BEER BAR Bitter turns 20

BEER BAR Bitter, a beer pub in Tsukudo-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, will celebrate its 20th anniversary on August 10. In a recent post, the bar said it asked a brewery in Kabutocho, "Bouldy Good Beer," to brew a commemorative beer for the occasion.

The beer is named ORDINARY. According to the post, the name reflects a wish for Bitter to remain part of everyday life for its customers. It is presented as a bitter-style beer tied closely to the pub's identity and to a brewery the bar has long admired and served.

The beer will be tapped on August 10, and the bar notes it will not disappear after a single day. The post also says August 10 and 11 will be for regular customers only, after which the bar will continue operating in 20th-anniversary mode.

For beer fans, this is the kind of anniversary release that matters not just for the beer itself, but for the relationship between bar and brewery behind it.