The Kawaba brewery is located in the small Japanese village of Kawaba in the Gunma prefecture. I spotted this beer in Sacramento at Oto’s Market and thought it looked interesting. I’m glad I picked it up, this beer turned out to be a nice, malty amber ale.

If you’re interested in more about Kigen and Kawaba, please visit this website. It was a little hard to find the official brand website. As of writing, both RateBeer and Beer Advocate have the wrong link.

Date Reviewed. March 22, 2016

Where. Oto’s Market in Sacramento, CA

Serving Size. 330ml bottle

Aroma. Kawaba Sunrise has a malty sweet aroma with notes of dried fruit, brown bread, molasses, a hint of dates, and barley sugar with a slight herbal quality that is almost lemony. Despite the sweetness there is no discernible toffee or caramel qualities. It definitely learns more towards English styles than American.

Appearance. This amber ale has a beautiful amber red-orange glow and is semi-opaque. If you hold it up to the light you can see that it is crystal clear. The off-white head starts out foamy but has slightly below average retention but does leave a thin layer of foam near the edges of the glass.

Flavor. Kawaba Sunrise is a sweet and malty amber ale with a Belgian candy like sweetness to it. The sweetness might be comparable to a sake that is on the sweeter end of the sake spectrum.

Mouthfeel. This beer is medium to full bodied with a creamy texture that complements the malty sweetness.

Overall. Kigen Kuwaba Sunrise is a sweet amber ale influenced more by German and English styles of beer making than American. The hops are light and herbal but muted. The balance is definitely on the sweeter side, which is not my preference, but if you like sweet, malty amber ales, then you might enjoy this beer.

Rating

Aroma (25%): ███
Appearance (5%): ███
Flavor (40%): ███
Mouthfeel (10%): ███
Overall (20%): ███
Total: ███ out of 5.0

💬☁️🔮📻👏🐕😎📰💊👎🚥🍁🔥🔮💻👊👣🍔👉💬⛵️😠💯💣👶🍏😠

Beer Stats

Brewery: Kawaba in Kawaba, Gunma, Japan
Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 5%
IBU: 24.7