Grow Brew House : The Bottom Line
I had heard some good things about Grow Brew House before going and they mostly turned out to be right – the beers were solid representations of the styles and the place was friendly and lively. It’s not the biggest of places but if you get there early enough, then you can probably find space indoors or on the steps outside. The whole place is non-smoking, there is no table charge, and all the prices include tax along with there being wifi. The only downside I guess would be a lack of English for those who can’t read Japanese but don’t let that hamper your time there.
Grow Brew House : The Full Write Up
Grow Brew House was the fourth on our whistle stop tour of the Urawa area as we moved onto Kawaguchi and this place. It had come highly recommended by a friend of ours, with the owners being friendly, the beers having gotten better, and a generally good place to pick up some locally made beers.
Grow Brew House opened in March 2019 in what appears to be an old warehouse in the Kawaguchi area and is about 5 minute walk through the small Asian market area that encompasses Chinese, Thai, and Korean markets and restaurants. The smell in the area was amazing and I would have been more than happy to have sat outside drinking with the plethora of aromas going on. The building itself was built in 1978 as an office and warehouse for the Kondo Lumber Store, which was founded in 1959, though after it closed, the building was used a warehouse for the local Kawaguchi council.
Grow Brew House : Atmosphere & Interior
With Grow Brew House maintaining some of the previous interior from the warehouse and lumber store, it’s a charming little place. There isn’t much space inside though, with it being all-standing – either at the counter or at some of the old oil drums that have been repurposed to be used as tables. You can also stand outside, or use one of the random benches that appear. Though Grow Brew House is a brewpub, the brewery itself is hidden at the back of the store and is not accessible to the public.
When we turned up at Grow Brew House on a Saturday afternoon, the place was pretty much full up, with just a solitary oil drum to stand around being leftover. That’s a good thing I guess as that means both the brewery and the taproom must be doing well. There wasn’t any music being played, just the chatter of the crowd throughout the bar – a nice sound after so long of silence.
Grow Brew House : Approach to Covid-19
Like other bars in Saitama, Grow Brew House had a pretty strict entry requirement. You have to have proof of being double vaccinated, or boostered, so no certificate and no entry at all. Moreover, time is limited to two hours, and you also have your temperature taken, before being shown to your selected seating. All the staff had masks on and there were lots of plastic barriers separating groups and solo drinkers alike.
Grow Brew House : Beer & Tap Information
Seeing as Grow Brew House is the taproom for their beers, it makes sense then that they have some of their own beers on tap, for which they do. All 6 taps were their beers with a variety of styles and flavours on the menu. The beers come in three sizes: small (150ml) for 400 yen, medium (330 ml) for 800 yen, and large (470 ml) for 1000 yen. All the prices include tax and generally the beers were well poured. In terms of the beers, they were pretty good and represented the styles very well. There is also an option for takeaway beer, with 500 ml for 1,100 yen which used some plastic bottles that had been thoroughly cleaned. On the downside, there wasn’t any beer flight option nor a happy hour for dinkers.
Grow Brew House : Food Information
Grow Brew House had some very basic choices for food, with some chips on offer, but the main point is that they let you bring in your own food! With all of the restaurants in the area, this is a great option for those who want some Chinese, Korean, or Thai with their beers. I would have loved to have ordered some crispy duck but alas, time was not on my side for the visit so just some chips today.
Grow Brew House : Details
- Open : Weekdays 17:00 – 20:00 (L.O 19:30) Weekends 15:00 – 20:00 (L.O 19:30)
- Closed : N/A
- Happy Hour : N/A
- Phone : 080-4052-1258
- Homepage (in Japanese) : http://home.att.ne.jp/alpha/caskandstill/grow_web/index_grow.html
- Social Media : Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
