This content was originally published by The Hop Review, a digital magazine that joined the Hop Culture family in March 2020.
This piece was written by Jack Muldowney.
TOKYO, JAPAN
プレスインフォメーショ
As if the curious traveler and beer hunter needed any more reason to try and get to Japan, we now have another draw. Mikkeller is invading Tokyo. In late July, Danish craft beer legend Mikkel Borg Bjergsø is opening his first bar in Japan. The increasingly popular brewer is expanding his empire – Tokyo’s bar will be the 12th iteration of the Mikkeller ‘family’ (bottle shop or bar).
“Why are we coming to Tokyo? Tokyo is my favorite city in the world, the coolest city in the world. If it weren’t for my family, I would move here now and explore the food, the drink, the city, everyday”
‘Along with Japanese guest beers, Mikkel will put more than 80 of “the craziest, the best” beers from around the world on 20 rotating taps. Doing so will help “make Mikkeller Tokyo an important participant in the Japanese craft beer scene, challenge Japanese brewers to pursue new styles, and expose the best Japanese beers to a new global audience.”
Mikkeller has turned to the Fuglen owners Einar, Halvor and Peppe – the Norwegian cocktail bar and vintage furniture gurus with outlets in Tokyo and Oslo – as their local partners and project managers. Fuglen’s in-house interior designer Wakiko Fukuda is executing the design collaboration between Fuglen and Mikkeller.’
“The bar will blend vintage and modern Japanese and Scandanvian elements. We want it to feel organic to both Mikkeller and this neighborhood, a bit Danish to a Japanese customer and a bit Japanese to a Danish one,” explained Fukuda.
“The world’s eyes are on what’s happening in food and drink in Tokyo. Mikkeller Tokyo is going to put beer at the center of that. We’re building the bar we want to drink at in the city that everyone wants to be in, and it’s going to kick ass.”
With what will be 8 bars world-wide, alongside 600+ renowned brewed beers, Mikkeller has put it’s stamp on the craft movement in the last 10 years. It’s safe to say things are only looking up. Now let’s get to Japan. And New York. And Denmark. And…
Header image of Copenhagen’s Mikkeller & Friends bar, from Mikkeller.dk