Unity Vibration Blackberry/Grape Kombucha

Eamon had just picked me up from the Airport from my trip to (Savor). We stopped at a loal beer and Liquor store so he could get his dad some beer for fathers day. I found this, as well as several of Unity Vibrations Kombucha Beers. I was able to taste this Monday morning while Eamon was running to get his car from the Founder's parking lot.

Appearance: Opaque pink in color with no apparent accumulation of foam on the surface. Some bubbles cling to the side of the glass within, but very little carbonation is visible, except for the occasional eruption of a bubble from the base of the glass.
Aroma: A faint acetic funk followed by some elements of an outdoorsy must. The typical kombucha scent. I don't really get the flavor of blackberries, however.
Taste: What starts with a faint acidic fizz, slowly grows into a mellowed sweetness to finish, only to bite back again to dry out the palate in a refreshing quench. I do get a nice complexity of berry fruit, specifically blackberry here, alongside some notes of apple, grape and even a touch of banana in the very end. The aftertaste is satisfyingly fruity without being overbearing.
Mouthfeel: Like I said earlier, there is a soft fizz present, that lasts the majority of the time the liquid is on the palate. It both creates a fuller mouthfeel, and a refreshing bite as it travels down the throat. I find there to be a cloying element at the back of the throat that seems to also fuel an aftertaste.
Overall Impression: This is the most balance kombucha I've had to-date. It's simple by nature, but exhibits the characteristics expected in a natural, not-overwhelming way. The acetic acid is kept minimal while displaying the fruity potential of kombucha. Grape and blackberry are the most dominant flavors.

New Holland Ginger Kombucha

We tapped this on Friday (Jan 4th) alongside Night Tripper. I'm realizing that it takes about a month to complete a batch of Kombucha, and I'm going to try to stick to that, give or take. I had influence for this one from Unity Vibration, and the fact that we had extra ginger laying around our spice cabinet. Tasted Sunday afternoon at the pub!
Pint Served
4.5% ABV

Appearance: Pale blonde in color with a hint of opacity. Upon the pour, it retains a nice white foam head of about a 1/4" but after several minutes it is reduced to a white ring around the glass. Clarity is impressive for lack of filtration and crashing. The intermittent bubble can be seen rising to the surface.
Aroma: As the pint was put in front of me, I got an immediate whiff of funk acidity. The scent is interesting, faintly reminiscent of under-ripe "Red Delicious" Apples. To compliment, undertones of orange peel and coriander are present. Phenols run high.
Taste: The carbonation hits the palate quick, and lasts through the rest of the tasting experience. Interestingly I get a lot of lemon rind flavors, of which I DID add to this. This flavor is prolonged on into the finish. I get a lot of interesting esters from the preliminary fermentation of the yeast, which faintly give off a character of artificiality but also clove and obvious ginger. As the kombucha beer warms, more of an ester/cidery flavor develops, which is quite pleasant.
Mouthfeel: Carbonation is extremely fine, but nevertheless in high concentration as it foams up on the sides of the mouth and down the throat. Quite a light body in comparison to the Unity Vibrations Triple Goddess Ginger Kombucha, and finishes extremely dry and quenching.
Overall Impression: I'm pretty happy with this one, especially for the balance of spice, kombucha, sweetness and alcohol. For now, I'd like to focus on getting those esters down, which may mean making bigger batches and crashing the yeast out. In case you get to try this, I also added bitter orange peel, lemon peel and coriander, alongside a generous portion of ginger. Enjoy!

Unity Vibrations Ginger Kombucha

Tasted at the plant with Jeff Dyke on Saturday afternoon as I was homebrewing a Nugget IPA. I purchased this beer from Kings Cove in Holland. Thanks to Dennis Kotecki for bringing Unity Vibrations out here!

Appearance: A pale straw color and a lot more clear then I was expecting. Still some haze is present. At first there looks to be very little carbonation, but as it sits, quite a few bubbles begin to grow along the sides.
Aroma: Initially I get a note of somewhat of a solvent/artificial scent in conjunction with an orange/lemon juice concentrate characteristic. Strong perfume.
Taste: Similar to the aroma, I get a boastful note of orange and lemon in the foretaste. To follow is a rich sweetness that gives depth and quaffability to the beers flavor. Ultimately the reidual sweetness balances the otherwise dominant emon, solvent, ginger and orange flavors that would otherwise overpower. The aftertaste is reminiscent of cider.
Mouthfeel: Thicker than many kombuchas I've had. Carbonation is minimal, but enough to add a nice texture, though it may over enhance the solventy orange flavor. Finish is semi-dry, with a cloy at the roof of the mouth.
Overall Impression: This kombucha has more of a residual sweetness than many I've had. In fact, it's the sweetest, thickest one yet. I don't know if a lot of that sugar was intentionally left unfermented. However, the spices are a unique far between twist on this crafted beverage. For my own learning, I may try to up the ginger on my next batch at New Holland.


