Beyond the Dondobi Intersection: A Reiwa-era Pub I Love in a Showa-era Arcade - Imabari City Beer Edition

Well then, my trip to Imabari is halfway through, and tonight it's all about beer!
After working up a sweat and taking a bath,

Ahhh!

Right?
Just imagining that golden liquid, heh heh heh.

Shops with a strong local flavor are often found in old-fashioned downtown areas. Avoiding the area in front of the station, which is full of tourist-oriented shops, I head toward the Showa-era downtown. In Imabari, Tokiwa-cho is the place I've set my sights on.

Actually, maybe I should say

Imabari Ginza.

Its entrance is

the "Dondobi Intersection."

It's an impactful name, isn't it?

If you're curious, look it up.
Written in kanji, it's "Dondobi."

Man, even if the original meaning is different, isn't it the perfect kanji for a bar district! Drinking and throwing up... what a drain!

The wait is over!

Today's shop is, I'll be introducing Imabari Machinaka Beer.

I was wandering around this area yesterday and this shop caught my eye. I was looking for a casual pub, but I changed my plans. Isn't a stylish place nice too? The iron rule of travel is to go in if something catches your interest.

From here on, it's food porn. I'm going to hit you with a barrage of beer!

Order!

"Beer to start"

I feel like that phrase is rude to the beer, so
lately,

"Beer to begin with"

is how I phrase it.

Today, whether it's to begin with, at the end, or just for now, I'm going all-in on beer, like it or not. Got a problem with that?

To start, I chose a Pale Ale and an IPA.

The Pale Ale had a fruity hop aroma and bitterness. As for the IPA, while bitterness is standard, this one had a gentle flavor.

Let me explain!

Let me explain the "IPA" that you see so often these days. A long time ago, when the British colonized India and established the East India Company, they thought, "I want to drink beer in India too." So, they loaded beer made in England onto ships.

But!

In an era without refrigeration technology, the beer went bad.

Damn it!!
In that case, to keep it from spoiling in the hot Indian climate, let's throw in a massive amount of "hops" as a preservative! That is how the India Pale Ale (IPA) began.

Moving on!

I chose the Harehime (Hazy IPA) and the Double IPA.

Harehime is a citrus fruit specialty of Ehime. This is a beer made using it.
Citrus! While not very common in Japan, in places like Belgium, for example, beers made with fruits like cherries and raspberries have existed for a long time. (To be precise, under Japanese law, they aren't technically beer...)

Now for the snacks!

This is the one.

True to a Hazy IPA, the hop aroma is gorgeous and fresh. And perhaps it's the bitterness of the citrus peel, but the synergistic effect with the beer's bitterness makes it delicious!

The Double IPA is exactly what you'd expect from an IPA; a punchy, strong bitterness that rushes down your throat.

Ah, pure bliss.

Still going strong!

Ordered some snacks and the third round of beer.

Mandarin Saison and Mango Hazy.

A bit of an eccentric choice for a break.

Or so I thought, but both are bursting with bitterness. This brewery's beers are based on IPAs. Every one of them has a prominent bitterness. My wife loves IPAs, so she's having a blast right next to me.

Delicious, so delicious!

A word about Saison here too.
(I'm full of trivia today)

Saison is a beer from southern Belgium that was traditionally drunk as a reward after farm work. In other words, it's a beer meant for chugging.
True to its name, the Mikan Saison was gone in a flash.

I had imagined the Mango one would be syrupy sweet, but it only had the scent of mango, and was actually a sharp, bitter drink.

Having come this far, there are only two left.

Time to conquer all the beers!!

Lager and Black IPA.

The lager is the only non-ale beer among today's selection. Apparently, this one alone takes six weeks to brew. It's a high-maintenance one, isn't it?

The lager also had that hop-heavy flavor characteristic of this brewery.

For the finale, it has to be the black one, right?
A fragrant flavor combined with the bitterness of a generous amount of hops.

It was a fun time filled with hops until the very end.

I don't want a bitter life, but
I'm all for bitter beer.

When paying the bill,

"It's rare for someone to drink every single variety..."

Those were the words I heard.

Indeed, we were the only customers who hung around for about two hours. What surprised me was that the majority of the crowd consisted of middle-aged men and women of my generation. I had expected it to be a place that appealed more to young people.

The owner's love and passion for beer are extraordinary. Listening to the explanations for each brand gave me a lot of energy (well, actually, it gave me eight glasses worth of energy! Haha). Being young is great, this weathered old man thinks to himself.

No, no, this old man isn't going to lose just yet!

If I were to be picky, I would have liked a bit more attention to detail with the snacks. A place run by beer enthusiasts alone won't satisfy middle-aged folks like us. It's a shame, especially since the beer is so delicious and the place is overflowing with love for the local area.

Knowing the studious owner, I'm sure that by the time I visit next, they will have come up with some surprisingly transformed side dishes. This is a shop with nothing but room to grow. I leave the shop believing in its potential.

◆◆

Tomorrow is finally the last day of my Iyo trip.
I'll be heading out early in the morning again (lol).

I'm going to a place like this.
A place worthy of an adult school trip.
To the birthplace of the Sumitomo Zaibatsu, and the birthplace of Sumitomo Forestry...

Well then, I wonder how it will turn out.

(To be continued...)