Goto Brewery

Goto Brewery in Kyodo is a standing bar-style brewpub just a 3-minute walk from Kyodo Station on the Odakyu Line, and its founding story is really great.

Kenro Goto graduated from Tokyo University of Agriculture with a degree in agricultural science, where he researched medicinal plants used by the Bunun, an indigenous group in Taiwan. After graduating, he spent seven years doing route sales for a meat wholesaler, but he always felt it was not the kind of work he really wanted to do.

There were two turning points. First, while stationed in Yamanashi, he discovered Outsider Brewing in front of Kofu Station and was shocked to realize that craft beer could be made on a small scale. Then, when his daughter was born, he decided he wanted a job he could proudly say, 'This was made by your dad.'

After spending a year and a half training at Sankt Gallen in Kanagawa, he launched the brewery in 2016 together with his wife, Yukiko. Both of them are Tokyo University of Agriculture graduates, so their knowledge of plants and ingredients really comes through in the brewing.

Their regular "Kyodo Ale" has a perfect balance of rich malt flavor with hop aroma and bitterness. They were able to bottle it through crowdfunding, raising 3.3 million yen from 256 supporters, and it has also been certified as a Setagaya souvenir. Seasonal beers include "Chitose Cherry Blossom Pale Ale," "Hinoki Forest Ale," and "Velvet Vanilla Porter."

Also, because Tokyo University of Agriculture is nearby, they get student part-timers every year, and there is a yearly tradition of brewing a "graduation project beer" together when those students graduate. It's been going on for more than five years now. Regular customers even call it a place where they "go to Goto's place," which shows how deeply this brewery has blended into the neighborhood.