Kyoto Sept 2019 : Kyoto Beer Lab

On our first night there, we were already visiting local drinking place. The first one we went was Kyoto Beer Lab, which was recommended by my husband's friend. We made our way there to meet her, and found the Lab in one of the small alley ways right in front of a small stream. It looked so private and cosy, just like all bars in Kyoto I guess. But it was my first time going drinking here, so I was fascinated. 

The inside was just as cosy and tastefully decorated. We too the seat at the bar so that we can watch more action behind the bar, and interact with the people more. Above the guy in green was one of them we spoke to, and he told us he plays in a punk-rock-grudge band. He even gave us the link to his band, which was rather interesting. He spoke some Malay when he ask where I was from, and took a photo of us for their Facebook page. Yay, that was a first for me!

This drinking place was called a lab because they experiment with their beer here. And one of the reason I really wanted to come here was because they have Houjicha Beer here! It was my first time seeing that, so I wanted very much to try it since I love Houjicha so much. So how you order is, you can order the standard drink by pint, or you can try their tasting set that comes with 3 smaller glasses and you can pick three types of beer from their tasting menu. Of course we went with that since we wanted to try all the interesting beer they have. 

Here is how they serve the beer to you, and they will indicate which beer it is. They will also recommend that you drink it in certain order so that you can enjoy the taste better from lighter taste, to stronger taste. 

After having beer, we got a bit hungry so we also ordered some snacks to share. Above is the bacon bits from apparently some famous butcher in Kyoto. Look at the fats on that bacon!

After the cut it up in cubes, they fry it and serve it to you with just pepper and I guess, some salt? This was super delicious!

There are other types of drink you can also order if you don't like beer. Above is Shiso fermented drink serve with soda. It looks kinda cool, but taste really herbish. I'm not a big fan of Shiso except it is made into a clear soup. 

Lastly, here is a group photo of us at the bar. Cheers! Awesome first night in Kyoto!