【Sad News!】Keyaki Hiroba Spring Beer Festival 2020【Canceled!】Due to the prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus, many large-scale events have been canceled, including the Japan's largest craft beer festival held twice a year in Saitama Shintoshin, the "Keyaki Hiroba Beer Festival". The spring part of the 2020 event, originally scheduled for 6/3-6/7, has been completely canceled. Moby, who looked forward to participating in this festival every year, is deeply disappointed. Therefore, I am posting my participation record from the spring part of 2019 now, hoping to immerse myself in the event atmosphere at least a little bit. I started with Mino Beer's event limited "Osaru IPA" to open my palate, and now I feel like trying a slightly sweeter fruit beer. I visited the Furano Brewery from Hokkaido, which I had been curious about for a while. Hmm, the layout feels like a touristy food stall with a lot of snacks and sweets, but the quality of the items is not very impressive. However, I am drawn to the potato butter with squid salted fish. Even though it doesn't go well with beer, I am tempted by it. That's why when it comes to Furano's fruit beer, it must be the limited edition Haskap Ale! (I'm convinced) Haskap is a deciduous shrub in the honeysuckle family, with fruits that resemble elongated blueberries. It is characterized by a strong acidity and a faint sweetness. Due to its rich nutrients, it is also known as the "fruit of longevity" in the local area. Haskap wine made from Haskap instead of grapes is quite well-known. In our store, there is a small cup size of 210ml available for almost a mouthful, priced at 300 yen. This sizing is perfect for when you want to taste a novelty product a little bit. The color is a slightly darker yellow-brown. It is sweeter than expected, almost leaning towards a sour taste. The acidity is also strong, which is good, but it lacks the basic beer taste, making it somewhat unsatisfying. Hmm, with high expectations, it ended up being a bit of a letdown. Well, I was able to try a new beer for 300 yen, so let's be mature and accept it. Yes, I tried a slightly different fruit sour beer. That's definitely what happened.

I came to Furano for skiing. It's the first night. I spent most of the time traveling, so I haven't skied at all. - Bread Stuffed Gratin (3.5) The most delicious dish was the first one. It was a bread stuffed gratin. It was so good. I love gratin, so eating bread stuffed gratin in Hokkaido was the best. Unfortunately, there is no photo. - Potato Fries (3.5) This was as delicious as the gratin. Hokkaido potatoes are really tasty. I love Hokkaido potatoes so much that I would buy them just by seeing the name "Hokkai-akari" in Fukuoka. I love scallops and corn even more, but they were not available at this restaurant (too bad). - Zangi (3.4) It's fried chicken. It was crispy and delicious. - Tofu Salad (3.35) This came towards the end (out of order, haha). I prefer tofu from Kyoto or Miyako Island. Overall, the beer was served lukewarm once, which was a bit strange. It only happened once, so I think it was just a coincidence, but it affected the drink rating. However, there were good points as well, as expected from Hokkaido.

This is a sister store of the exclusive "Only Me" restaurant. It is a hidden gem near the northern peak. The owner's son is in charge here. The atmosphere is amazing and the staff are friendly, making it a pleasant place to dine. There are various toppings for the curry, making it hard to choose. The homemade sausages are delicious, and the pork cutlet curry is incredibly tasty with tender cutlets. I also recommend the omelette curry. There is a secret password for getting extra rice - give it a try! This place is perfect for couples in the evening. I highly recommend checking it out!

I visited the "Furano Jimai Brewery" after a long time. Before they started making craft beer, the place was known as "Yama no Dokuson" and also operated a pension. Now they have stopped the pension business and focus on running a restaurant and brewing craft beer since 2000. Today, snow was falling lightly, creating a nice atmosphere at the entrance of the shop. When I entered around 1:30 pm, I was the only customer. Well, a quiet environment is always welcome. The area that used to be the pension requires taking off shoes before entering, and it feels spacious and nice. I was intrigued by the "Katsu Curry" I saw on their website, so I ordered it. They mentioned that they cut the meat after ordering and that the meat is 2cm thick. This raised my expectations. Soft piano trio music was playing quietly in the background. Come to think of it, the BGM in the northern Hokkaido area often consists of jazz. I have been frequenting cafeteria-style places recently, so the background music there is usually from the TV. Sometimes, hearing such classical music feels refreshing. However, jazz in a soba restaurant can be quite painful. I remember the "Karamatsu-en Honten" in Naie playing classical music, which I found not very digestible (laughs). The "Bibairo" in Memuro is completely silent. It's truly comfortable there, which is why I keep going back. As I was contemplating this while listening to jazz, the Katsu Curry (1350 yen) was served with a bang. I couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this looks amazing!" The curry sauce was spicy, just like the one at the famous Yui Godokon. The meat was of high quality and easy to eat, which might appeal to female diners. The popular "Bread Stuffed Gratin" is only available on the evening menu. In the summer, the town's Yui Godokon has long lines, but that's not the case for "Yama no Dokuson." The taste is the same, that distinctive black curry.

The restaurant, known for its famous curry, transforms into a wonderful bar at night. It may be more well-known among tourists and people from Honshu. I don't usually go into town, but the curries and pastas here, made with local ingredients, are very delicious. I often stop by for dinner on my way back from a trip, and it's convenient that they also have a bar open late. I'd like to stay longer next time and enjoy some drinks.

I visited a shop at the Keyaki Hiroba Autumn Beer Festival. I came to drink beer, but the lineup of sweets here made me think, "What is this?" I was tempted, but I resisted and went for Weizen and Uni instead! The small Uni was a bit pricey at 1000 yen (tax included) as a snack, but I could choose my favorite and it was delicious despite its size! Smooth! Of course, it went perfectly with the beer. When you think of Hokkaido, you think of Uni, so it's no wonder that Hokkaido beer and Uni go well together.