Collabs are one of the most unique aspects about the craft beer scene - it's something you don't find with spirits, nor with really any other drink really, alcoholic or otherwise (find me that collab coffee blend!). And we're not talking just the packaging, marketing, promotional stuff, or what have you - we mean business, we're talking collaborating on how the final output is really going to be!

What's A Good Collab Beer Anyway?

So what makes a good collab? That's of course a subjective question, and I'm therefore going to give my subjective opinion. A good collab for me is one where not only do the brewers of the various participating breweries come together and brainstorm on the recipe (bonus if it's the design of the label too!), and weave in influences from both breweries, be it their signature house styles, where they're from, and even the ingredients that goes in, or the final amalgamated mish-mash style that comes out from it.

Far Yeast Brewing.

After all, isn't that why craft beer fans love collab brews (which by the way, are often priced higher)? It's because we idealise this fusion of concepts, this mystical ebb and flow of ideas, and ultimately the wild unfathomable chimaera that emerges from it! A good collab beer is one that is unique, surprises and delights, whilst at the same time is thoughtful in paying homage to the variety of influences each brewery brings with it. You should be able to at once not just find a wholly new creation, but trace the threads which belongs to each brewery.

It's a tall order, I know. But let's be real for a second - we're not here for another duh-PA. If the collab beer is largely the same as what could be found in the stables of either breweries, then what's the point! The fanfare has to be justified and substantiated. I think it's the least breweries can do for their ardent fans.

Behemoth ran a crowdfunding project to finally build their own brewery - and it came through!

Now, of course I'm sure a good bunch of collabs probably amount to nothing more than a couple of cursory emails with little facetime (physical or online) or brainstorming, with many of them being more a matter of co-signing and co-labelling (where one brewery proposes the concept and economics, and the other simply agrees and hands over their logo) which ends up being called a collab brew - just giving folks what they want, with whatever means to justify the ends. And really, there'd be little way a fan would know otherwise, but I'd like to think the disingenuousness of it all does show in the resultant pint - perhaps sometimes subtly and not overtly noticeable after a few pints prior. And so it's a matter of good faith, and I'd like to believe that the ones who stay in the game and have a real cult following are the ones who do right by their fans - at least I hope so!

Collabs Are Easy, Great Collabs Are Harder To Find - Here's One That's Actually Good

And so with that, I'd like to present a collab brew that I was very pleasantly surprised by - Hanami Vibes, a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale thats's brewed by Japan's Far Yeast Brewing and New Zealand's Behemoth.

When I saw this was available on tap, I'd specially made my way down to the bar all the way downtown just to try it, simply because I was curious and I've always been a fan of Belgian style ales. 

So according to Far Yeast Brewing, this trans-Pacific friendship goes way back, with both brewers having started out as contract brewers (how many craft brewer friendships are formed, when brewers meet at the contract brewery), with the former founded in 2011 and the latter founded in 2013. Accordingly, it was the guys at Far Yeast Brewing who had helped to import Behemoth's beer into Japan, and had given them introductions with various local importers both Japan and Thailand. The folks at Far Yeast Brewing even included a whole paragraph about how their hope is to not just collaborate with other local brewers, but to "exchange technology and foster mutual support in their respective communities" with brewers overseas, and "strongly hopes to contribute to expanding the circle of diverse craft beer culture by introducing beer to each other".

Far Yeast Brewing also runs an annual Yamanashi Support Project that supports local farmers by using their peaches in its beers.

As for the beer itself, Far Yeast Brewing goes further to say that when discussing the collab brew (which was to celebrate the arrival of spring and famously in Japan, the blossoming of Sakura cherry blossoms), they (Casey from Far Yeast with Andrew from Behemoth) had decided to combine Far Yeast Brewing's signature Belgian style with only New Zealand hops (Motueka and Wakatu) in homage to Behemoth's kiwi origins. On top of that, they had wanted to give it a more Japanese feel and so decided to add Yamanashi peach puree (as peach blossoms bloom alittle earlier than cherry blossoms) to the farmhouse ale.

Now that's how you do a collab brew!

Let's give it a go!

Hanami Vibes Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, Far Yeast Brewing x Behemoth - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Hazy Straw

Aroma: Really fresh, there's lots of wheat, with some yeastiness of dough, along with some fresh bread too. Some gentle sweetness from a light bit of runny honey, as well as a side of savouriness of saucisson or air dried meats. It's fresh and harmonious.

Taste: Wow! I was totally caught off guard! It immediately hits with so much freshness and vibrance, with a mix of honey, wheat and something of sakura sugar. The flavours are robust and well-expressed, and whilst bright, it has a good richness to it too. It's medium-bodied but it feels fuller in its flavour owing to the richness. More on a light doughy quality. Super crisp and refreshing with a prominent carbonation that is just slightly beaten out by the richness of the body. It's outlined by some sweet lemons. It's sweet, floral but also rustic, with a really satisfyingly rich body packed with vibrance.

Finish: More of that sakura sugar, with the wheat making a come back - the richness carries through. This leads into a slight savouriness, and finally a clean and crisp finish. Some floral sakura aromas linger with the sweetness having disappeared.

My Thoughts

I enjoyed this so much it slapped a grin on my face. On the nose it was par for the course - fresh, rustic, kind of like a classic unfiltered ale with just a hint of savouriness that is all that leads me to think there might be something afoot; it's good but nothing out of the ordinary.

But the moment I took my first sip - damn! It was a combination of vibrant and expressive flavours, really flavour forward and intense, bright and at the same time delivered with richness and a hefty texture, crisp with a good bit of carbonation - an incredibly satisfying mouthfeel. It's at once sweet, floral and rustic, with good richness. It totally hammered home and nailed it. Into the finish, there was more of that sakura sugar quality that I'm supposing comes from the peach puree, that is just so unique and delicious, before leading back into that slight savouriness that we typically get with Belgian styles. Finally a clean and crisp finish with just a floral perfumed aroma that's so refreshing.

What I love about this is not only that the flavours are intensely vibrant, but that there was this sakura sugar flavour that I've never had in a beer before, and here it was cohesive and well-integrated into the farmhouse ale style - which by the way is typically my least favourite style of beer because of that flavourless isotonic quality I tend to get - but here the otherwise saison is so intensely flavourful and so there wasn't that tasteless isotonic body, whilst keeping the stronger carbonation that tends to come with a farmhouse ale. To my mind, this is a saison for those who don't like saison. Nevertheless every aspect of its making can be clearly picked up on, they go together perfectly to deliver this amazing body. Just spectacular - making it a proof-is-in-the-pudding solid collab brew!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot