クラフトビアベース

A deceptively cozy little bar off the beaten craft beer trail in Umeda.
Perhaps the reason why no one’s bothered to review this place yet is that to get here you have to go through that huge underground bypass going from Higashi to Nishi Umeda, which in the summer is much much [/​effort]. Or perhaps the reason why nobody has yet to wax lyrical about Craft Beer Base/​SEED/​BUD is because its hallowed name is too holy to be mentioned in vain, as it probably is the #1 destination for all craft beer enthusiasts visiting Osaka both from within Japan and outside of Japan (i.e. Korea). So before I dare say anything to diminish the value of this place, allow me to share a small historical anecdote about the history of Craft Beer in both Japan and Korea.
The craft beer scene in Japan, while both foreigners and nationals alike have applauded its miraculous growth over the last three or so years, is still budding. Whereas the quality of beer in Japan has spiked miraculously since the days when Sapporo/​Kirin/​Asahi were the only obvious choices in the market – we now have the likes of Shiga/​Fujisakura Kogen, Baird, Yo-​Ho, Hitachino, Sankt Gallen, Locobeer, etc. widely available throughout the country – the biggest repellent for most people still remains the price point. Whereas a bottle of one of Shiga Kogen’s fine artisanal ales will now run you anywhere from the vicinity of 325−750yen, in the past when the Japanese craft market was still not quite as diverse the price would run in the upends of 3 – 5 times the aforementioned amount. Traces of the «hypervaluation» of craft/​ji-​beer is still evident in the market now; the standard fare for a half pint (or ~235ml) of any ji-​beer around the city will run you 500 yen, whereas a full pint of Asahi/​Kirin/​Sapporo will run you anywhere from 250 – 400 in a reasonably priced setting.
Retracing back to my original history lesson. So the craft beer trend in Japan and Korea are similar in that the current American trend was far preceded by an outdated German/​Belgian obsession. That being said, whereas Japan was able to acquire American exports at a more reasonable rate of levy, Korea could not afford quite the same privileges, burdened with an economy that relies comically on foreign exports and importation (upends of 88% of GNI). The resulting effect on the East Asian craft beer market leaned remarkably in Japan’s favor; whereas Japanese craft beer enthusiasts were soon able to enjoy the likes of Sierra Nevada, Stone, Ballast Point, The Bruery, Modern Times, Alesmith and etc. at slightly jacked up prices (perhaps on par with Philadelphia’s prices for the above), the only way Korean craft beer nerds had access to these beers were either through importation of the above products from Japan (as it was in the case of Ballast Point and Sierra Nevada) at even higher import-​heavy prices than what was being charged in Japan – or, to finally progress to the crux of this review, through «craft beer tourism,» of which Craft Beer Base, along with Asahiya in Taishibasi-​imaichi and Tanakaya in Tokyo, is undoubtedly the biggest hub.
For having such a huge cult following and reputation, Craft Beer Base is actually quite underwhelming but in a cozy, comfortable way; you walk in to a narrow corridor to face a small 8-​seater bar with a refrigerator to the left which holds the newest ji/​craft beer offerings and a mysterious door to the right which leads to their refrigerated cellar, a.k.a. beer nerd mecca. Life any self-​respecting craft beer establishment, their draft offerings rotate quite frequently with a fixed price of 700 for UK ½ pint and 1000 for a US pint. Whereas they do have a finger food menu, this place is strictly about the beers; they regularly have tap takeovers, foreign brewmasters/​distributors visiting handing out samples and swag and whatnot. Most definitely falls into the category of «dream addition to any neighborhood, yet maybe out of the way for most everything else.» I just ended up buying a variety of Shiga Kogen bottles at 325 each and drinking them at a yakitori/​kushikatsu establishment near my old neighborhood.
All in all, a must visit for craft beer enthusiasts and those in the know – perhaps not the best place if you’re just strictly looking to taste a lot of different ji-​beer.