Me three!

Stephen Beaumont gives the copy cat syndrome of Irish/British bars a spray. Couldn't agree more. It is exactly the same here in Japan. Bar managers tend to be an unimaginative lot not especially interested in promoting local craft beer. They don't know much about it, it requires too much hard work, the margins are lower and/or over-the-counter prices are higher, and they are worried about wasting valuable tap space on a potentially slow-moving product. Much easier and safer to go with the Guinness, Kilkenny, Bass triumvarate.

But times have changed and are changing still. Of course, like anywhere, there are dedicated craft beer bars like Popeye, Ushi-Tora, and Kura Kura all doing their bit for Japanese craft beer. But it is the neighbourhood and big chain English/Irish pubs that really need to have a good hard think about themselves. As Stan Heironymous mentions in his response to Stephen's post, places that offer something a bit interesting and surpising are the ones who will differentiate themselves and attract those customers who are looking for that something more.

One minor problem here in Japan is the up and down quality of the craft beer breweries. You really do need to be careful and discerning about what you select to put on offer. Despite there being probably hundreds of small breweries, you could count on a butcher's hand the number that have a reputation for reliably producing remarkable beer. So it is certainly a bit of a tough old job for the average bar manager to sort through the chaff to find something worthy of showcasing as a "beer de jour". And aside from the bar's considerations, it will also be counterproductive to the craft beer industry if crap "ji-biiru" from one of the many clueless operators is set up as a representative of what craft beer is all about.

Nevertheless, in this competitive market, I predict that more pubs are going to see the light and start offering more and more unusual or guest beers. Yona Yona has gradually penetrated the market and even comes in a hand pumped format at a number of places. A couple of places have even entered into arrangements with breweries to offer a house ale. These are promising signs of a desire to differentiate.