Post by Mothy
Gecko Beer is a small brewery with a taproom in Saitama near Yono Station. They started brewing this summer after first opening their taproom last year. I first visited their taproom last year before they had begun releasing their own beer (though they did have a couple of collaborations with other breweries, including an IPA with UBP in Urawa which I enjoyed) and the people running the place seemed like good people so I decided I’d come back once they started brewing their own beer. At this point they are still limited in the number of their own beers they have on tap (at the time of writing this they had only released 3) but they seem to know what they’re doing, which isn’t always the case with these breweries when they start. From my understanding, they learned to brew at a brewery in California so that helps explain their good start. They are starting at a little higher level of knowledge than some. As the reference to California might suggest, thus far their beers are very west coast of the US in style. Which is great for me, since that’s my favorite.
I wish to describe the feel or look of the place, but I’m finding my writing skill and knowledge of interior decorating is failing me. The thing that I keep coming back to is the little coffee shop that was on my university campus. Is that a thing? Early 2000s American university campus chic? Anyway, it’s nice enough. There’s a low table with a couple of comfy cushioned sofas in one area. A single generic standing table because why not, some benches that can probably sit about 8 people, and 6 or 7 people can stand at the bar. It’s small, but it uses its space well so feels quite open. The only drawback is its on the second floor, which means at some point if I continue to go there, I will fall down the stairs.
When I was there, there were 7 beers on tap with 3 of them being from Gecko. It looks like their system could do 12 taps if they wanted to though. They had 3 sizes, a 16 ounce (454ml), 12 ounce (340ml), and 9 ounce (255ml). The prices respectively were ¥1500, ¥1150, ¥900 which although expensive seems to have sadly become the norm, so I should learn to accept it and just drink less. The beers were a mix of import and Japanese, with most being Japanese. They also had some cans and bottles which seemed to be mostly, if not entirely, American imports.
Other details: They have a limited food menu with some snacks and a hot dog. But they allow outside food. I believe. I didn’t actually see any sign about it, but some people had outside food. I assume they weren’t just rule breakers. They had a wide variety of payment options, including, thankfully, accepting cash (If you want to hear a crazy neverending rant, ask me my thoughts on stores that do not accept cash). The Japanese beers they had on tap last time I went were Ushitora, Daisen G, Kyoto Brewing, Our Brewing, and of course, Gecko Beer.
All in all I would definitely recommend stopping by if you are in Saitama, though they keep somewhat limited hours at this point, so best to check if they’re open before heading over. If you are not in Saitama, I don’t know if I would recommend a special trip for them just yet, but based off the quality of their initial beers, they are a new brewery to watch.
Japanese breweries seen on tap:
Ushitora
Daisen
Kyoto
Our Brewing
Gecko Beer
Opening Hours:
Wednesday, 19:00-22:30
Friday & Saturday, 18:00-22:30
Sunday, 15:00-18:00
Closed Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
(Might be worth checking before you head out)
Location/Map:
上木崎 2-2-15 A-Oビル 2F, Urawa-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama-ken
Telephone:
048-767-7795