Kōbo Kai
Wiley Roots Brewing Co

L:. Pours a dark copper orange with a small white head and no lacing on the glass.

S:. A nice strong sour, mixes vinous white wine grapes, notes of cracker and bread, a hint of peach, and a bit of sweetness.

T:. A strong sour, vinous white wine grapes, a light cracker malt, a hint of peach, a light sweetness.

F:. Smooth carbonation, medium body.

O:. This is a great mix of a sake inspired sour.

a really intelligent beer here again from wiley roots, this one done as part of that good bugs project. its a sake inspired beer, a blend of some different wild ales, one with rice and fermented with sake yeast, oak aged, and really one of a kind. kind of like their geometry, i wish this one wasnt quite so sour, its about 10% too acidic to really appreciate all the nuance happening, but its mighty close to being epic, and i think the recipe and blend are spot on. i really like what sake yeast adds in beer like this, with or without the starchy rice base, its a vinous element, white grapey, but it also has a strong plum essence to me, along with fresh cut flowers, delicate but distinctive, and its neat here in combination with the brett, which is very mature. the bacterial acidity has run a little rampant over this, but the flavors are still incredible. a light belgian estery note, some white pepper and green tea character, traces of honey and jasmine with what i perceive to be the rice based part of this blend, herbal and floral and bright, but with some wheaty body too, and a very dry finish, lemon flesh sourness and farmy well developed funk. carbonation is really uplifting on it too. the sake yeast is a smart and interesting add, especially in this wild context, i believe elements of this blend are fully wild, and its just so complex from a fermentation standpoint. clever and well executed! its harder than it seems to do something unique in beer anymore, but they have succeeded admirably here!