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New Japanese beer takes inspiration from traditional Christmas dessert…but do they go together?

Casey Baseel Dec 28, 2024
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Spring Valley draws inspiration from stollen, but has this combination stolen our hearts?

Japan loves seasonal flavors. There are seasonal sweets, seasonal burgers, and yes, even seasonal beers, and one brew in particular has caught our attention this winter.

This month Spring Valley, a sub-brand of Kirin that focuses on more inventive recipes, released a new beer, called Spring Valley Hanayagu Fuyu Kaori, or “Brilliant Winter Fragrance.” The inspiration for this beer, though, isn’t actually a winter aroma, but a Christmas sweet.

Specifically, Spring Valley says it referenced recipes for making stollen when developing the new beer. Stollen is a traditional German Christmas dessert, a baked bread with nuts and dried fruits seasoned with spices and dusted with powdered sugar. Spring Valley Hanayagu Fuyu Kaori has cinnamon, a key stollen ingredient, added to it during the brewing process, and when our taste-testing reporter Natsuki Gojo poured herself a glass and took a sip, she immediately noticed the spice’s scent and flavor. The taste was rich, with a touch of sweetness offsetting much of the bitterness that’s usually part of beer’s flavor profile, making for a comforting and refreshing effect.

But this had Natsuki wondering about something. If this beer which taking part of its flavor cues from stollen tastes great on its own, might it also taste great paired with an actual stollen slice?

Having foreseen the possibility of her train of thought barreling down this route as express-level speeds, Natsuki had wisely procured her German Christmas treat ahead of time. She’d actually never though about the possibility of pairing beer and sweets prior to hearing about Spring Valley’s stollen inspiration, but as she took a bite and chased it with a sip, she was very happy that she’d hit upon this idea. Spring Valley Hanayagu Fuyu Kaori and stollen make for an excellent combination, Natsuki says, and it’s all thanks to the cinnamon, Having a common ingredient helps bridge the gap between the beer’s inherent bitter notes and the sweeter qualities of the dessert, making them feel perfectly natural and delicious to consume together in the same sitting.

As a matter of fact, it turns out that the two Spring Valley brewery pubs, in Tokyo and Kyoto, are currently offering an “Afternoon Craft Beer” set (as opposed to “afternoon tea”), complete with an etagere stand of sweets, that includes a glass of Hanayagu Fuyu Kaori along with two other types of Spring Valley’s beer.

The Afternoon Craft Beer Set will be available until December 30, but Hanayagu Fuyu Kaori will be sticking around a little longer, purchasable not only at the pubs but also in Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores. It’s designated as a winter-only beverage, though, so you don’t want to wait too long if you’re keen to try it, and maybe pair it with some stollen brought home from the bakery inside Ghibli Park.

Related: Spring Valley Brewery pub official website
Afternoon Craft Beer photo source: PR Times
All other photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]