The Yokohama area has a good choice of bars for craft beer lovers but Thrash Zone is my favourite.

Green Flash Imperial IPA at Thrash Zone, Yokohama (guest beer)

Thrash Zone isn’t without its faults. For a start, it’s very difficult to find. For a second, it plays Thrash Metal which isn’t to everyone’s taste (including mine). For a third, it’s tiny. And for a fourth, you can’t have a full meal there. But those pale into insignificance compared to the constantly changing range of 8-9 draught beers – include some of the best offerings from Japan and overseas. You wont find any Asahi or Kirin at Thrash. My only wish is that the bar would ditch the hand pumped Japanese beers in favour of CO2 pumped – I really don’t think hand pump works in Japan due to temperature, carbonation, etc, but maybe that’s a personal thing. There’s certainly enough non hand pump beer at Thrash to keep me happy.

Katsuki-san – the owner – even makes his own limited edition beers every year. 2009’s was Simcoe Bloody Simcoe, a 100+ IBU IPA – and three different versions of it too. 2010’s is Hopslave, another hoppy IIPA. Katsuki-san being prepared to make beer that hoppy has to be admired – none of the Japanese breweries currently make IPAs that high in IBUs (though Yokohama’s Green Fresh is close).

Map courtesy of Thrash Zone's website

To get to Thrash Zone, take the North West exit from Yokohama station and walk straight ahead. Cross the river using the small bridge and keep walking until you come to the Korean restaurant on your left (marked “Yakiniku” on the map above). Turn left there and Thrash Zone is a few buildings down on your right. There’s no markings on the building but there’s usually a small blackboard outside. The building looks like this:

Outside Thrash Zone

Thrash Zone is on the second floor. The Thrash Zone website is updated daily with the current beers on tap – and it’s English. Phone number is 045-514-9947. Beware that Thrash Zone is closed on Sundays.

Inside Thrash Zone

Inside, Thrash Zone is very small with around 10 bar stools and some standing area – it’s a good job it’s no-smoking! Katsuki-san speaks English, and he’s the only one working there. Because of that, food is limited to just a few snacks but the smoked cheese and cold smoked bacon are smoked by Katsuki-san himself and definitely worth trying. Plan on eating before going to Thrash Zone and have the food as nibbles to go with the beer.

My opinion? I love that Thrash Zone always has good hoppy beers on tap – and there’s non-hoppy beer too for those non-hopheads. Prices are good at around 950-1200 yen a pint and the atmosphere is very friendly. Definitely worth seeking this place out.