Check them out, Michigan's Kombucha Brewery: Unity Vibration

Unity Vibrations Raspberry Kombucha Beer

This was my first and only purchase from Sicilianos during my first time checking them out. Tasted Sunday morning while drinking tea and brewing my own batch of kombucha.
Snifter Served
8% ABV

Appearance: Upon pour, the beer takes on almost a fluorescent, radioactive pink/red appearance. In the glass, the beer is partially cloudy with very little carbonation (even the crack of the bottle cap let out only the slightest hiss). No head stands atop the liquid.
Aroma: Fruity, funky and choked full of raspberry aromatics. Some of the esters perfuming from the glass give a faint rubbing alcohol/cleaner scent.
Taste: My first impression was that this tasted extremely similar of mead with a strong phenolic backbone and estery spice beginning in the mid taste an growing thereafter. However, the proceeding samples gradually came off more and more medicinal, especially with the compliment of the raspberries. As it warms, more of the familiar vinegar/acetic flavor emerges.

Mouthfeel: There is still some residual sugar left over from the bottle conditioning and perhaps pre-mature crashing. This helps add a bit of body to the otherwise strongly acidic and light textured mouthfeel. No carbonated feel.
Overall Impression: Certainly an interesting beverage. Something I would buy a pint of again if I saw it at a bar? Sure, to support the brewery, but to buy in the bottle again for $3.59 again? not a chance. Not especially drinkable given the strong phenolic and sugary flavors. With that 8% ABV, I think a second addition of sugar was too much. And the raspberries further added to the medicinal flavor.

Check them out: Unity Vibration Kombucha

GT's Enlightened: Mystic Mango

Tasted on a Sunday afternoon. While watching a presentation by Sandor Katz. Check it out: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_art_of_fermentation/
Snifter Served.

Appearance: This drink takes on many different appearances depending on how it is served. Allow it to settle in the bottle, and it is a raw honey yellow color with some transparency. Shake it up and serve and you get a drink highly reminiscent of a Mango Lassi on might get on Devon Ave in Chicago, with a huge oily/radioactive turbidity and color. Finally, once that begins to settle, you may find yourself looking at a fine division between liquid and fine particle on the surface. No head or carbonation.
Aroma: This is the place where the kombucha funk is most prominent here. Notes of mango are to follow with a nice tropical spice. Relatively uncomplicated here.
Taste: The front is relatively uneventful, while the mango takes stage with a fresh but unsweetened flavor. When I usually taste lasso it has a sugary backbone to uphold this tropical fruit, but here, since a lot of that mango sugars had been fermented out, you are left with a residual dryness that contributes to the mangos refreshing flavor. The mango dominates over much of the kombucha flavors. Overall, I don't think the mango pairs best with the kombucha.
Mouthfeel: That top layer that I mentioned above consisted of a gritty dense film of mango particles maintaining a very dry mango skin texture that coated the teeth
Overall Impression: Not my favorite of the line-up. When I taste mango, I expect it to be robustly sweet (perhaps from growing up with lassis') But I think the kombucha took away from that and added a strange flavor combination.

GT's Enlightened: Bilberry No 9

Picked this up in Evanston at the Whole foods off of Chicago. Tasted Sunday morning beginning of December...It's 60 degrees outside! I'm currently making a couple test bathes of kombucha too. Snifter served.

Appearance: A greyed purple color with a strong opacity and muddied haze. Before the pour, there was a lot of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Upon pour the liquid erupted in carbonation and soda-like fizz with flocculated particles throughout. There is even a slight head present around the perimeter of the glass. A lot of carbonation bubbles cling to the sides. There is a lot of movement from within.
Aroma: Funk, must, tart and free berries. Aroma here is very minimal otherwise.
Taste: A lot more tart than the rest I have tried, but incredibly balanced against with the fruit additives. At the start, a tart, neutral lactic flavor is central, followed by a fresh blueberry flavor gives character to the traditional flavor. Next comes a fizzy carbonated flavor in the back of the throat. Finally the kombucha finishes with a faint musty wood character common to the beverage. The aftertaste returns to the berry flavor.
Mouthfeel: Still some sugary body present that adds substance and texture to the high carbonation that is follow. The carbonation is very concentrated and refreshing. It doesn't bite the tongue, but encourages a tingling numbness over the palate. Some cloy is present in the back of throat.
Overall Impression: This variety falls middle of the road. I enjoyed the flavor, but was looking for more of a funk in the aroma. The flavor was very balanced and drinkability was high. Certainly one of the fist ones of GT's to try if you are unfamiliar with

GT's Enlightened: Original Kombucha

I though about doing a separate Kombucha blog, but I feel my following is too large on this blog to have another side project to take away from Beer To Try. So I'll be adding Kombucha here because it represents an alternative to fermented beverages. Picked this up for $2.69 at Whole Foods in glenview on Thanksgiving after Running the Tall Trees Turkey Trot in 15:49 - I was a bandit.

