St. Gallen will release “Fresh Hop IPA”, a beer made with freshly harvested hops, on August 29, 2024. Asakawa, an 86-year-old hop farmer Uses Mr. Sada’s No. 1 domestically produced hop Kaikogane.
*St.Gallen Ltd.*
Press release: August 21, 2024
**
St. Gallen will release “Fresh Hop IPA”, a beer made with freshly harvested hops, on August 29, 2024. Asakawa, an 86-year-old hop farmer Uses Mr. Sada’s No. 1 domestically produced hop Kaikogane.
*More than twice the normal amount! With 7 additions of hops, the aroma is reminiscent of a hop field*
Craft beer maker Sankt Gallen in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture announced on August 4th this year that they have released a beer called FRESH HOP using Kaikogane hops harvested in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture.
IPA (Fresh Hop IPA)” will be sold in limited quantities from Thursday, August 29, 2024.
https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/freshhopIPA/
Every summer since 2012, Sankt Gallen helps harvest hops in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, and immediately takes the hops back to the factory to use them fresh in beer brewing.
A truck loaded with hops and Iwamoto, CEO of St. Gallen
Hops are the main ingredient in beer and are the main source of aroma and bitterness. The hops used in beer are usually harvested in the summer and heat-dried for long-term storage. Heat drying is essential in order to use hops of stable quality throughout the year. However, it is unavoidable that the fragrance components will volatilize during this process.
Kaikogane Hop
However, this beer uses freshly picked hops that have not lost any of their components.
Beer made with freshly harvested hops is a special product that can only be brewed in a limited location (the brewery is close to the hop field) and during a limited time (hop harvest season).
Hop field (all hops in this field are for St. Gallen)
This “FRESH HOP”
“IPA” is a beer brewed from “Kaikogane” hops harvested on August 4th in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, and immediately brought back to the factory in Kanagawa. The first hop application is done within 24 hours of harvest.
Hop harvest scene
Kaikogane hop is the first domestically produced hop to be registered as a variety by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Written in kanji, it means “Kai Gold”. This hop was born in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, and was cultivated by 800 farmers in the city in the early Showa period, but only a few now. It is said that it got its name from the fact that its leaves turn golden yellow at some point during the growing stage, and it is characterized by its floral, citrus scent.
Golden “Kaikogane” hops
FRESH HOP IPA begins with mash hops (*1), adds hops four times during the brewing process, and then dry hops (*2) twice during secondary fermentation.
*1
A process in which hops, which are normally added during the wort boiling stage, are also added during the saccharification stage that precedes the wort production. By adding hops earlier than usual, we aim to bring out the character of the hops even more strongly.
*2
The process of adding more hops to beer after main fermentation. Because it is not affected by heat or fermentation, it can add a powerful hop flavor to beer.
St. Gallen Iwamoto, who does mash hops, and French brewer Ben
After adding hops seven times, about twice as many times as regular beer, the beer is finished, and when you open the cork and pour it into a glass, you’ll be greeted with a lush aroma that will make you feel like you’re in a hop field.
Inside the saccharification tank with a large amount of hops floating
Brut has an extremely dry body (sugar content) so that you can fully enjoy the aroma of hops.
IPA (Brut IPA) style. We kept the bitterness to a minimum,
concentrating only the hop flavor reminiscent of lush citrus into the beer. Overwhelming hop feeling with a dry taste.
This beer is like “hop champagne.”
*“Kaikogane” hop that I have been protecting by myself for 20 years* Hop cultivation in Japan began in the 1930s in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture. At that time, over 800 farmers were cultivating hops in Hokuto City, led by major manufacturers. A monument has been erected near JR Nagasaka Station to tell the story of the birthplace of hop cultivation. It is in Hokuto City that the first registered domestic hop, “Kaikogane”, was born.
