CRAFTROCK BREWPUB & LIVE

Opened in 2019 by Steady Works, the company behind the Craft Beer Market chain, CRAFTROCK BREWPUB & LIVE is the group's brewing arm and its live music stage in one room, on the ground floor of COREDO Muromachi Terrace in Nihonbashi. CRAFTROCK BREWING's tanks are visible through the glass, and the room seats 140.

Three to five house IPAs, pale ales, lagers and seasonals sit alongside Japanese and international guest taps. The brewery has a strong music link, with a bass player, TORU, as its founder, and many of its beers are collaborations with bands, festivals and other breweries: recent releases have included a hoppy rice lager brewed for the Rock Festival, a session hazy IPA, a smoked dark lager, a fruited black-rice lager with dragon fruit and lime, and a smoked helles with houjicha made with Ise Kadoya. Guest breweries also run occasional tap takeovers, such as one by Heavy Riff Brewing with eight beers and the brewer in attendance.

The kitchen steps up from other CBM branches with a modern American menu built around charcoal-grilled steaks and house burgers; the signature order is a sharing plate of cut steak with loaded fries. Seasonal promotions, such as discounted Patagonian lamb chops, appear through the year.

It's a few minutes' walk from Mitsukoshimae and Shin-Nihonbashi stations. The house band, The Local Pints, hosts a free monthly night called Cheers Club on the fourth Friday, with doors at 7.30pm and guests on stage, and other gigs are concentrated at weekends. Check the CRAFTROCK site for the live band schedule, as evenings with a gig are the liveliest, and book ahead if you want a seat on those nights. Weekday lunch runs from 11am to 2pm and dinner from 5pm to 11pm, with all-day opening on holidays. House beers can also be ordered online for delivery, including crowler sets.