Appearance: A turbid blod color with very little action occurring from within. Some large bubbles cling to the side of the glass, but there is no carbonation deliberately trying to escape the liquid it's immersed in. Some SCOBY is present, but not in a consistent form of the glass, more so just pieces.
Aroma: A floral fragrance, compounded with notes of vinegar and honey. Quite sweet smelling and attractive, but with notes of funk, and must derived from an uncontrolled fermentation. I dig.
Taste: To start I get peaches and nectarines making up the majority of the fore-taste. Backed by the essence of honey, complete with undertones of clove and spices. Next comes the refreshing an funky taste of alternative fermentation by-products. A bit cidery after a big gulp and examined at a holistic perspective.
Mouthfeel: Light, but still maintaining an adequate textured sweetness to make a full drinking experience. The lack of carbonation is certainly made up for by the acetic/lactic acidity. Not soft, but the dryness in the finish further adds to the refreshing light appeal.
Overall Impression: As good as it gets for a simple kombucha recipe such as this one. I think the balance between the funk and sweetness is important, and GT's does it perfectly. I almost prefer this over any of the exotic fruit flavors they produce.

LAMBRUCHA

Thanks to Mandy and Craig at the Bad Apple in Chicago for giving Jen and I this bottle a couple weeks ago. I was in town for the Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference and had a chance to stop by their bar. A week earlier we had done a collaboration with them at our New Holland Pub....A dry rye Irish Stout. I had a chance to write this review sitting at the Bad Apple bar after finishing a delicious burger typing on my new (used) apple laptop my sister had just given me.
I know it's a foreign brew, but totally acceptable...

Appearance: A glistening golden color with a fizzy dense white head that mostly coats the glass, forming a large outer ring. Carbonation is visibly present as the occasional bubbles erupts to the surface. As the bottle is emptied, each sample/glass becomes cloudier and more glowing than the last.
Aroma: The scent is something unlike I've ever encountered. The pinnacle of the outdoors and a woody funk, that reminds me of that first smell when you break a prized mushroom find from its root mycelium growing out of a tree stump. Strange, I know, but exact to my memory. Some hints of ginger and spice follow, accompanied with a all too familiar Kombucha funk. Brett remains present throughout, too. Blck tea is notable as well.
Taste: Light and spicy up front.  A fully attenuated beverage with nearly every trace of sugar being fermented out into its complimentary by-product. Here, Brettanomyces reigns most dominant, alongside A follow-up flavor to the carbonation of ginger, notes of honey, wood and brief phenols. Heavy black tea appears briefly As the beer approaches room temperature, I get more of an acetic flavor in the back of the mouth. Musty, perhaps may be the optimal description of the conglomeration of flavors. One could even consider the overall flavor to fall on the neutral side of pine/evergreen.
Mouthfeel: Extremely dry and refreshing. As I said earlier, the full attenuation created the definition of "dry." Carbonation is strong and provides much of the mouthfeel. Tart, but not enough to clench the jaw. Palate is left dry and resinous, and fully quenched.
Overall Impression: One of the most interesting things I have ever experienced. The most woodsy flavor I have ever encountered. The Lambic probably provided this, derived from the wood it sat in, while the Kombucha and the tea incorporated the spice, the outdoors and the acetic undertone.

Komblucha: Fermented tea with blueberries added

My first contribution to the New Holland Line-up, and something few other breweries have ever considered to dabble in. I've been growing this Kombucha culture for the last three years. I received it the summer going into my Junior year of college. I raised it entirely organic. And finally, what better place to amp up production than New Holland's Brewpub! We began with hot water and sugar mixed in the whirlpool. Fermented with yeast, then innoculated with the scoby in addition to local blueberries. Only made 100 gallons, so get it while it lasts!
Thanks to Brad (our distiller) for the blueberries.

Appearance: Interestingly, it looks quite reminiscent of the cider we have on tap right now. An opaque pale hue with an even pink color. No sedimentation or "floaties" within, which surprises me because I filled the kegs with gravity and I KNOW some Scoby got in there. Nevertheless it looks very clean. No head or carbonation is present.
Aroma: Slight funk is present, but more of a tart fruit characteristic. Makes me think of raspberries, apples and blueberries. Other than that, I think I get a slight wheat note permeating from the glass.
Taste: Up front, a slight bite from the carbonation encourages the acidic tartness that is prominent in the flavor. Unlike traditional Kombucha, I don't get much of the acetic notes I was expecting, but more of an effervescent berry tartness as well as brief undertones of funk. Again, a wheat flavor is present, but located more in the second half. Finally, my favorite part was the contribution derived from the hops. With the cascade and summit that were infused, they provide a flavor that nears the taste of grapefruit rind, a perfect balance to the initial fruity tartness.

Mouthfeel: Like I said earlier, effervescent, but not carbonated. I tried to make it as naturally and alive as possible, so the spritz you get in the front of the tongue is the stored CO2 that is held from the build-up under the Kombucha mother. Light and refreshing, but with a smoother texture. The finish rounds out in an after-breath of alcohol and other attenutated by-products.
Overall Impression: I couldn't be happier with this product. I was worried it would come out with some factor outbalancing the rest, but what I got was a entirely refreshing probiotic elixer that can be easily drunk morning or night. The method to making this was a complete learning experience and shot in the dark experiment. Tart, refreshing, balanced and reminiscent of grapefruit. I hope to make this again!