AJB Kagayaki is a 5% fruited kölsch from Anglo-Japanese Brewing Company based in Nozawa Onsen, in Nagano, Japan. It’s part of their canned and draught line up. In terms of availability, AJB Kagayaki is part of their canned and draught lineup, though as it’s part of the AJB Waste 2 Beer whereby they take waste produce from some industrial process, in this case grapefruit peel from the Miyazaki area, a pesticide-saving cultivated ingredient scheduled for disposal.
AJB Kagayaki : At A Glance
- Alcohol: 5%
- Style: Kölsch
- Hops: –
- Adjuncts: Grapefruit peel
- IBU: –
Sale Information
- Availability: Limited
- On Sale: From October 022
- Size: 350 ml
- Price: From ¥800
Aroma & Taste
- Notable Aroma: Grapefruit with noble hop aroma. Low malt sweetness with slight sulfur nose when warm
- Notable Taste: Tartness from grapefruit proceeds a slight noble hop bitterness and flavour. Light to medium body with some sweetness from the malts.
AJB Kagayaki : Aroma & Taste
AJB Kagayaki poured out a hazy dull honey colour with a large amount of frothy white head that left a few streaks along the side of the glass. It shouldn’t be a surprise that AJB Kagayaki had a distinct grapefruit aroma. Without knowing how much grapefruit went into the making of the beer, I would hazard a guess to say a lot as it was the first aroma to come through. There was some traditional kölsch aroma though soon after as an edge of noble hops came through but it was all about the grapefruit until AJB Kagayaki had warmed up. As it did, a slight edge of sulfur was noticed – not enough to be off-putting but enough to be noticed.
The grapefruit was noticeable in the body as its tartness was the dominate profile in the beer. Kölsch purists may turn their nose away after reading that, but there was a more typical noble hop flavour that came through as AJB Kagayaki warmed up, along with just a smidgen of bitterness. In terms of body, AJB Kagayaki was a bit more robust than usual for a kölsch, with a noticeable sweetness from the malts. The grapefruit though lingered through right until the end of drinking and left a natural flavour on the tongue.
AJB Kagayaki : The Bottom Line
AJB Kagayaki is a good grapefruit flavoured beer but I would like the body to have been a bit lighter.
AJB Kagayaki : Where to Buy
AJB Kagayaki can be bought online at the following places:
