親友との絆 (Bonds of Friendship)

This beer is special for us on many levels, not only because it marks the first beer where we use Brettanomyces for co-fermentation, but also because it is the liquid culmination of a long journey of friendship with our long-time friend Luc “Bim” Lafontaine.
Luc was generous enough to guide us through our first few brews when we began Kyoto brewing Co. by being an on-site advisor. By the end of his stint, we had made three beers under his tutelage and made a promise upon his departure: that the next time we brewed together it would be a collaboration with him proudly at the helm of Godspeed.
Nearly five years to the day when he walked us through our first brew, we are both humbled and ecstatic to announce the release of this special collaboration brew. It is the culmination of a long journey of friendship and happiness as well as trials and tribulations as both sides worked so hard to see their own dreams to fruition. It also embodies one of the bonds that ties our friendship together&mdasha love for Belgian beer.
To mark such a momentous occasion, we took inspiration from the highest of sources in the Belgian beer world: Orval. We of course used our own house yeast in this brew but made strong nods to Orval in our choice of Brettanomyces Bruxellensis as well as Styrian Goldings hops. The result is a golden blond Belgian ale with a background presence of apricot and fruit from our house yeast as well as a spicy earthiness from Styrian Goldings Bobek hops. Flowing through all of this is the unique character of Brettanomyces. At times strong like leather, and at others delicate like hay, the co-fermentation with this “wild” yeast makes the beer like nothing else we have created. We hope that as you experience this unique brew that you can experience even a small amount of the friendship and love that went into its creation.

Naming: Making a great beer with great friends. That is (literally) where the conversation started when we began the months of back and forth regarding this collaboration brew. What better reason to come together than the bonds of friendship?