京の真夏 (Kyo no Manatsu)

1 bar limited to 2x kegs max

At first glance, it doesn't seem like Kyoto Brewing Co. and Cuckanut Brewery would make a collaboration beer together. Chuckanut focuses on German style lagers and is located in Bellingham, Washington, USA, while Kyoto Brewing Co. is located in Kyoto and focuses on Belgian and American style beers. However, the opportunity arose out of a connection between Chris and Chuckanut brewer Jeff "Catfish" Dionne. Catfish lived in nearby Kobe for 13 years before moving back to the USA to take a job at Chuckanut. During his time in Japan, he and Chris were both heavily involved in the beer scene in Kansai, at one point even meeting up to discuss potentially opening a brewery together. While the idea never materialized, both of them wound up realizing their dreams in the brewing industry, albeit on different continents.

The idea for the beer grew out of the desire to combine the elements that each brewery is known for while also trying something that was new to both parties. The natural choice was combining the malt bill a German lager with a Belgian yeast strain. The "something new" came in the form of two varieties of French hops, Aramis and Triskel, that neither brewery had used before.

The result is an easy drinking Belgian ale that feels like the conjunction of a Weizen and a Belgian Golden ale. The aroma is heavily fruity, dominated by banana, spice, and berries, while the body is full and rich with an almost honey-like sweetness. The malt bill and the yeast worked well to ensure the beer finished quite dry, so the sweetness doesn't feel heavy or cloying. We think you will agree that you can taste the strengths of both breweries in this beer, even though it isn't one that either brewery would have made alone!

Regarding the name: Historically, collaborations with Chuckanut Brewery usually have the beer name ending in "nut". As our own naming convention has our beers named in Japanese, we decided to use the word 'natsu' (meaning summer) as our base. Since the beer was brewed in the Kyoto sweltering summer heat (temperatures in the brewery reached 37 degrees celcius), the beer was aptly named Kyo no Manatsu (or 'Kyoto's midsummer').

Malt Bill:
Pilsner Malt, Carapils, Acidulated Malt

Hops:
Merkur, Triskel, Aramis

Yeast:
Belgian Ardennes

ABV:
5.7%

IBU:
28 

Gas Volumes:
2.7