Monument to the “Birthplace of Hop Cultivation”
However, in 1993, Hokuto City’s cultivation contract with a major manufacturer ended with the switch to imported hops. Most farmers stopped growing hops and “kaikogane” also disappeared.
Meanwhile, one farmer continues to cultivate it in a corner of his field, saying, “I don’t want to lose the Kaikogane seeds that my father-in-law helped discover and improve.” That person was Teiryo Asakawa, who we were helping with the harvest.
Hop farmer Mr. Asakawa (left) and St. Gallen Iwamoto (right) With no aim to sell, we make and throw away, make and throw away… “It’s been 20 years since the contract ended, and no one has used it,” says Asakawa.
In 2012, Mr. Asakawa’s hops were turned into beer again. After hearing Mr. Asakawa’s story, St. Gallen helps with the harvest every year and also buys all of the beer and makes it into beer.
Mr. Asakawa, who turned 86 this year, is the oldest hop farmer in Japan according to our research, and says, “I want to continue making hops as long as my body can move.”
There are new people in the city who have begun cultivating the Kaikogane hops that Mr. Asakawa divided, and Mr. Asakawa’s ideas are definitely being passed on to future generations.
* FRESH HOP IPA Product Overview *
* [Product Name] * FRESH HOP IPA
* [Alcohol] * 6.5%
* [Bottle capacity] * 330ml *Other commercial barrels are available * [Suggested retail price] * 539 yen (tax included)
* [Sales location] * Online shop, stores that carry St. Gallen. Posted on the official website from time to time
* -You can also enjoy barrel draft at stores and event venues-* * ●St.Gallen Taproom*
https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/taproom/
A directly managed store of St. Gallen, located right next to the north exit of Hon-Atsugi Station.
You can enjoy 20 types of St. Gallen beers on draft, from regular beers to seasonal beers.
We offer authentic pizza that is made by rolling out the dough one by one after receiving your order and baking it in a stone oven.
* [Address] * Hon-Atsugi Miroad 2. 2-2-1 Nakamachi, Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture. 1st floor (right next to the north exit of Hon-Atsugi Station)
* [Telephone number] * 046-230-7017
* [Business hours] * Sunday to Monday 12:00 to 22:00 / Friday, Saturday, and days before holidays 12:00 to 23:00
*Last order for food 1 hour before, beer 30 minutes before
* ●September 12th (Thursday) – 16th (Monday/holiday), 2024 2024 Keyaki Hiroba Autumn Beer Festival*
https://www.beerkeyaki.jp/
* ●September 27, 2024 (Friday) – October 14, 2024 (Monday/holiday) Yokohama Oktoberfest 2024*
https://www.yokohama-akarenga.jp/oktoberfest/
*You can also enjoy it at beer bars that handle St. Gallen. Posted on the official website from time to time.
* About St. Gallen *
St. Gallen is the “original craft beer store” that manufactured and sold small-scale beer in the United States even before the ban on craft beer was lifted in Japan. It became a hot topic in American media such as TIME and Newsweek, and then spread to Japanese media. It involved public opinion and made a difference in the lifting of the ban on craft beer in Japan. For this reason, it is called “local beer No. 0″ in the industry.
The beer produced by St. Gallen is a consistent ale, which is the opposite of the major mainstream lager in terms of production method and taste. We are proud of receiving numerous awards at domestic and international contests. In addition to the classic beer, we also manufacture and sell a number of unique beers, such as one-sho bottle beer, Valentine’s limited chocolate beer, and barley wine that is high in alcohol and can be aged for a long time, to spread the appeal of craft beer widely.
St. Gallen is a place name in Switzerland.
The Abbey of St. Gallen there was the first place in the world to receive a brewing license.
In order to carry on its origins, the brand name is “Sankt Gallen”. Official website: https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SanktGallenSHOP
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SanktGallenBrewery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikisanktgallen/
Sankt Gallen Ltd.
Sankt Gallen Ltd.
TEL: 046-224-2317
Address: 1137-1 Kaneda, Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture