Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat is brewed using natural sakura, or cherry blossom, yeast that has been developed by Akita Food Institute in conjunction with Aqula. It’s a 5% wit that has not been pasteurized to allow the yeast to further develop flavours in Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat as it is bottle conditioned. The photo below is of the beer before the label was redesigned in early 2015. Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat is brewed for the annual hanami, or cherry blossom viewing season, hence the decorative design on the bottle. Aqula seem to be put a lot of effort into their labels and it’s great to see breweries placing importance on that.
Rather than sakura itself, Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat uses yeast from the sakura instead,
Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat Aroma and Taste
Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat poured out a dark orange colour with the merest of light white creamy heads, though it didn’t last long at all. The sakura aroma wasn’t present or if it was, I must have missed it due to strange pungent bitterness that was in its place instead, along with some dank, skunky aromas coming off. Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat was most definitely along the lines of the recent batch of weizen beers we’ve had here.
Even drinking Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat makes for a difficult time. There was much more going on in the body, with plenty of bitter yeast flavour with so many fruits coming through Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat felt more like a beer version of sangria rather than a wheat. With oranges and lemons and a tart pineapple bite, I felt like I was on a tropical beach somewhere.
Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat One Line Review
Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat is definitely a unique twist on what seems to be a hefeweizen style beer. Drinkable but tone the sweetness and deluge of flavours down.
Where to Buy Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat
Aqula Sakura Kobo Wheat can be bought from the Aqula online store here. We got ours as part of a variety pack from GoodBeer’s Rakuten store here. Else, we have seen it on our travels at Nomono in Akihabara.
