Five Trees Craft Beer

Five Trees was a brewery in the Gakugei-Daigaku area, and its origins are a bit unusual.

Its parent company is Tohsin Corporation, founded in 1952, which works in landscaping and exterior construction. In other words, it’s the story of professionals in plants and building materials starting to brew beer.

The central figure, Jin Kobuchi, had worked at Kirin’s Yokohama brewery and at THRASH ZONE, a brewpub in Yokohama. The idea started when he realized there wasn’t a place in Gohongi, Gakugei-Daigaku, that brewed and served craft beer.

Exactly. It’s the English version of the place name Gohongi, which has been around since the Kamakura period. Their flagship beer, GOHONGI ALE, is just the place name itself. It’s a 6% pale ale with a nice balance of sweet malt aroma and refreshing hop character. UN, a session IPA at 4%, is light with a crisp carbonation. UNITE is a double IPA at 8%, a heavy hitter with grapefruit-like aromas.

As you’d expect from a company in landscaping, the interior was filled with plants, arranged by their affiliate Yard Works. Its dual identity as a showroom by day and a beer bar from evening onward was also interesting.

It did go through a temporary closure, but it was even chosen as a Meguro Ward hometown tax return gift, so there’s no doubt it was rooted in the local community. I’d like to wait and hope for its return.