amber ale) from Wolfbrau in Okinawa Prefecture.

You can feel the brown sugar taste firmly, and you can feel the berry element in the second half.

I got the impression that it was a Belgian beer.

19th cup: AJB Co. Barrel Aged Fruits Sour

Barrel Aged Fruits Sour from AJB Co. located in Nozawa Onsen Village, Nagano Prefecture.

I think it's a type of sour beer, but it had the impression of wine, with a rich, yeasty, fruity, sour, and complex flavor.

I like whisky, so I like it when the barrel age and nuances of the barrel come out.

20th cup: Tochigi Microbrewery Female Doctor

This is a female doctor from Tochigi Micro Brewery in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture.

This beer uses peated malt.

I don't know if they use peat that contains iodine, but the taste is definitely smoky and iodine, making it an Islay whisky.

It has a lightly peated impression similar to Bowmore.

I heard that they produce a smokier, heavily peated type several times a year, so I'm really interested in this one.

21st cup: Miyata Beer Cider

This is Miyata Beer's cider in Oshiage, Tokyo.

It is said to have been aged for one year, so it definitely feels mature.

It has a slightly reductive fleshiness and ripe apple elements.

This is my first time drinking aged cider, and it's interesting.

22nd cup: FETISH CLUB Tokyo Brewery ANOMALY

This is ANOMALY (Imperial Stout) from FETISH CLUB Tokyo Brewery located in Shiba Daimon, Tokyo.

It tastes like chestnuts and has a bit of sweetness, so I get the impression that I'm drinking Mont Blanc.

You can really feel the sweetness, bitterness, and richness of the wheat.

23rd glass: Sawauchi Brewery American Amber Lager

This is an American amber lager from Sawauchi Brewery in Iwate Prefecture.

You can feel the nuances of brown sugar and fruity elements.

24th cup: OKAZAKI BEER Okazaki Hatcho Miso Porter

This is Okazaki Hatcho Miso Porter from OKAZAKI BEER in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture.

Porter is a dark beer that has a strong richness and flavor, but also has a hint of chocolate.

Impressions of the event

I had 24 glasses in total, including not only beer but also cider.

200 breweries from all over the country participated, and each brewery exhibited multiple brands, so there were over 700 types of beer in total.

I think I drank a lot with 24 cups, but if you convert it into a percentage, I only drank 3% (24/700≒0.03...). .

Even for whiskey, there are over 100 distilleries in Japan, and it is becoming difficult to keep track of them. .

There are only 100 craft beer breweries, so I think it's the most difficult to keep track of.

I kind of knew what it was like, but looking at the numbers and participating in the event and experiencing it first-hand made me feel it more seriously.

On the other hand, there are many delicious craft beers out there that you may not know about.

I will continue to drink it so that I can find a cup that I have never seen before that I think is delicious.

Note ①: Major cities will not participate.

Major craft beer brands such as Space Beer and WCB (West Coast Brewing) are not exhibiting at this event.

If anything, I get the impression that there are many new or relatively minor breweries.

In that sense, I think it's quite an event for enthusiasts.

If you want to go to a major,JAPAN BREWERS CUP” is better.

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Caution ②: There are many mistakes.

I mentioned that there are many minor breweries, but the reason why they are minor is partly due to lack of or poor marketing and branding, but also because the beer simply isn't delicious.

Personally, I don't like citric acid-based sourness in beer, but I could feel it in quite a few of the drinks I drank this time. .

There is a limit to how much a person can drink, so if you can, you want to drink as much as you can.

In such a case, as an indicator, we recommend visiting a brewery where there are people from overseas.

I thought this beer was delicious and when I researched it, I found that there are many cases where overseas brewers are involved.

I feel that Japanese people are still inferior when it comes to beer making, especially IPA production.

Caution ②: Beware of drunkenness

The most important thing to keep in mind at these alcoholic events is not to get too drunk.

By the way, each tasting is limited to 50ml, but as a courtesy, you can get 70ml to 100ml each time.

The 24 cups I drank means that I drank a minimum of 1.2L (when calculated at 50ml) and a maximum of 2.4L (when calculated at 100ml).

People may generally think that beer is 5% alcohol, but craft beers have up to 10% alcohol content in IPAs and imperial stouts, so they can get quite drunk.

I was quite drunk that day, forgetting to take a picture of my beer, and even had a hangover the next day. .

Although I didn't eat during the event, there was a kitchen truck and I was able to eat snacks and curry, so I think it would be a good idea to eat something beforehand or during the event to avoid getting sick.

Of course, hydration is also important.

What I thought was clever was that they used a water server to supply water.

It's a win-win situation, as it's good advertising for the water server company, and we can also supply water to cool down.

Good point ①: Crowdedness

The event venue is large, so I didn't have to worry about crowds at all.

It can be difficult to even pass each other at a whiskey event. .

The serving time is basically immediate, and even if you were in line, it was served within 5 minutes, so basically you can continue drinking without any hesitation.

Good point ②: Cleaning the glass

The beer will be poured into a special glass, so you will need to clean the glass before drinking your next beer.

There are several sinks like this, where you can wash your glasses.

I think I should have brought a glass cloth to wipe the water droplets from the glass. .

Good point 3: No paid tastings

At whiskey events, there are often free tastings of standard brands, and paid tastings of older whiskeys.

Of course, food, drinks, and goods cost money, but there were no paid tastings for drinks, so we were able to sample them without having to pay any additional fees beyond the ticket price.

Personally, I think it was much easier to participate without this, as I didn't have to take out my wallet every time, and paying with electronic money was a pain.

Closing Thoughts

Basically, we mainly hold whiskey events, but if we participate in other alcoholic events such as craft beer, we would be happy to introduce you to them.