Matsumoto Brewery - Traditional Bitter, Pint

Name: Traditional Bitter

Brewery: Matsumoto Brewery

Style: Bitter

Purchased at: Matsumoto Brewery Tap Room

Price: ¥900

Taste: 9/10

Alcohol Level: 5%

Music: I was listening to Amusement Parks on Fire a lot at the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhsWO6VI9XU

Snack: Pancakes.

Website: http://matsu-brew.com/


We were heading down to Matsumoto City in central Nagano for some exclusive pancakes and I decided to check if there was a beer brewery somewhere in the area. Matsumoto is a really cool place, it has some really nice old streets to walk around and some bloody great restaurants, so I thought there might be a brewery nearby. Sure enough, I came across the Matsumoto Brewery, and their tap room was right in town, so we decided to check it out. The venue has a small bar downstairs and a small room upstairs with a few tables. Downstairs was packed so we grabbed a pint of the Traditional Bitter and sat upstairs.

I've had regular bitter beers many times in the past that were pretty shitty. I associated the name 'bitter beer'' with a shitty, mass produced beer, I went in thinking it might be a bit crap. This wasn't the case at all, it was extremely smooth and delicious. I began to feel extremely cozy. The warm room and the old Japanese streets around me started to feel very comfy and I was ready to take a walk around. Maybe it was the beer talking though.

I believe they had two beers on tap, and four beers for sale to take home in bottles. I grabbed the four to try later. I tried the Traditional Bitter again at home and can safely say nothing was lost in bottling it up and enjoying it at home. It was still a terrific, tasty beer.

I really like their company slogan, ``WE NEED MORE BEER!!!`` I feel like they get me. They have bags and Tshirts with this printed on them 

If you find yourself in Matsumoto, I strongly recommend you check this place out. The staff there speak some English, so it's perfect for travelers who want to try some excellent, local craft beer. Taking a look at their facebook page, they seem to put on a lot of events around the town. They certainly are a lively bunch who want to get their beer out there and enjoyed amongst the people. So get out there, support them and drink a lot of their beer.