Sankt Gallen Co., Ltd. (Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture / CEO: Nobuhisa Iwamoto) is releasing "Sankt Gallen Sakura," a beer flavored with cherry blossoms and leaves, on February 19, 2026 (Thursday) as a seasonal limited product available until mid-April.
With an aroma and taste reminiscent of sakura mochi (cherry blossom rice cake), this beer makes a perfect gift for White Day or the hanami (cherry blossom viewing) season.
https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/sakura/
The cherry blossoms used are from Takato in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture, known as "Japan's number one cherry blossoms" and selected as one of the "100 Best Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots in Japan." The brewery developed this beer through its connection with the city, as they use Ina City apples in their winter-limited Apple Cinnamon Ale.
The beer minimizes the use of hops, which provide bitterness and aroma to beer, and instead is flavored with cherry blossoms and leaves. Each batch uses 60kg of edible double-flowered cherry blossoms, the same type used in sakura tea.
The base beer uses regular barley malt plus 20% wheat malt for a softer mouthfeel. Additionally, it incorporates "Rakufumai" sake rice cultivated by Izumibashi Sake Brewery in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The rich sweetness characteristic of rice, combined with the other ingredients, creates a beer that tastes and smells like domyoji sakura mochi (a style of cherry blossom rice cake) in both aroma and flavor.
Product Details
Product Name: Sankt Gallen Sakura
Alcohol Content: 5%
Volume: 330ml
Price: ¥539 (tax included)
Ingredients: Malt, Rakufumai (sake rice), hops, sakura
Where to Buy: Official website online shop, Odakyu Shinjuku Store, AEON LIQUOR Koenji Store, Kanda Jimbocho Store, Gakugei Daigaku Store, Chitose Funabashi Store, Osaki Hirokoji Store, and others
Enjoy on Draft Too
Sankt Gallen Tap Room
https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/taproom/
Located right by Hon-Atsugi Station North Exit, this is Sankt Gallen's directly operated store.
Enjoy 20 varieties of Sankt Gallen beers on draft, from regular selections to seasonal limited editions.
For food, they offer authentic pizza made from dough stretched to order and baked one by one in the in-store stone oven.
Address: 1F Miroad 2, 2-2-1 Nakamachi, Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture (Right by Hon-Atsugi Station North Exit)
Phone: 046-230-7017
Hours: Sunday–Thursday 12:00 PM–10:00 PM / Friday, Saturday, and days before holidays 12:00 PM–11:00 PM
※ Last order: Food 1 hour before closing, Beer 30 minutes before closing
Official Website: https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/taproom/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanktgallen_taproom/
Reservations: https://yoyaku.tabelog.com/yoyaku/net_booking_form/index?rcd=14084766
※ Other locations serving draft will be updated on the official website.
Hand-Picked Cherry Blossoms
Cherry blossom harvesting takes place every year around Golden Week. The picked blossoms are immediately salt-pickled. Cherry blossoms, salt, and water are layered alternately and compressed by force to about one-third of the original volume. This is then refrigerated for about a year to complete the process. When using in beer, they are soaked in running water from the day before to carefully remove the salt.
The sakura mochi-like aroma experienced in the beer comes from a component called "coumarin." In blooming cherry blossoms and leaves, coumarin exists bound to sugar and has almost no aroma. Through salt-pickling, the sugar detaches, and the inherent coumarin is released, producing the sakura mochi-like fragrance.
About Sankt Gallen
Sankt Gallen was producing and selling small-scale beer in America even before craft beer was legalized in Japan, making it the "original craft beer brewery." This caught the attention of American media such as TIME and Newsweek, which sparked coverage in Japanese media. This public attention contributed to the legalization of craft beer in Japan. As a result, it's known within the industry as "Craft Beer Number Zero."
Sankt Gallen produces beers exclusively using the "ale" method, which differs in both production process and taste from the "lager" style mainstream among major breweries. Their beers have won numerous awards in domestic and international competitions. Beyond these traditional beers, they manufacture and sell various unique beers including isshobin (1.8-liter bottle) beer, "beer wine" released simultaneously with Beaujolais Nouveau, and fruit beers made with seasonal fruits, broadly promoting the appeal of craft beer.
Sankt Gallen is a Swiss place name. The Sankt Gallen Abbey there was the first place in the world to obtain a brewing license. The brand name "Sankt Gallen" carries on that legacy.
Official Website: https://www.sanktgallenbrewery.com/
X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/SanktGallenSHOP
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SanktGallenBrewery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikisanktgallen/
