Three Weavers Brewing Company announces the upcoming release of Komorebi, an international collaboration with Japan’s COEDO Brewing. Komorebi, a tart and tropical IPA, will debut at Three Weavers’ Inglewood, California, taproom on February 27 with distribution in Northern California and in Japan to follow. The collab will be available on draft and in 4-packs of 16oz cans.
COEDO brewer Yasuki Mizunuma traveled to California to conceptualize and brew Komorebi with Three Weavers’ Brewmaster Alexandra Nowell. Both brewers were excited for the opportunity to create something out-of-the-ordinary. “They take a similar approach to ingredients as we do – they respect ingredients and how they’re used, and you can see the proper expression of those ingredients in the beer,” said Nowell. “Yasuki was excited to use these American hops that he doesn’t get to see on a daily basis. The hops are outstanding and it was really cool to see someone else as excited about them as I was.”
Komorebi is brewed with a blend of Citra, Strata and Galaxy hops at about 3 lbs per barrel. The recipe also includes hibiscus and lactobacillus, resulting in a hoppy, tart, bright IPA. “I take a very romantic approach to recipe formulation,” said Nowell. “And there’s something about the Japanese language that’s romantic as well.” The beer was dubbed Komorebi, after the Japanese word for “the feeling you get when you see light filtering through leaves.”
Three Weavers’ founder, Lynne Weaver, said she was eager to work with COEDO. “Their beer is great, the quality is very high and we’re clicking on a lot of similar parallel lines,” said Weaver. Weaver, who is Japanese-American, commented that the two breweries share an aesthetic vision. She explained that the Knot in the Three Weavers logo “comes from traditional Japanese gift wrapping – it interlocks my American culture, my last name being Weaver, and my Japanese culture,” said Weaver.
Three Weavers is excited for the opportunity to extend their belief that, “It’s more than beer, it’s community” across international boundaries, and to support Japanese craft beer culture, which has evolved rapidly since strict laws governing the brewing of beer were softened in 1994. Now, the craft beer scene in Japan is vibrant and growing, with traditional brewing styles mingling with distinctly Japanese ingredients and inspirations. COEDO belongs to Japanese Craft Beer, an organization including 23 Japanese craft breweries that encourages U.S. consumers to “drink in a new language.”
Try Komorebi starting February 27 at the Inglewood, California taproom release event, or look for it on shelves in Northern California and in Japan.
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