Craft Beer Base Mother Tree

Mother Tree is the head shop of Craft Beer Base, an Osaka company that has specialised in craft beer for a decade and brews its own beer in the Umeda area under the motto of spreading beer the right way. The group describes this site as a beer theme park, putting a bottle shop with one of the best ranges in the Kansai region, a beer restaurant and the brewery under one roof in Oyodonaka, near the Umeda Sky Building.

The brewery is visible through the taproom's glass walls, and around ten lines pour CBB's own beers, from Osaka pale ales and IPAs to seasonals and barrel-aged releases, with five rotating guests. CBB beers have won a string of awards at Japanese and international competitions, so the house taps are the reason to come rather than an afterthought. The group publishes a printable beer list on its website if you want to plan ahead.

The real draw for geeks is the bottle shop, arguably western Japan's finest, with roughly 500 Japanese and international cans and bottles. It is a good place to stock up on hard-to-find Japanese releases to take home.

It sits slightly away from Umeda's main bar strip, so it feels like a neighbourhood spot while being minutes from Osaka Station. Come hungry: the kitchen designs its food to pair with the beer. Note it's closed on Tuesdays. If you are staying in central Umeda, the group's other bars make an easy follow-up: BUD, an American-style beer pub in the basement of Osaka Ekimae Daiichi Building, and leaf at Grand Green Osaka, which pours 15 draught beers including CBB's own.