Kagua Blanc and Rouge: Belgian-Style Beer Brewed With Yuzu and Sansho

Kagua doesn't look like the rest of the beer list, and it doesn't drink like it either.

The name comes from the idea of Japanese fragrance, and that's the whole design brief. These are Belgian-style ales built around two Japanese aromatics: yuzu from Kochi Prefecture and budo sansho pepper from Wakayama.

They come from Far Yeast Brewing, the same people behind our Hinoki Lager and Mori to Mori.

Kagua Blanc

A Belgian-style strong blonde ale, 7.5% ABV, 20 IBU.

The yuzu does most of the talking here. Belgian blonde yeast already throws pepper and citrus on its own, so pairing it with actual yuzu and actual sansho doesn't fight the beer. It pushes what's already there further.

Low bitterness for the strength. It's fragrant first and bitter almost not at all.

Kagua Rouge

A Belgian-style strong dark ale, 9.0% ABV, 35 IBU.

Same aromatics, much more weight underneath. Toasted malt takes the base darker, and the sansho reads as spice against it rather than as citrus lift. This is the one that surprises whisky drinkers.

At 9%, treat it accordingly.

How to Drink Them

Not cold, and not out of a pint glass.

Both of these want a wine glass and cellar temperature, somewhere around 10°C. Straight from a cold fridge you lose the aromatics entirely, which is the only reason to be drinking them.

Pour, wait a couple of minutes, then smell it before you drink it.

Pair Them With

Blanc goes with fried food. Karaage, takoyaki, tebasaki, the carbonation and citrus cut oil the way a squeeze of lemon does.

Rouge wants something braised and sweet. Pork kakuni or tonsouku. It's rich enough to sit next to them instead of underneath.

Try Them at Juraku

Both are on the beer list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. If you like Belgian beer and haven't had it built on sansho, start with the Blanc.