Post by Mothy
This is now a new write up by Mothy. I’ve moved the old version right to the bottom of this page if you’re interested in reading it.
I wrote about Grow Brew House for Tokyo Beer Drinker back in 2019, but as time passed, things about the place changed and my feelings about the place changed. I looked at what I’d written before and decided it didn’t really accurately describe the place so I decided to take another crack at it. Did I succeed this time? I don’t know. But at least the current pricing and seating arrangement will be reflected.
Grow Brew House is a small brewery in Nishi Kawaguchi that shares an owner with the Cask and Still bar, which has been there since the 90s I think. They started brewing in 2019, and to be honest their initial beers were rough. But they kept working and improving on them, and have started putting out some good beers. These days I’m always pretty confident I’ll be able to get something good there.
The bar at the brewery is small. Essentially, it’s a standing bar, though they do have one seat that can be used at the counter, two seats awkwardly pushed against a wall, and a few seats just outside the door. But the customers are pretty much all standing, and no one uses the seats much if at all. I only mention them so that in case you get tired easily it won’t keep you away. You’ll be able to sit if you need to. The staff is friendly so usually a lot of people are standing at or close to the bar, but there’s also a barrel in the middle of the room that can be used for drinks and a counter in one corner.
The atmosphere is nice and it feels like everyone knows each other. But at the same time, they will talk to new people they don’t know as well. They also have a turntable and some vinyl records you can play. I’ve also seen customers bring in a record from their home and play it. I’ll emphasize once again; this place is small. It starts to feel crowded if more than 10 people are there. But there’s room outside to stand (or sit) and drink as well, though the outside drinking atmosphere is more akin to drinking on the street than a beer garden.
As for beer details, 6 taps, though one of the six is often a shandy gaff that he makes with a locally produced ginger ale. The prices are ¥1000 (473ml) ¥800 (284ml) ¥400 (160ml) though a number of beers will be plus ¥50, usually the ones with a lot of hops. It’s pay as you order, and they do have non-cash payment options. I always pay cash though, so haven’t explored which all digital payment and credit card options are available. They also offer take away options. They can can a beer of choice for you, fill up a growler, or they have a limited amount of their beers in bottles.
Some other details about the place: It’s non-smoking, as most places around here are these days, but people do smoke outside and, as I mention for the third time, the place is small so for the especially smoke sensitive, they may notice. The onsite food menu is extremely limited, however they allow outside food, and Nishi Kawaguchi has some great food, so I’ve never had a problem with that. Also, they often have special food events with a guest chef on the weekends. They don’t have wi-fi, but it’s not really the type of place I’d expect it.
Japanese breweries seen on tap:
Grow Brew House
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday, 17:00-23:00
Saturday, Sunday & holidays 15:00-23:00
Location/Map:
西川口1-25-8 近藤ビル１F, Kawaguchi, Saitama-ken
The old write up
Grow Brew House is a small brewpub located a short walk from Nishi Kawaguchi station. The interior is small and unimpressive, offering standing room at the counter in the main room, and some old and uncomfortable looking folding tables and chairs in a room in the back. The main room with the counter seems to be where everyone gathers. It fits about eight people at the bar with maybe enough room for the same amount of people to stand without tables. It’s a true small-scale operation.
They opened in, I believe, January of this year, and began serving their own beer at the end of May. I’ve been there a few times now and though none of their beers are going to be winning any awards anytime soon, I haven’t had anything from them I’d call truly undrinkable yet, which hasn’t been the case with a lot of breweries when they’re this new to the business. I’ve noticed a couple of their beers have already improved so it will be interesting to see if they can make further improvements. The brewer seems pretty knowledgeable about beer, so I’m cautiously optimistic.
The beers come in three sizes, with the largest being a US pint- I think. I didn’t ask and just eyeball tested it. (Sizes now confirmed as 473ml, 284ml and 160ml). The prices for their own beer are ¥1000/650/350. (Prices have now increased to ¥1050/¥700/¥400. See the comments for details). They have six taps with most featuring their own beer. Guest beers run a bit more expensive, ranging as high as ¥1300/900/500. Which for domestic craft is pretty expensive in my opinion. Guest taps first time I was there were Ushitora and Chichibu. Second time they had Be Easy and Shiga Kogen. It’s pay as you go, which I like as I can more easily ignore the cost of my beer drinking when I’m not hit with the tabulated bill all at once. (UPDATE: They also do take away beers)
Some other details about the place: It’s non-smoking, but there isn’t a designated smoking area, and since it’s Nishi Kawaguchi people just smoked on the street right outside, and at least this time of year with windows and doors being kept open, the smoke would get inside when that happened. But the clientele didn’t seem to be heavy smokers so it didn’t happen often, so I’m only mentioning it to warn those extra sensitive about smoke. They only serve snacks, but they allow you to bring in outside foods. The staff is friendly, and although they don’t speak English, they have no problem with me using my mangled Japanese on them. No wi-fi at this time.
They wrote their drink sizes on their board. US pint- 473 ml UK half 284 ml tasting 160 ml
Just want to say they've improved their beer so I'm back to recommending the place. Also during coronavirus times, they do have take-out beer.
Just an interesting note I learned on my latest visit, they’re talking about expanding operations and even opening a new place because they’re popular enough they’re running out of beer now.
For the first time in years they had a guest tap (a barrel aged from Far Yeast) because they were starting to run out of their own beer.